Synthetic detergent formulations

Details Synthetic detergent formulations Synthetic detergent formulations

2000-02-17

2002-11-05

Webb, Gregory E. (Department: 1751)

Cleaning compositions for solid surfaces, auxiliary compositions

Cleaning compositions or processes of preparing

Liquid composition

C510S441000, C510S442000, C510S443000, C510S444000

Reexamination Certificate

active

06475972

ABSTRACT:

This invention relates to synthetic detergents and in particular to improved methods for the manufacture of products made with synthetic detergents.
In the manufacture of products made with synthetic detergent compounds, in particular the manufacture of bars using synthetic detergents (“syndet bars”) and bars containing both synthetic detergents and soaps (“combination” or “combi” bars”), it is known that the compounded detergent formulations are difficult to form into bars. Currently, such bars are made by processes similar to those used for making bars from natural soaps (based on the salts, usually alkali metal salts of naturally occurring fatty acids), in particular by compounding the basic ingredients into flakes or extruded “noodles”. Conventionally, these are made by mixing the raw materials using high shear blending of synthetic detergents, and in combi bars with soap(s), with a molten plasticiser in the presence of relatively small amounts of water. The result is a relatively inhomogeneous or macroscopic mixture. The mix is then flaked or extruded to give noodles. The bars are made from the flakes or noodles by working at moderately elevated temperatures using roll mixers and extruders (the processing in extruders is commonly referred to as “plodding”), followed by extrusion to form a slug of the compounded soap mixture which is then cut and pressed into the final bar form. A particular problem in the manufacture of syndet and combi bars is that the temperature range within which the plasticity of the formulation allows slug and bar manufacture is much narrower than is available in the manufacture of bars made from natural soaps. This necessitates relatively tight process control to make slugs and eventually bars which have adequate coherence to be of practical value. Even so, presently available syndet and combi bars are not fully satisfactory as products for domestic use. Further it is difficult to incorporate significant amounts of additives that provide useful properties in the final product as the additives typically cause changes in the plasticity profile of the overall mix sometimes causing softening and sometimes hardening, thus complicating processing.
This invention is based on the discovery that pre-processing a composition containing the synthetic detergent to produce a relatively finely divided powder or granulate can make subsequent processing much simpler, enabling the incorporation of additives more easily and at higher levels than is practical with conventional processing methods, and enabling the manufacture of products, particularly slugs to give cleansing bars which have superior uniformity and give better, particularly smoother, skin feel in use than conventional synthetic detergent cleansing bars.
Accordingly the present invention provides a method of making a formulated synthetic detergent product, which includes:
1 forming an aqueous dispersion or emulsion of a synthetic detergent and a hydrophobic plasticiser and optionally a filler; and
2 spray drying the dispersion or emulsion,
to produce a particulate product including the synthetic detergent and the hydrophobic plasticiser, and, optionally, the filler.
The invention includes a detergent material in particulate form which includes a synthetic detergent and a hydrophobic plasticiser and optionally a filler is a substantially homogeneous dispersion. In particular in this aspect of the invention, the detergent material is in particulate form including a synthetic detergent and an hydrophobic plasticiser, and, optionally, a filler, in substantially homogeneous dispersion, having a weight average particle size of from 150 to 1200 &mgr;m, particularly in free flowing non-dusting particulate form.
The invention further includes a method of making bars of synthetic detergent materials which comprises forming a synthetic detergent material in particulate form of or made by the spray drying method of the invention into bars.
The invention additionally includes a personal care synthetic detergent cleansing bar product which has been made from a synthetic detergent material in particulate form of or made by the spray drying method of the invention.
The synthetic detergent is (typically) an anionic or non-ionic surfactant. Suitable anionic types of surfactant include alkyl sulphates, such as lauryl, myristyl, stearyl and cetyl sulphates, alkyl sulphonates, alkyl ether sulphates, alkyl glycerol ether sulphonates, alkyl phosphate esters, ethoxylated alkyl phosphate esters, sarcosinates, taurate derivatives, alkyl sulphoacetates, hydroxyalkyl sulphonate esters, such as isethionate esters, particularly of fatty carboxylic acids, for example cocoyl isethionic acid, lauryl isethionic acid and stearyl isethionic acid, usually used as an alkali metal e.g. sodium salt, alkyl sulphosuccinates, such as di-sodium and/or potassium lauryl, oleyl and stearyl sulphosuccinates, alkyl ether sulphosuccinates, alkyl sulphosuccinamates, and acyl glutamates. Such anionic surfactants are usually used as metal, usually alkali metal especially sodium or potassium, ammonium, ethanolamine or alkali earth metal particularly magnesium salts.
The alkyl chains in such surfactants are typically C
9
to C
20
, more usually C
14
to C
18
chains. Suitable non-ionic types of surfactant include alkyl polysaccharides (more properly described as alkyl oligosaccharides) particularly where the saccharide residues are glucose residues and particularly where the alkyl groups are C
8
to C
16
alkyl groups, and especially lauryl or decyl glucoside, particularly having an average degree of polymerisation of from 1 to 2; sorbitan ester alkoxylates, particularly sorbitan laurate or stearate ethoxylates e.g. containing an average of from about 15 to about 30, particularly an average of about 20, ethylene oxide residues per molecule; glucamide surfactants such as glucamides of C
8
to C
22
acids; alcohol alkoxylate, particularly ethoxylate surfactants, especially C
10
to C
22
alkyl alkoxylates, particularly ethoxylates, typically containing 20 to 100 alkoxylate, particularly ethoxylate, residues; carboxylic acid ethoxylates especially of C
10
to C
22
carboxylic acids and containing 20 to 100 ethoxylate residues. The composition may also include ester surfactants such as glycerol mono-esters such as glyceryl mono-stearate, oleate or laurate, and citrate esters.
As is usual in personal care products, it is desirable to include mild surfactants. And it is for this reason that anionic surfactants where the hydrophile is the anionic residue of a relatively strong acid group, usually a sulphate or more usually a sulphonate group, are used in this invention. Typical examples of such surfactants include carboxylic acids including fatty, particularly C
8
to C
20
alkyl, esterified with hydroxyalkylsulphonic acids such as isethionic acid (2-hydroxyethane sulphonic acid; HO.CH
2
.CH
2
.SO
3
H), as salts, usually alkali metal salts, particularly sodium salts of C
12
to C
20
carboxylic isethionates, especially sodium cocoylisethionate and sulphosuccinate surfactants. Combinations of isethionate surfactants and sulphosuccinate surfactants, for example approximately equal proportions of sodium cocoyl isethionate and sodium sulphosuccinate, give particularly good results. Such mild surfactants can be used alone or in combination with other (more harsh) surfactants, but such mixtures will have intermediate mildness properties.
The use of such mild surfactants is an important feature of the invention such that it forms a specific part of the invention which accordingly includes a method of making a formulated synthetic detergent product, which comprises
1 forming an aqueous dispersion or emulsion of a surfactant composition comprising at least one fatty isethionate foaming surfactant, optionally but desirably at least one sulphosuccinate salt; a hydrophobic plasticiser; and optionally a filler; and
2 spray drying the dispersion or emulsion,
to produce a particulate product including the synthetic detergent and the hydrophobic plasticiser, and, optionally, the

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