Bleaching and dyeing; fluid treatment and chemical modification – Cleaning or laundering
Reexamination Certificate
2001-09-19
2004-04-20
Munk, Brian P. (Department: 1751)
Bleaching and dyeing; fluid treatment and chemical modification
Cleaning or laundering
C510S276000, C510S342000, C510S353000, C510S356000, C510S470000, C510S535000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06723135
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to laundry detergents and cleaning products which comprise a surfactant system based on alkyl and/or alkenyl oligoglycosides and fatty alcohols and to its use to boost wash performance at low temperatures.
To date, alkyl and/or alkenyl oligoglycosides have been used in small amounts, in the form of aqueous pastes or as granules with a fatty alcohol content below 1.5%, to formulate laundry detergents and cleaning products. In order to lower the excess of fatty alcohol resulting from the preparation to a level of 1.5% by weight, it is necessary to distill off the alcohol.
The international application WO 94/28006 (Henkel) discloses nonionic emulsifiers containing from 25 to 40% by weight alkyl and/or alkenyl oligoglycosides and from 75 to 60% by weight fatty alcohols particularly for use in haircare and bodycare products.
EP 0 301 298 A1 (Henkel) describes a process for preparing alkyl and/or alkenyl oligoglycosides which involves distilling off the excess fatty alcohol to levels of between 0.5% by weight, preferably 3 to 5% by weight. The reaction product is processed to an easily handled 60% paste by addition of water. Also described are products comprising these alkyl and/or alkenyl oligoglycoside mixtures which have either been freed completely from fatty alcohol, i.e., contain less than 0.5% by weight of fatty alcohol, or else contain from 0.5 to 5%, preferably from 2.5 to 4%, of fatty alcohol by weight.
In contrast to the prior art, the present specification describes laundry detergents and cleaning products, based on a surfactant system comprising alkyl and/or alkenyl oligoglycoside and fatty alcohol in which the fatty alcohol content has been adjusted so as to optimize the wash performance particularly at low wash temperatures, preferably below 40° C.
DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The subject matter of the main claim is therefore as follows:
laundry detergents and cleaning products comprising a surfactant system composed of at least two components
a. alkyl and/or alkenyl oligoglycosides and
b. fatty alcohol,
characterized in that component b is present in amounts of from 5 to 35% by weight, based on active alkyl and/or alkenyl oligoglycoside substance.
The fatty alcohol content (component b) is preferably from 8 to 32% by weight, more preferably from 10 to 30% by weight, in particular from 11 to 25% by weight, based on active alkyl and/or alkenyl oligoglycoside substance. The water content of the mixture of components a and b is, where appropriate, not more than 2% by weight, preferably from 0.1 to 1.5% by weight.
Alkyl and/or Alkenyl Oligoglycosides
To prepare the compositions of the invention it is preferred to use alkyl and/or alkenyl oligoglycosides which conform to the formula (I)
R
1
O—[G]
p
(I)
in which R
1
is a branched and unbranched alkyl and/or alkenyl radical having from 4 to 22 carbon atoms, G is a sugar radical having 5 or 6 carbon atoms, and p stands for numbers from 1 to 10. They are preferably prepared by reacting glucose or dextrose monohydrate and fatty alcohol in the presence of catalysts.
In this context they may be obtained by relevant processes of preparative organic chemistry. As representatives of the extensive literature, reference may be made here to the documents EP A1 0301298, WO 90/03977 and to “Alkyl Polyglycosides, Technology, Properties and Applications” (K. Hill, VCH 1997).
The alkyl and/or alkenyl oligoglycosides may derive from aldoses and/or ketoses having 5 or 6 carbon atoms, preferably from glucose. The preferred alkyl and/or alkenyl oligoglycosides are therefore alkyl and/or alkenyl oligoglucosides. The index p in the general formula (I) indicates the degree of oligomerization (DP), i.e., the distribution of monoglycosides and oligoglycosides, and stands for a number between 1 and 10. While p in a given compound must always be integral and in this case may adopt in particular the values p=1 to 6, p for a particular alkyl oligoglycoside is an analytically determined arithmetic variable which usually represents a fraction. Preference is given to using alkyl and/or alkenyl oligoglycosides having an average degree of oligomerization p of from 1.1 to 3.0. From a performance standpoint, preference is given to alkyl and/or alkenyl oligoglycosides whose degree of oligomerization is less than 1.7 and is in particular between 1.2 and 1.5.
The alkyl and/or alkenyl radical R
1
may derive from primary alcohols having from 4 to 11, preferably from 8 to 10, carbon atoms. Typical examples are butanol, caproyl alcohol, caprylyl alcohol, capryl alcohol, and undecyl alcohol, and their technical-grade mixtures, as obtained, for example, in the hydrogenation of technical-grade fatty acid methyl esters or in the course of the hydrogenation of aldehydes from the Roelen oxo process. Preference is given to alkyl oligoglucosides of chain length C
8
-C
10
(DP=1 to 3), which are obtained as the initial fraction during the distillative separation of technical-grade C
8
-C
18
coconut fatty alcohol and may have an impurities fraction of less than 6% by weight of C
12
alcohol, and also alkyl oligoglucosides based on technical-grade C
9/ll
oxo alcohols (DP=1 to 3). The alkyl and/or alkenyl radical R
1
may also derive from primary alcohols having from 12 to 22, preferably from 12 to 18, carbon atoms. Typical examples are lauryl alcohol, myristyl alcohol, cetyl alcohol, palmoleyl alcohol, stearyl alcohol, isostearyl alcohol, oleyl alcohol, elaidyl alcohol, petroselinyl alcohol, arachyl alcohol, gadoleyl alcohol, behenyl alcohol, erucyl alcohol, brassidyl alcohol, and their technical-grade mixtures, which may be obtained as described above. Preference is given to alkyl oligoglucosides based on hydrogenated C
12/14
cocoyl alcohol with a DP of from 1 to 3.
Fatty Alcohols
Another embodiment describes surfactant systems in laundry detergents and cleaning products, characterized in that fatty alcohol of the formula (II)
R
1
OH (II)
are present where R
1
is an alkyl and/or alkenyl radical having 4 to 22 carbon atoms, and the hydrocarbon radicals already described for R
1
are to be included. It is therefore preferred for the surfactant mixture of the invention to comprise alkyl and/or alkenyl oligoglycoside and fatty alcohol with the same carbon chain cut. The fatty alcohol may be introduced into the compositions, as a result of the process, by way of the alkyl and/or alkenyl oligoglycosides used, or in separate form.
Preference is also given to compositions characterized in that fatty alcohols of the formula (II) and/or fatty alcohols with alkyl and/or alkenyl radicals R
2
that are different from R
1
are contained. The compositions may therefore comprise fatty alcohols whose carbon chain cut corresponds to that of the alkyl and/or alkenyl oligoglycosides, i.e., which have been introduced, for example, as a result of the process or separately. It is also possible, however, to use any desired fatty alcohols R
2
OH, different from R
1
OH, which again may have been introduced as a result of the process by way of the alkyl and/or alkenyl oligoglycosides, or added separately. Also possible are mixtures of different fatty alcohols (R
1
and R
2
) in the surfactant system. It is also noted that the alkyl and/or alkenyl oligoglycosides may be freed by distillation from the preparation-tied fatty alcohol (depletion) and subsequently enriched with another fatty alcohol.
In the text below, R
2
is an aliphatic, linear or branched hydrocarbon radical having from 4 to 22 carbon atoms and 0 and/or 1, 2 or 3 double bonds. Typical examples are caproyl alcohol, caprylyl alcohol, 2-ethylhexyl alcohol, capryl alcohol, lauryl alcohol, isotridecyl alcohol, myristyl alcohol, cetyl alcohol, palmoleyl alcohol, stearyl alcohol, isostearyl alcohol, oleyl alcohol, elaidyl alcohol, petroselinyl alcohol, linolyl alcohol, linolenyl alcohol, eleostearyl alcohol, arachyl alcohol, gadoleyl alcohol, behenyl alcohol, erucyl alcohol, and brassidyl alcohol, and also their technical-grade mixtures
Eskuchen Rainer
Kischkel Ditmar
Koehler Michael
Leinemann Werner
Weuthen Manfred
Cognis Deutschland GmbH & Co. KG
Drach John E.
Munk Brian P.
Trzaska Steven J.
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