Cleaning compositions for solid surfaces – auxiliary compositions – Cleaning compositions or processes of preparing – For cleaning a specific substrate or removing a specific...
Reexamination Certificate
2000-01-12
2002-04-23
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...
C510S336000, C510S337000, C510S338000, C510S341000, C510S342000, C510S350000, C510S351000, C510S356000, C510S357000, C510S361000, C510S499000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06376446
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to detergent compositions. More specifically, the invention relates to liquid detergent compositions having defined compositions.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Liquid detergents enjoy wide consumer acceptance for a variety of uses. Liquid detergents are preferred over dry granular detergents because liquid detergents can be used without having to pre-dissolve the detergent. Also, liquid detergents can be directly applied to stains and fabrics. Recently, there has been a shift in emphasis from providing regular strength detergent formulations to concentrated detergent formulations. Liquid concentrates can reduce manufacturing costs and require less packaging. Consumers have reacted favorably to the concentrated formulations as long as the products retain their cleaning efficiency.
The surfactant (nonionic and anionic) concentrations in most commercially available concentrates range from about 15% to about 26%. Typically, blends of nonionic and anionic surfactants are used to enable the detergents to remove a variety of stain types. Additional ingredients such as anti-redeposition, builders, enzymes, dye-transferring polymers and foam stabilizers are added to improve detergent performance. Unfortunately, these concentrated detergents are more difficult to process and can result in detergents that undergo phase separation and/or tend to form a gel.
There are unbuilt liquid laundry detergents having surfactant concentrations higher than 30%. These detergents typically contain nonionic surfactants. Unbuilt detergents, however, are generally unsuitable for hard water areas and have enjoyed limited success. Further, unbuilt liquid detergents also suffer from instability when the surfactant concentrations are increased.
To circumvent the instability of concentrated liquid detergents, some manufacturers suspend builder and/or other functional materials as solids in liquid surfactant micelles or emulsions. It is difficult to prevent sedimentation of the micelles and emulsions. Other solutions have been proposed. It has been suggested that the addition of counter ions such as sodium and potassium may increase detergent stability. Nevertheless, no general theory has arisen that explains why some detergent formulations are stable while others separate or become gel like. Thus, there exists a need for economical concentrated and super-concentrated liquid detergents that remain stable during storage.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In one aspect, the invention is a liquid detergent composition having one or more surfactants and an alkylamine and/or a polyalkylene glycol wherein the detergent is effective for washing laundry. In other embodiments, the liquid detergent can include one or more of the following constituents.
In one embodiment, a liquid detergent contains anionic surfactant at a concentration from about 5% to about 55% on a weight percentage basis, a nonionic surfactant at a concentration from about 10% to about 55% on a weight percentage basis, an alkylamine ethoxylate at a concentration from about 5% to about 55% on a weight percentage, a polyalkylene glycol at a concentration from about 1% to about 25% on a weight percentage basis, and an effective amount of an alkylamine. The liquid detergent may also leave out either the alkylamine or the polyalkylene glycol but the quality of the detergent may be adversely affected. The pH of the detergent can range from about 6 to about 9. Typically, the molecular weight of said polyalkylene glycol ranges from about 100 to about 5000.
The alkylamine ethoxylate may contain at least about 5 moles of ethoxylate per mole of said alkylamine ethoxylate. The alkylamine may be any short chain alkylamine and can be selected from the group consisting of monoethanolamine, triethanolamine, and diethanolamine.
There are many types of surfactants that can be included in one or more of the embodiments of the liquid detergents that are concentrated or super-concentrated. These detergents can include:
Alkylbenzene sulfonate surfactants having the formula
wherein R
1
is alkyl group having from 1 to 15 carbon atoms and M is H, alkali metal or alkylamine. R
1
may be a linear alkyl group having from about 8 carbons to about 16 carbons. The alkali metal can be selected from the group consisting of sodium, potassium and lithium, and the alkylamine can be selected from the group consisting of monoethanolamine, triethanolamine, and diethanolamine, and anionic surfactants such as alkylether sulfates having the formula:
R
1
—(OCHR
2
CHR
2
)
n
—SO
4
M
wherein R
1
is an alkyl group having from 10 to 22 carbon atoms, R
2
is H, or an alkyl group having from 1 to 4 carbon atoms, n is an integer from 1 to 10, and M is an alkali metal or an alkylamine. An alkylether sulfate that is a C
10
-C
18
alcohol sulfate with 1-7 moles of ethyleneoxide per mole of alcohol may be used. The alkylether sulfate may be neutralized with alkylamine by about 50% or higher. Any alkylamine such as monoethanolamine, triethanolamine, or diethanolamine will suffice.
Nonionic surfactants may also be added. These surfactants can include alkoxylated alcohols having the formula
R
1
—(OCHR
2
CHR
2
)
x
—OR
3
wherein R
1
is an alkyl group having from 6 to 22 carbon atoms, R
2
is H or an alkyl group having from 1 to 4 carbon atoms, x is integer from 2 to 20, and R
3
is H or an alkyl group having from 1 to 4 carbon atoms. The alcohol can contain from 2 to 20 moles of either ethoxylate, propoxylate or a mixture thereof. In one embodiment, the alkoxylated alcohol includes an ethoxylated alcohol having from 8 to 16 carbon atoms, and wherein the alcohol further comprises from about 4 to about 20 moles of ethylene oxide per mole of the alcohol, and less than 4 moles of propylene oxide per mole of the alcohol.
Other nonionic surfactants include alkylphenyl ethoxylates having the formula
wherein R
1
is an alkyl group having from 6 to 16 carbon atoms, R
2
is H or an alkyl group having from 1 to 4 carbon atoms, and x is an integer from 1 to 10. The ethoxylate can contain from 1 to 10 moles of either ethoxylate, propoxylate, or a mixture thereof. Alkylphenyl ethoxylate can include an ethoxylated C
6
to C
16
phenylalcohol further containing from about 4 to about 20 moles of ethylene oxide per mole of the ethoxylate, and less than 4 moles of propylene oxide per mole of the ethoxylate. The alkyloxylated surfactant can include an ethoxylated C
8
to C
16
alcohol having from about 4 to about 20 moles of ethylene oxide per mole of alcohol, and less than 4 moles of propylene oxide per mole of alcohol.
Suitable alkylamine ethoxylates can have the formula
wherein R
1
is alkyl group having from 6 to 22 carbon atoms, R
2
is H or an alkyl group having from 1 to 4 carbon atoms, and m and n are integers ranging from about 1 to about 20. In certain embodiments, the alkylamine ethoxylate includes an ethoxylated C
8
to C
16
amine having from about 4 to about 26 moles of ethylene oxide per mole of the alkylamine ethoxylate, and less than 4 moles of propylene oxide per mole of the alkylamine ethoxylate.
Polyalkylene glycols used in the liquid detergents can be any polyalkylene glycol including polyethylene glycol and polypropylene glycol. The glycols can be modified versions where, for example, the polyalkylene glycol includes a polyethylene glycol or a polyethlenepropylelene glycol having a molecular weight ranging from about 100 to about 5000.
The polyalkylene glycol can be derived from a mixture of ethyleneoxide and propyleneoxide. In particular, the polyalkylene glycol can have the formula
H—(OCHR
1
CHR
1
)
x
—OH
wherein R
1
is H or an alkyl group having from 1 to 4 carbon atoms, and x is ant integer ranging from about 2 to about 100.
In another embodiment, the liquid detergents can include one or more of the following ingredients: 1) an optical brightener at a concentration from about 0.01% to about 1% on a weight percentage basis, 2) a polyacrylate having a molecular weight ranging from about 500 to about 50000, perhaps where the polyacrylate is at a concentration from
Cho Suk H.
Smadi Raeda
Smith George A.
Delcotto Gregory
Fish & Richardson P.C., P. A.
Melaleuca, Inc
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