Cleaning compositions for solid surfaces – auxiliary compositions – Cleaning compositions or processes of preparing – Specific organic component
Reexamination Certificate
2003-01-08
2004-02-10
Ogden, Necholus (Department: 1751)
Cleaning compositions for solid surfaces, auxiliary compositions
Cleaning compositions or processes of preparing
Specific organic component
C510S492000, C510S499000, C523S123000, C530S500000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06689737
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to lignin-derived materials, especially oligomeric lignin-derived dispersants, and even more especially economically viable lignin-derived materials, and household cleaning and/or laundry detergent compositions comprising such lignin-derived materials.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Despite the fact that the majority of cleaning products comprise surfactants, it has been found that the direct action of surfactants, alone, fails to provide the most effective cleaning. Rather, other adjunct ingredients, including chelants, builders, and dispersants, are necessary to produce the maximum efficiency and effectiveness of a surfactant system. Additionally, formulations of cleaning compositions, including liquid laundry detergents, liquid dishwashing detergents and hard surface cleaners often require other ingredients to maintain stability from phase separating and effect the desired viscosity of the resultant formulation. Additionally, cleaning compositions such as granular detergent compositions, too, necessitate the employment of dispersants for effective cleaning. Indeed, formulators of liquid laundry detergent compositions have conventionally adjusted the various properties of surfactant systems and adjunct ingredients of such compositions to maintain or yield the desired stability and/or viscosity.
Accordingly, the role of certain adjunct ingredients is fundamental to the effectiveness of many surfactant-containing cleaning compositions, and specifically liquid detergent compositions. In particular, such adjunct ingredients aid a surfactant system in removing soils from fabric and/or other surfaces and prevent soil redeposition. In this respect, the role of soil dispersants is fundamental to the effectiveness of cleaning compositions, in particular laundry detergent compositions.
In general, there exist two types of soils: hydrophilic (inter alia, clay) and hydrophobic (inter alia, grease and oil). Dual-purpose dispersants, which may be effective in dispersing both hydrophilic and hydrophobic soils, may be formulated into granular laundry detergent compositions. However, the type and amount of such dispersants that can be formulated into a liquid cleaning composition, such as liquid laundry detergents, hard surface cleaning composition and dishwashing liquid compositions, is severely limited.
Those skilled in the art have attempted to resolve this dilemma via the development of ethoxylated polyalkyleneimines. Nevertheless, particularly with hydrophobic soils and certain surfactant systems, an admixture of ethoxylated polyalkyleneimine dispersants is often required to adequately suspend oily, greasy dirt. Moreover, alkoxylated polyamines tend to be less effective in dispersing hydrophobic soils when used in formulations that possess a pH low enough to result in significant protonation of the otherwise hydrophobic polyalkyleneimine backbone. A pH of less than 10 is typically required and since most liquid laundry detergent systems are in range of pH 7 to pH 10 protonation will be sufficient in both the detergent formulation but also will occur during the wash.
Thus, there exists a long felt need in the art to develop and employ efficient and cost-effective dispersants, which may be used in a wide variety of cleaning compositions. Furthermore, dispersants which can readily be modified chemically to provide increased hydrophobicity or hydrophilicity would be beneficial to the formulator of such cleaning compositions, particularly where a wide range of properties are required and performance of the dispersants is often dependent upon the interactions with other cleaning composition ingredients.
Lignin is one of the most abundant organic materials in nature and is the so-called “glue” in the cellulosic skeleton, which provides strength and support to trees and other plants. Lignin is also a major by-product of wood pulp processing in mills and, as such, often constitutes an environmental nuisance. Indeed, lignin is commonly isolated from the waste stream of pulp mills and typically burned in boilers for fuel. The structure of lignin can be represented by the following complex, partial molecular structure in formula (I).
Lignin, as produced from a pulp mill, is either termed “Kraft lignin” or “lignosulfonate”. Commercially available Kraft lignin is sold as INDULIN AT™. Kraft Lignin and lignosulfonate typically possess weight average molecular weights (M
w
) of from about 3,000 to 15,000 g per mole and an oxygen content of about 20% to about 30% by total weight. Simplistically, these lignin derivatives are often described as complex polymers of phenylpropane monomer units linked by oxygen atoms. Kraft lignin and lignosulfonate are often described by the following empirical formulas: Kraft lignin, C
9
H
6.7
O
2.2
S
0.1
(OCH
3
)
0.90
, and Lignosulfonate, C
9
H
8.2
O
2.6
(OCH
3
)
0.94
. In these formulas, the sulfonate groups, —SO
3
, have been omitted in order to illustrate the number of oxygen molecules in the lignin structure.
Lignin phenol can be derived from Kraft lignin or from lignosulfonate via catalytic reduction as described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,207,808, U.S. Pat. No. 6,100,385 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,230,814. It has been surprisingly found that lignin phenols and modified lignin phenols are effective cleaning composition ingredients that may be adapted to convey a wide variety of benefits to consumers and formulators of cleaning compositions. One representation of the lignin phenol empirical formula is described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,100,385 as having an average composition of C
9
H
10.6
O
0.8
(OCH
3
)
0.02
where two, three and four or more of these repeat units are fused together, thus providing a chemical description of the basic structural features of lignin phenol. These structural representations are not intended to constitute an all-inclusive description of the class of compounds referred to as lignin phenols. Furthermore, other, modified lignin phenols are described in the aforementioned patents and include modifications of lignin phenols by alkylation, alkoxylation, sulfonation, sulfation, alkoxysulfation, sulfomethylation and combinations thereof. Amino methylation has also been disclosed in the art but only in context of lignins and sulfonated lignins, as described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,972,047. Nevertheless, amino-methylated lignin phenols and amino-methylated modified lignin phenols have not previously been disclosed and to the extent that these compositions are novel, are claimed herein as novel.
Thus, there exists a substantial need for cleaning compositions to contain improved dispersants, such as lignin derived materials, i.e., lignin phenols and/or modified lignin phenols of the present invention. The various features of the lignin derived materials of the present invention facilitate their inclusion into household cleaning compositions, while maximizing their efficiency to act as dispersants and to aid in the function of surfactants and other adjunct ingredients of such cleaning compositions, as will become apparent from the following disclosure.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention fulfills the needs identified above by providing lignin-derived materials that can be used as effective dispersants in household cleaning and/or laundry detergent compositions.
It has been surprisingly discovered that lignin derived materials such as lignin phenol and lignin phenol derivatives (otherwise known herein as “modified lignin phenols”) constitute a meaningful and beneficial alternative to conventional dispersants used in cleaning compositions. The use of lignin phenols and/or lignin phenol derivatives of the present invention as dispersants in cleaning compositions provide several benefits over conventional dispersants, including, but not limited to, versatility and amenability to modification to improve the formulability of the dispersants into cleaning compositions.
In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, cleaning compositions comprising a lignin-derived materials selected from the group consisting of l
Grunzinger Laura R.
Miller Steven W.
Ogden Necholus
The Procter & Gamble & Company
Zerby Kim W.
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