Plant protecting and regulating compositions – Plant growth regulating compositions
Reexamination Certificate
1996-05-17
2003-07-01
Boyer, Charles (Department: 1751)
Plant protecting and regulating compositions
Plant growth regulating compositions
C510S470000, C510S242000, C510S245000, C510S251000, C510S401000, C510S417000, C510S421000, C510S432000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06586366
ABSTRACT:
This invention relates to surfactant compositions and in particular to compositions which contains a plurality of surfactants and at least one oil, and which is readily emulsifiable into water.
The invention provides a concentrate composition which comprises:
a at least one oil component;
b at least one surfactant hydrocarbyl saccharide, particularly a hydrocarbyl polysaccharide (HPS); and
c at least one other non-ionic surfactant.
The composition of the invention typically takes the form of an oil based concentrate which is homogeneous for at least 24 hours and which emulsifies readily on dilution into water.
The composition preferably also comprises
d an antifoaming agent; and/or
e at least one chemical agent specific to the intended use of the composition.
The composition including these further components is also typically homogeneous for at least 24 hours and emulsifies readily on dilution into water.
The chemical agent specific to the intended use of the composition may be, for example, an agrochemical or a metal corrosion inhibitor. The composition may however be used without any such specific chemical agent as a metal degreasing agent, or as a precursor for dilution with water for metal cutting fluids.
The concentrate composition may also comprise a water miscible liquid, which may be desirable if the viscosity of the composition would otherwise be inconveniently high. Such liquid may include or be water. The water content is preferably low enough for the composition to remain homogeneous for at least 24 hours after making up. The components and their proportions are preferably chosen such that where any components are readily available only as aqueous solutions (such as the HPS) the composition provided by mixing the composition components is stable, notwithstanding the water which is thereby introduced. When the concentrate composition includes water, the concentrate will usually be a solution of the water in the oil, the surfactant combination acting to solublise the water, or as a water-in-oil colloidal emulsion or a microemulsion in which the water is dispersed as very fine droplets such that the composition is clear or transparent.
The oil component typically has a boiling point of over 200° C. at atmospheric pressure and a melting point not higher than 60° C. It may comprise for example a mineral oil, an optionally hydrogenated vegetable oil, such as an optionally hydrogenated cotton seed oil, linseed oil, mustard oil, neem oil, niger seed oil, oiticica oil, olive oil, palm oil, palm kernel oil, peanut oil, perilla oil, poppy seed oil, rape seed oil, safflower oil, sesame oil, or soybean oil. An ester (especially a C
1
to C
6
ester) of a C
8
to C
22
fatty acid, especially a C
12
to C
18
fatty acid, e.g. methyl, ethyl or propyl laurate, heptadecanoate, heptadecenoate, heptadecadienoate, stearate or oleate, or a mixture thereof, e.g. an ester in which the total number of carbon atoms in the molecule does not exceed 20, and preferably an ester of a C
12
to C
15
fatty acid, e.g. methyl, ethyl or propyl laurate, or a mixture thereof.
The oil component preferably also contains or is associated with at least one oil soluble surfactant, especially such as can render the oil self emulsifiable into water. Such a surfactant may include at least one of relatively high HLB (hydrophilic lipophilic balance) in combination with one of low HLB, for example calcium stearate. Such an oil solution component may be in the form of a commercially available so-called “crop oil” or “oil adjuvant”. A typical oil component contains 98 to 60, preferably 95 to 83, parts by weight of oil, and 2 to 40, preferably 5 to 17, parts by weight of oil soluble surfactant(s). When water is present in solublised form or as a colloidal emulsion or a microemulsion the oil soluble surfactant may be partitioned between oil phase and aqueous phases (or be present at the interface).
The surfactant hydrocarbyl saccharide may be a monoglycoside or a polyglycoside or mixture thereof. It is conventional to refer to hydrocarbyl saccharide surfactants as hydrocarbyl polysaccharides even where the saccharide moiety only contains one saccharide unit. Typically such surfactants are mixtures of compounds with monosaccharide and polysaccharide (including disaccharide) units. Among glycosides, compounds of particular use in this invention include compounds and mixtures of compounds of the formula:
ROG
a
where
R is a hydrophobic moiety;
G is a saccharide residue; and
a has an average value of at least 1.
The group R may be an optionally substituted hydrocarbyl group. In particular R can be an alkyl, cycloalkyl, aryl, alkaryl, aralkyl or alkenyl group and is preferably an alkyl group. The group R suitably contains from 4 to 30 carbon atoms, preferably up to 24 carbon atoms, more preferably from 6 to 18 carbon atoms and especially from 8 to 14 carbon atoms. Thus, R can be a mixture of alkyl or alkoxy groups which contain, on average, for example 8 to 14 carbon atoms.
The saccharide residue G may be derived from one or more of fructose, glucose, mannose, galactose, telose, gulose, allose, altrose, idose, arabinose, xylose, lyxose and ribose or from mixtures thereof. The group G is conveniently derived from glucose units and the glycoside is then a glucoside. If derived from sucrose the groups will comprise fructose and glucose residues.
The value of a is the degree of polymerisation. It typically has an average value of at least 1.1, preferably at least 1.2 and especially at least 1.3. The value of a is typically not greater than 8, and preferably not greater than 4, for example not greater than 2. When the glycoside is an alkyl glucoside, the value of a is conveniently between 1 and 2.
We have obtained useful results when the glycoside is an alkyl polyglucoside of the general formula:
C
n
H
(2n+1)
.O.(C
6
H
10
O
5
)
b
.H
where
n is from 8 to 14, and
b is greater than one and not more than two.
In particular, the glucoside may be one in which the average value of n is from 9 to 13 and especially about 10. The value of b is typically at least 1.3 and not more than 1.9. A particularly useful material of this type is one in which n is from 8 to 11 and has an average value of 10 and b is about 1.35. Surfactant hydrocarbyl saccharides are commercially available and the materials designated for example as APG 225 and APG 300 by Henkel or as sold under the trade name Triton BG 10 by Rohm & Haas can be used satisfactorily.
The other non-ionic surfactant(s) may be any which will give a composition which is stable and homogeneous for at least 24 hours after making up.
Preferred non-ionic surfactants are of the formula:
R
1
O.(X).R
2
and/or R
3
.N.(XH)
2
where
R
1
is an alkyl or alkenyl group, which suitably contains up to 24, preferably 6 to 21, and especially 9 to 18, carbon atoms, e.g. lauryl, heptadecyl, heptadeceyl, heptadecadienyl, stearyl or oleyl, an alkyl phenyl group having 6 to 12 carbon atoms in its alkyl group, a sorbitan group or a group of formula R
4
CO, where R
4
is an alkyl group having 11 to 22 carbon atoms;
R
2
is hydrogen or an alkyl group, a carboxyalkyl group, for example carboxyalkyl having 2 to 4 carbon atoms, such as carboxy-methyl, -ethyl or -propyl, or a salt thereof, or a fatty acid residue having 10 to 22 carbon atoms, e.g. laurate, heptadecanoate, heptadecenoate, heptadecadienoate, stearate or oleate;
X is a polyalkylene oxide group containing an average of 2 to 40, preferably from 2 to 13, and especially from 2 to 10, alkylene oxide groups or mixed alkylene oxide groups, where the alkylene groups each have 2 to 8, preferably 2 or 3, carbon atoms;
R
3
is an alkyl or alkenyl group having 10 to 22 carbon atoms.
The relative proportions of the oil component (a), the surfactant hydrocarbyl saccharides (b) and the other non-ionic surfactant (c) are suitably (by weight):
a 40 to 70, especially 55 to 63,
b 5 to 30, especially 5 to 25, and
c 10 to 40, especially 15 to 30.
If an antifoaming agent is present, it should be in a quantity sufficient to secure an adequate anti-foaming effect for the
Auda Mahroussa
Hoorne Dirk
Rogiers Lodewijk Maria
Boyer Charles
Imperial Chemical Industries Plc
Pillsbury & Winthrop LLP
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