Compositions – Electrolytes for electrical devices
Patent
1993-04-27
1995-03-14
Raymond, Richard L.
Compositions
Electrolytes for electrical devices
252549, 252554, 554 97, 564117, C11D 128, C11D 1104, B29C 6702
Patent
active
053974948
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
TECHNICAL FIELD
The invention relates to a process for producing surfactant agglomerates with improved color by admixing a solid bleaching agent,
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention involves a novel process for producing surfactant agglomerates with improved color for use in detergent compositions by admixing a solid bleaching agent. In particular, the surfactant agglomerate produced by the process of the present invention comprises methyl ester sulfonates (MES) as one of the components. The production of alkali metal salts of .alpha.-sulfofatty acid alkyl esters ("ester sulfonates") by sulfonation of fatty acid methyl esters with gaseous SO.sub.3 and subsequent neutralization of the sulfonic acids formed with aqueous alkali metal hydroxides, for example with sodium hydroxide, has been known for some time. The end products of this process, i.e. the alkali metal salts of the corresponding .alpha.-sulfofatty acid alkyl esters, are predominantly used as detergents in washing and cleaning preparations.
However, all hitherto known production processes have remained unsatisfactory either because, although light colored end products suitable for direct use in the detergent industry can be obtained, the yields of the sulfonation step leading to those products are highly unsatisfactory, or because although high sulfonation yields can be obtained, the color instability of the fatty acids or fatty acid esters in the sulfonation step means that dark-colored to brown-black crude products unsuitable for direct use in washing and cleaning preparations are regularly obtained. Accordingly, a sulfonation step taken to high yields normally has to be followed by bleaching of the dark .alpha.-sulfofatty acid derivatives formed in the sulfonation step to obtain light-colored products suitable for use in washing and cleaning systems. Methyl ester sulfonates in particular have been used in many detergent compositions as "natural" surfactants--i.e. surfactants derived from such sources as tallow, coconut and palm. These products, in particular, have been made only while encountering numerous problems, including the major problem that when combining MES with inorganic powders to make MES agglomerates, such MES agglomerates are generally dark to black in color, and therefore contain qualities unsuitable to the consumer for a detergent product.
Another difficulty of hitherto known processes for the production of aqueous ester sulfonates is that, in the course of the production process, the products accumulate in the form of water-containing pastes having high active-substance content. In particular, past attempts to come up with an acceptably colored detergent product comprising MES yielded high viscosity pastes using other systems. However, pastes such as these can no longer be pumped on their own; the high viscosity behavior of ester sulfonate pastes such as these always involves the risk of blockages in apparatus and pipes. Accordingly, there has long been a need to find production processes for such alkali metal salts of a-sulfofatty acid alkyl esters in which the high viscosity of the products obtained is avoided, or lessened in the process.
A third problem often encountered with ester sulfonates and particularly MES comprising detergents, is that addition of hypochlorite or hydrogen peroxide to the acid mixture to solve the color problem (in addition to causing a highly viscous paste) have also tended to cause hydrolysis at the ester in alkaline solution and formation of a disalt too hydrophilic for general dirt/grease detergency use.
Japanese published patent application no. 84-16870 describes a process for the production of alpha-sulfofatty acid ester salts, in which alpha-sulfofatty acid esters formed during the sulfonation step are bleached with H.sub.2 O.sub.2 in the presence of a polycarboxylic acid or one of its salts and subsequently converted by neutralization into the corresponding alpha-sulfofatty acid esters salt. Although the salts formed are very suitable for use as detergents in washing and clea
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Goovaerts Lucas
Vega Jose L.
Patel Ken K.
Rasser Jacobus C.
Raymond Richard L.
The Procter & Gamble & Company
Yetter Jerry J.
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