Cleaning compositions for solid surfaces – auxiliary compositions – Auxiliary compositions for cleaning – or processes of preparing – Textile softening or antistatic composition
Reexamination Certificate
2002-01-15
2002-11-26
Hardee, John (Department: 1751)
Cleaning compositions for solid surfaces, auxiliary compositions
Auxiliary compositions for cleaning, or processes of preparing
Textile softening or antistatic composition
Reexamination Certificate
active
06486120
ABSTRACT:
The present invention relates to the use of sugar derivatives as a softener in liquid aqueous softener compositions and to liquid aqueous softening compositions comprising at least one sugar derivative and at least one performance booster.
Such use and compositions are known from WO 98/16538, where it is disclosed to use a combination of i) esterified or etherified sugar compounds comprising at least 2 or more ester or ether groups and containing at least 35% tri or higher esters and ii) a deposition aid, preferably a fabric softening quaternary ammonium compound.
However, improved aqueous sugar-based liquid softening compositions that combine excellent dispersion stability with a good softening performance are desired. Because of their non-ionic sugar ester structure, the ecotoxicity of these softening compounds is superior to the ecotoxicity of conventional (fabric) softeners. Preferably, softening compositions are developed which comprise a sugar moiety with inherent biodegradability and have a softening performance close to that of conventional (fabric) softeners and a dispersion stability superior to that of the compositions of WO 98/16538.
Extensive research on this well-developed subject has led to surprising results. More specifically, it was observed that when a specific type of sugar derivative is used, most of the known problems associated with current sugar-based (fabric) softeners could be overcome.
Accordingly, the current invention relates to the use of alkoxylated sugar esters with:
a molar ratio of alkoxy groups in the alkoxylated sugar ester to hydroxy groups of the starting sugar from 1:4 to 3:1,
a molar ratio of ester groups in the alkoxylated sugar ester to hydroxy groups of the sugar that was used from 0.25 to 0.70, and
a HLB value below 8,
in aqueous liquid softening compositions. Preferably, the alkoxylated sugar esters have a HLB value below 5, more preferably below 3.5, and most preferably below 3, while a preferred use is in one or more aqueous wash or rinse cycles.
In a second embodiment, the invention relates to aqueous liquid softening compositions comprising such alkoxylated sugar esters. Such compositions may be in the form of dispersions of said alkoxylated sugar esters, in the form of clear solutions of the alkoxylated sugar esters, or in a form wherein one or more of the alkoxylated sugar esters are partially dispersed and/or partially dissolved. The term aqueous means that the composition contains water. Usually, the liquid solvent/dispersing medium is predominantly water. However, in compositions according to the invention, more or less of the water may be replaced by other suitable solvents/diluents, such as alcohols, diols, and polyols. Preferably, such additional solvents/diluents are acceptable from an environmental point of view.
In respect of the HLB value of these compounds, the result of the HLB test as described below is decisive, because it has been observed that the results of calculus as used in the industry to predict the HLB value of a compound often are erroneous.
It is noted that conventional fabric softeners typically are based on hydrophobic quaternary ammonium compounds, mostly of the dialkyl ammonium type. For an indication of hydrophobic compounds, reference is made to E. Jungermann, ed.,
Cationic Suffactants
(Marcel Dekker, 1970). The micelles formed by conventional (fabric) softening compounds in the washing water typically are adsorbed for 85 to 95% by the negatively charged textile fibres within 1 to 3 minutes. Such softeners are known to be unsuitable as detergents and may even act as soil fixatives. Hence they are often added to textiles after the washing step.
It is further noted that non-ionic compounds may also exhibit a softening performance, albeit one inferior to that of conventional dialkyl quaternary ammonium-based fabric softeners. WO 98/16538 discloses sugar esters, which are non-ionic compounds, with advantageous biodegradation properties when compared to conventional quaternary softeners. Until now, it has generally been believed that sugar-derived products typically have good biodegradation properties but insufficient dispersing properties and insufficient softening performance.
Furthermore, it is noted that, in contrast to the process to make typical sugar ester compounds, the process to make the alkoxylated sugar esters according to the invention does not necessarily make use of additional emulsifiers. Compared to the process to make conventional sugar ester compounds, the process according to the invention does not require the use of high-boiling, difficult to remove, a-protic solvents like DMSO and DMF, and again there is no need to use additional emulsifiers and/or catalysts. Hence, the alkoxylated sugar esters of the invention can be prepared in such a way as to make them less contaminated with emulsifiers and solvent than the conventional sugar ester compounds, with all associated advantages.
Alkoxylated sugar esters are known compounds. Their production is disclosed, for example, in GB 982,078, DE-AS-1 277 237, and DE-AS-1 934 540. In GB 982,078 the products are disclosed to be useful as plasticiser, foam stabiliser, emulsifier, dispersing agent, levelling agent, wetting agent, and as a raw material for plastics. According to DE-AS-1 277 237, they are compounds with optimal surface-active properties, while DE-AS-1 934 540 discloses that the products have good biodegradation properties and are useful as a raw material for laundry detergent compositions, in particular as an emulsifier, detergent, solubiliser and/or defoamer. Hence, a wide range of uses of these compounds has been proposed, including those in the laundry detergent field. The products, however, so far have only been promoted as a mere detergent, meaning that they are used to remove deposits from the surface of the textiles to be laundered, which is the purpose of most non-ionics in use today. Typically, detergents have a HLB value of 12-14 (see, for instance, H. E. Garrett,
Surface Active Chemicals
(Oxford: Pergamon Press, 1972), p. 56) and a corresponding high water solubility.
It is noted that conventional hydrophobic fabric softeners were often applied after the washing and rinsing steps of the laundry process, e.g., by spraying a solution of such conventional agents onto the fabric during or after drying, or by adding a substrate impregnated with such a conventional softener to the fabric during the drying step. Such impregnated substrates are also known as dryer sheets, since they are typically sheets of an impregnated pliable material that are added to the fabric when it is being dried. U.S. Pat. No. 5,376,287, for example, discloses the use of such dryer sheets wherein the heat of the drying cycle liberates the softeners for redistribution over the fabric being dried. Accordingly, the known products are highly ethoxylated and/or just slightly esterified with (hydrophobic) acids, or they are in the solid form, viz. in dryer sheet form, which is not according to the present invention.
Surprisingly, it has now been found that the aqueous alkoxylated sugar ester compositions according to the invention can be used as a softener in, inter alia, laundry applications. This means they can be added during a rinse and/or washing cycle. Typically, the aqueous compositions will contain 0.5 to 50, preferably 2.5 to 40, more preferably 5 to 30 per cent by weight of the total composition of said alkoxylated sugar esters.
Preferred alkoxylated sugar esters for use in said compositions have a HLB value of less than about 5, more preferably less than 3.5, and most preferably of 1 to 3. In order to obtain an optimum performance, they are preferably combined with a performance booster selected from the group consisting of cationic, anionic, amphoteric, and non-ionic surfactants, as known in the art. The group of performance boosters includes betaines, amines, water-soluble salts of amines, amine-oxides, and combinations thereof. Such boosters are typically present in an amount of 0 to 75, preferably 0.5 to 50 per cent by weight of the tota
Porta Norba
Weissen Hans Joachim
Akzo Nobel N.V.
Hardee John
Mancini Ralph J.
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