Process for making detergent compositions with additives

Details Process for making detergent compositions with additives Process for making detergent compositions with additives

2002-01-24

2004-08-17

Einsmann, Margaret (Department: 1751)

Cleaning compositions for solid surfaces, auxiliary compositions

Cleaning compositions or processes of preparing

Cream or paste

C510S405000, C510S407000, C510S414000, C510S444000, C510S457000, C510S427000, C510S432000

Reexamination Certificate

active

06777381

ABSTRACT:

FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to processes for making non-aqueous liquid laundry detergent products which contain an organic anhydrous solvent, an anionic sulfonated surfactant as well as other conventional detergent composition adjuvants and which are in the form of a Newtonian liquid, as well as the drying of (removing water from) detergent ingredients, especially polymers, surfactants and/or solvents, more especially polymers and surfactants for use in detergent compositions. In addition to the above, the present invention also provides a means of converting Newtonian liquids into non-Newtonian liquids and non-Newtonian liquids into Newtonian liquids.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Liquid laundry detergent products offer a number of advantages over dry, powdered or particulate laundry detergent products. Liquid laundry detergent products are readily measurable, speedily dissolved in wash water, non-dusting, are capable of being easily applied in concentrated solutions or dispersions to soiled areas on garments to be laundered and usually occupy less storage space than granular products. Additionally, liquid laundry detergents may have incorporated into their formulations materials which would deteriorate in the drying operations employed in the manufacture of particulate or granular laundry detergent products. Because liquid laundry detergents are usually considered to be more convenient to use than granular laundry detergents, they have found substantial favor with consumers.
Although liquid laundry detergents have a number of advantages over granular laundry detergent products, there are also disadvantages entailed in using them as well. In particular, laundry detergent composition components which may be compatible with each other in granular products may tend to interact or react with each other in a liquid, and especially in an aqueous liquid, environment. Components such as surfactants, perfumes, brighteners and non-aqueous solvents can be especially difficult to incorporate into liquid laundry detergent products with an acceptable degree of compositional stability. Poor compositional stability may cause the detergent composition to be prematurely reacted into the wash liquor as well as create an ineffective, heterogeneous detergent composition during storage.
One approach for enhancing the chemical compatibility and stability of liquid laundry detergent products has been to formulate non-aqueous (or anhydrous) liquid laundry detergent compositions. Generally, the chemical stability of the components of a non-aqueous liquid laundry detergent composition increases as the amount of water in the laundry detergent composition decreases. Moreover, by minimizing the amount of water in a liquid laundry detergent composition, one can maximize the surfactant activity of the composition. Non-aqueous liquid laundry detergent compositions have been disclosed in Hepworth et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,615,820, Issued Oct. 17, 1986; Schultz et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,929,380, Issued May 29, 1990; Schultz et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,008,031, Issued Apr. 16, 1991; Elder et al., EP-A-030,096, Published Jun. 10, 1981; Hall et al., WO 92/09678, Published Jun. 11, 1992 and Sanderson et al., EP-A-565,017, Published Oct. 13, 1993.
But non-aqueous liquid laundry detergents come with their own set of disadvantages and problems. The desirable advantage of having excellent compositional stability, may mean simultaneously that the non-aqueous liquid laundry detergent will have poor solubility and dispersion properties in the wash liquor inside an automatic clothes washer. Also non-aqueous liquids typically have awkward rheological properties, displaying a tendency known as “shear thickening”, where the viscosity of the paste or liquid increases with an increasing shear rate making the paste difficult to pump, store and transport. Moreover, non-aqueous liquid laundry detergent compositions are difficult and expensive to manufacture. A drying step requiring prolonged heating and stirring is necessary to eliminate the water, but not only is it difficult to consistently achieve the proper heating and stirring conditions in a manufacturing setting, but such drying operations may also have the effect of decomposing or evaporating individual components of the detergent composition. The resulting difficulty and expense involved with working with such fluids has greatly reduced their utilization as laundry detergent compositions.
Given the foregoing, there is clearly a continuing need to identify and provide processes for preparing non-aqueous liquid laundry detergent products that have a high degree of chemical and compositional stability, contain the essential components of a liquid laundry detergent composition, have a high surfactant activity and are readily soluble in a wash liquor. In addition, such processes should be easily replicated at multiple production sites and should produce liquid laundry detergent products that can be easily pumped, stored and transported.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
A process for preparing a solvent-based surfactant paste comprising the steps of:
A) forming an aqueous surfactant mixture by blending, by weight of the mixture:
(a) from about 5% to about 85% of an anionic sulfonated surfactant;
(b) from about 15% to about 95% of an organic solvent;
(c) from about 0.001% to about 40% of a chelant;
wherein the aqueous surfactant mixture has a water content of about 5% to 80% by weight of the aqueous surfactant mixture and the aqueous surfactant mixture is a non-Newtonian fluid;
B) drying the aqueous surfactant mixture under vacuum to form the solvent-based surfactant paste having a water content of less than about 1% and which is in the form of a Newtonian fluid having a substantially constant viscosity within the range of 100 cp to 100000 cp when measured at a temperature of 25° C. and within the shear rate range of from 1 s
−1
to 1000 s
−1
.
The process of above wherein the aqueous surfactant mixture may further comprise from about 0.001% to about 40% of other additives selected from the group comprising bleach, bleach activator, buffers, builders, enzymes, whiteners, rheology modifiers, polymers and copolymers, wherein the other additives are provided in the form of an aqueous solution.
The process of above wherein the aqueous surfactant mixture is dried in an evaporative column.
The process of above wherein the step of forming an aqueous surfactant mixture includes blending from about 0.001% to about 40% of an ethoxylated hexamethylene diamine quaternary ammonium compound.
The process of above wherein the step of forming an aqueous surfactant mixture includes blending from about 0.001% to about 40% of other additives selected from the group comprising bleach, bleach activator, builder, enzymes, nonionic surfactants, whiteners and polymers.
The process of above wherein the organic solvent is selected from a group consisting of alkylene glycols, diethyl- and dipropylene glycol monobutyl ethers, glycol monobutyl ether, monoethylethers, monomethylethers, monopropylethers and monobutylethers of propoxy propanol, polyethlene glycols having a molecular weight of at least about 150, methyl acetate, methyl propoinate, methyl octanoate, methyl dodecanoate and mixtures thereof.
The process of above wherein the chelant is selected from a group consisting of amino carboxylates, phosphonates, amino phosponates, polyfunctionally-substituted aromatic chelating agents and mixtures thereof.
A process for preparing a solvent-based surfactant paste comprising the steps of:
A) forming a neutralized mixture by a continuous neutralization loop, the neutralized mixture has a composition comprising:
(a) an acid form of an anionic sulfonated surfactant and a base present in a molar ratio of from about 1:1 to about 9:1;
(b) an organic solvent; and
(c) a chelant;
wherein the neutralized mixture has a water content of from about 5% to about 50% by weight of the neutralized mixture and is a non-Newtonian fluid.
B) recirculating a first portion of the neutralized mixture;
C) removing

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