Cleaning compositions for solid surfaces – auxiliary compositions – Cleaning compositions or processes of preparing – With oxygen or halogen containing chemical bleach or oxidant...
Reexamination Certificate
1998-03-20
2001-02-13
Gupta, Yogendra (Department: 1751)
Cleaning compositions for solid surfaces, auxiliary compositions
Cleaning compositions or processes of preparing
With oxygen or halogen containing chemical bleach or oxidant...
C510S376000, C510S304000, C510S311000, C510S404000, C510S315000, C510S377000, C510S316000, C510S318000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06187739
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to bleach-containing paste-form detergents and to a process for their production.
2. Discussion of Related Art
Detergents used in the home are tailored to meet domestic requirements. Thus, they are normally powders or are sufficiently liquid to be able to be poured out and dispensed without difficulty. Since even liquid detergents are intended to be stable in storage over relatively broad temperature ranges, additions of organic solvents and/or hydrotropes are often incorporated although they do not make any contribution towards the washing or cleaning result and, for this reason, are undesirable. One way of overcoming possible dispensing problems with detergents having inadequate flow properties is proposed in European patent application EP 253 151 A2. This document describes liquid and, in some cases, highly viscous detergents based on nonionic and anionic surfactants which contain polyethylene glycol as the hydrotrope and which do not have to be dispensed in liquid form by the user, but instead are portion-packed in bags of a water-soluble material, for example polyvinyl alcohol.
The paste-form detergent described in European patent EP 295 525 B1 consists of a phase which is liquid at temperatures below 10° C. and which is formed by nonionic surfactant and of a solid phase dispersed therein which has a certain particle size and which is formed by washing alkalis, sequestering agents and optionally anionic surfactants. The surfactants or surfactant mixtures used are required to have pour points (solidification points) below 5° C. to avoid solidification of the paste at low transportation and storage temperatures. This detergent paste is intended for institutional laundries and is so-free flowing that it can be transported through a suction line by a standard feed pump. However, it has been found that pastes of the type in question are not always able satisfactorily to guarantee the homogeneity of their ingredients during the production process and, in many cases, even tend to separate in storage. This separation involves not only separation of the solid components from the liquid components, but also phase separation of the liquid ingredients.
Another paste-form detergent containing as nonionic surfactant 40 to 70% by weight of ethoxylated C
10-20
fatty alcohol liquid at room temperature with an average degree of ethoxylation of 1 to 8 and 20 to 50% by weight of ethoxylated and propoxylated C
10-20
fatty alcohol liquid at room temperature with an average degree of ethoxylation of 2 to 8 and an average degree of propoxylation of 1 to 6 and 1 to 10% by weight of soap is described in International patent application WO 95109229. This paste-form detergent is so pseudoplastic that it does not flow under the effect of gravity at room temperature, but assumes a much lower viscosity when subjected to shearing and is then able to flow under the effect of gravity. This paste-form detergent is preferably dispensed by applying shear forces to reduce its viscosity so that it is able to flow and can be dispensed by feed pumps.
European patent EP 0 448 581 B1 describes a liquid to paste-form bleach-containing detergent which—based on the detergent as a whole—contains (A) 20 to 35% by weight of a surfactant component consisting of (A1) 1 to 4% by weight of anionic surfactants from the class of sulfonates and soaps present as alkali metal salts and (A2) 16 to 34% by weight of nonionic surfactants having a pour point of at most 10° C., which are alkoxylated linear alcohols or 2-methyl-branched alcohols containing 10 to 18 carbon atoms or mixtures thereof, (B) 10 to 35% by weight of complexing or alkaline earth metal ion-binding builder salts, (C) 15 to 40% by weight of sodium metasilicate, (D) 8 to 25% by weight of bleaching persalts, (E) up to 15% by weight of other detergent ingredients and (F) less than 3% by weight of water, with the proviso that the sum total of components (B+C)=30 to 60% by weight.
The detergents described in the document cited above are highly viscous and have thixotropic properties. Even though the stability of the oxidizing agents incorporated in these detergents is described as adequate, it has been found that their cleaning effect, particularly on bleachable soils, is not satisfactory. It is precisely detergents used as perborate-containing detergents that are required to develop a particularly good bleaching effect so that even bleachable soil such as, for example, food residues and food dyes can be completely removed.
The problem addressed by the present invention was to provide a paste-form detergent which would show high stability in storage and which would contain both oxidizing agents and oxidation-boosting bleach activators so that it would have an excellent bleaching effect on bleachable soil.
DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a paste-form detergent containing 20% by weight to 58% by weight of a surfactant component (A), which consists at least partly of nonionic surfactant, 2% by weight to 40% by weight of builders (B) and 2% by weight to 40% by weight of a bleaching component (C), characterized in that component (C) contains peroxygen-containing oxidizing agent and bleach activator.
The surfactants of component (A) or the nonionic element thereof are preferably selected from ethoxylated and optionally propoxylated alcohols corresponding to general formula I:
R
1
—(OC
2
H
4
)
m
—(OC
3
H
6
)
n
—OH (I)
in which R
1
is an alkyl or alkenyl group containing 6 to 11 carbon atoms, m may assume a value of 3 to 15 and n may assume a value of 0 to 6, and/or to general formula II:
R
2
—(OC
2
H
4
)
o
—(OC
3
H
6
)
p
—OH (II)
in which R
2
is an alkyl or alkenyl group containing 12 to 22 carbon atoms, o may assume a value of 3 to 15 and p may assume a value of 0 to 6.
The liquid phase of the detergent according to the invention is formed by component (A) which, according to the invention, contains nonionic surfactants, preferably ethoxylated and optionally propoxylated alcohols corresponding to general formula I and/or II which may have different carbon chain lengths. The viscosity of the detergent according to the invention may be adjusted by combining ethoxylated/propoxylated alcohols (I) and (II). In the compounds of formulae I and II, the substituents R
1
and R
2
may be linear or branched, for example methyl-branched in the 2-position (oxoalcohols). The nonionic surfactant corresponding to formula (I) preferably has a carbon chain length of 6 to 11 carbon atoms and an average degree of alkoxylation m of 3 to 15. The nonionic surfactant corresponding to formula (II) preferably has a carbon chain length of 12 to 22 carbon atoms, more particularly 12 to 15 carbon atoms, and an average degree of alkoxylation o of 3 to 15 and, more particularly, 5 to 15. The short-chain ethoxylated/propoxylated alcohols corresponding to formula (I) and the long-chain ethoxylated/propoxylated alcohols corresponding to formula (II) are preferably present in ratios by weight of 2:1 to 1:2. In one preferred embodiment, component (A) contains 20 to 40% by weight, based on component (A), of surfactants corresponding to formula I and/or II and from 60 to 80% by weight, based on component (A), of other anionic or nonionic surfactants typically used in detergents.
Component (A) may contain as further surfactants up to 10% by weight and preferably from 0.5% by weight to 8% by weight, based on component (A), of synthetic anionic surfactants. Suitable synthetic anionic surfactants, which may advantageously be incorporated in the detergent according to the invention in solid, fine-particle substantially water-free form, include in particular those of the sulfonate or sulfate type which are normally present as alkali metal salts, preferably sodium salts. However, the above-mentioned sulfonate-type surfactants in particular may also be used in the form of their free acids. Suitable anionic surfactants of the sulfonate type are alkyl benzene sulfonates containi
Amberg Guenther
Merz Thomas
Shamayeli Khalil
Wilsberg Heinz-Manfred
Gupta Yogendra
Henkel Kommanditgesellschaft auf Aktien
Jaeschke Wayne C.
Mruk Brian P.
Murphy Glenn E. J.
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