Laundry wash compositions

Details Laundry wash compositions Laundry wash compositions

2002-08-01

2003-06-03

Delcotto, Gregory (Department: 1751)

Cleaning compositions for solid surfaces, auxiliary compositions

Cleaning compositions or processes of preparing

For cleaning a specific substrate or removing a specific...

C510S330000, C510S336000, C510S351000, C510S357000, C510S504000, C510S499000, C510S506000

Reexamination Certificate

active

06573229

ABSTRACT:

FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to compositions for the washing of laundry fabrics, the compositions containing anionic surfactants.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Compositions for the washing of laundry items traditionally contain one or more surfactants as well as other components. The most common class of surfactant in such compositions comprises the anionic surfactants, especially synthetic non-soap anionics Often, one or more such anionic surfactants are used together in a blend with one or more nonionic surfactants. Further, although anionic and cationic surfactants are often incompatible, due to the their tendency to form a complex, recently, there have been several proposals to utilise certain compatible anionic and cationic surfactant combinations in laundry wash products.
Nevertheless, there is still a need to find surfactant systems based on anionic surfactant which give better removal of oily/greasy soil from cotton fabrics. The present invention solves this problem by incorporation of certain cationic polymers (as defined herein below). One preferred such polymer is a dimethyldiallyl ammonium chloride polymer (poly-DMDAAC). Previously, cationic polymers in general have been used in a wide range of household cleaning and personal wash applications.
For example, cationic polymers have been widely used in dishwasher rinse aid products. For example, it is known from EP-A-0 167 382, EP-A-0 342 997 and DE-A-26 16 404 to mix cationic polymers with surfactant in such product, in order to obtain clean surfaces as free from streaks as possible.
EP-A-0 167 382 describes liquid detergent compositions which can contain cationic polymers as thickeners. Hydroxypropyltrimethyl ammonium guar, copolymers of aminoethylmethacrylate and acrylamide, and copolymers of DMDAAC and acrylamide are described as particularly suitable cationic polymers.
DE-A-26 16 404 describes cleaning preparations for glass and, containing cationic cellulose derivatives. These materials are said to give better drainage of water, to produce clean, streak-free glass.
WO-A-97/09408 discloses use of cationic polymers selected from cationic polymers of copolymers of monomers such as trialkyl ammonium alkyl(meth)acrylate or -acrylamide, DMDAAC and with other counter-ions; polymer-like reaction products of ethers or esters of polysaccharides with ammonium side groups, in particular guar, cellulose and starch derivatives; polyadducts of ethylene oxide with ammonium groups; quaternary ethylene imine polymers and polyesters and polyamides with quaternary side groups as soil-release compounds in dishwasher rinse aids.
Cationic polymers are also usable in hard surface cleaners. For example, EP-A-0 467 472 describes e.g. cleaning preparations for hard surfaces, containing cationic homopolymers and/or copolymers as soil-release polymers. These polymers comprise quaternised ammonium alkyl-methacrylate groups as monomer units. These compounds are used in order to render the surfaces such that the soil can be removed more easily during the next cleaning process.
EP-A-0 342 997 describes all-purpose cleaners which can contain cationic polymers, wherein in particular polymers with imino groups are used.
Another known use of such polymers is in hair shampoos. WO 97/42281 discloses compositions containing sugar-based nonionic surfactants and copolymers of acrylamide and DMDAAC to improve the tactile properties of such surfactants. Use in dishwashing applications is also mentioned.
In laundry washing/rinsing applications, several uses for cationic polymers have been proposed. Thus, JP-A-04 153300 discloses use of poly-DMDAAC in compositions containing cationic/amphoteric surfactants to enhance softness in the washing of delicate items.
Use of poly-DMDAAC as a greying-inhibitor in laundry products in disclosed in DD-A-296 307. The surfactant in these compositions is all nonionic.
JP-A-62 018500 discloses laundry detergent creams based on soap blends and cationic polymers such as poly-DMDAAC.
There is also a very large number of prior disclosures of cationic polymers used as dye fixers in laundry cleaning products, i.e. as materials for reducing the amount of dye released from fabrics, have been described in a number of references. For example, EP-A-0 462 806 describes use of such materials in rinse phase products to give protection against dye transfer during subsequent washes. Although non-soap anionic surfactant is speculatively mentioned as one optional ingredient in the product, all of the preferred product forms and specific examples thereof, either contain no surfactant or else cationic surfactant.
JP-A-07 316590 discloses detergent compositions containing cationic polymers, including poly-DMDAAC for anti-dye transfer and/or anti-soil redeposition aids. These compositions are typically bends of anionic and nonionic surfactants. In one example, detergent composition contains 25% by weight of anionic surfactant, and 25% of zeolite builder. Although sodium carbonate is also included, sodium carbonate in the absence of calcite as a crystal seed material does not contribute to calcium binding and therefore, cannot be regarded as a builder, but rather, as a pH buffer. The composition as disclosed does not contain calcite. Of the anionic surfactant, 10% by weight (based on the weight of the total composition) is linear alkylbenzene sulphonate which is a V-branched surfactant having linear alkyl limbs. In the wash liquor 10% by weight of the detergent composition of a polymer of DMDMC is added on top. The mole ratio of anionic surfactant to total cationic units in the polymer can be calculated to be substantially 0.88:1. Moreover, there is no disclosure of using such a polymer to assist removal of oily/greasy stains.
GB-A-2 323 385 discloses detergent compositions with a cationic dye-fixing ingredient. A small number of examples contains poly-DMDAAC with a molecular weight in the range 2,000 to 20,000, as a cationic dye fixing agent.
The structure and composition of an aqueous solution of a pure laboratory grade (non-branched) primary alkyl sulphate anionic surfactant namely sodium dodecyl sulphate, in the presence of poly-DMDAAC, at the air-water interface, has been described in a number of references, namely J. Penfold et al, Langmuir 1995, 11, 2496-2503, J. Penfold et al, Colloids and Surfaces A, 1997, 128, 107-117, A. Creeth et al, J. Chem. Soc., Faraday Trans., 92, 4, 589-594, and L. Yingjie et al, Langmuir 1995, 11, 2486-2492. A wide range of model compositions to explore these phenomena are disclosed in these references.
The present inventors have now found that certain polymers containing DMDAAC and its analogues can be combined with a branched anionic surfactant to enhance oily/greasy soil removal from cotton fabrics. However, none of the aforementioned reference discloses this novel use, nor a mole ratio of branched anionic surfactant to total cationic monomer units in the polymer of greater than 1:1.
DEFINITION OF THE INVENTION
Thus, a first aspect of the invention now provides a laundry washing composition comprising:
(a) anionic surfactant comprising at least one surfactant compound of formula (I):
R
1
—Z
−
M
+
  (I)
 wherein
R
1
is a branched hydrophobic group;
Z
−
is a hydrophilic anion; and
M
+
is a counter cation, preferably an alkali metal ion such as sodium;
(b) a detergency enhancing polymer which is a homopolymer or copolymer containing one or more monomer units independently selected from those of formula (II)
 wherein
—A— is selected from groups of formula —R
5
—, —R
5
—(CO)—R
6
—, —R
5
—(CO)—O—R
6
, —R
5
—O—(CO)—R
6
—, —R
5
—(CO)—NH—R
6
—, —R
5
—NH—(CO)—R
6
—, wherein R
5
and R
6
are independently absent, or represent C
1-3
alkyl groups;
R
1
, R
2
and R
3
are independently selected from hydrogen, C
1-3
alkyl, C
1-3
alkenyl, hydroxy-C
1-3
alkyl and C
5-8
cycloalkyl groups; and
R
4
is selected from groups as defined for A above;
wherein R
3
may also represent a bridging group to the group R
4
, said bridging group being selected from g

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