Wet wipes (III)

Details Wet wipes (III) Wet wipes (III)

2002-10-07

2004-09-28

Kiliman, Leszek B (Department: 1773)

Stock material or miscellaneous articles

Composite

Of carbohydrate

C428S537500, C424S400000, C424S402000, C424S443000, C424S449000

Reexamination Certificate

active

06797399

ABSTRACT:

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The invention is in the field of cleaners for hard surfaces and relates to wet wipes which are impregnated with a special species of a nonionic surfactant.
2. Prior Art
For the cleaning of hard surfaces, liquids of greater or lesser viscosity are usually used, which are applied directly, run off from the surface to be cleaned and in so doing carry along the majority of the soiling. Another application form which is enjoying increased importance are wet wipes, which are textile fabrics or else tissue papers which are impregnated with a cleaning liquid. Thus, for example, international patent application WO 95/35411 (Procter & Gamble) proposes wet wipes albeit predominantly for cosmetic applications, which comprise, in addition to mineral oil, fatty acid esters, fatty alcohol ethoxylates and fatty alcohols.
The disadvantage of the use of these wet wipes is that the surfactants used leave behind a residue in the form of smearing, which makes the treated surface less shiny or even makes it appear soiled. A further problem arises in the production of the wet wipes. In order to impregnate the fabric or tissue paper with the cleaning solution, it is either sprayed therewith or immersed therein where, in both cases, it is possible for the output in production to be reduced as a result of foam formation or insufficient wetting. A first object of the present invention was therefore to provide wet wipes using special surfactants which are free from the problems described above.
For logistical reasons, the use of concentrates for the preparation of impregnation solutions for the wet wipes is advantageous. It is disadvantageous that the concentrates often show a tendency toward foam formation upon dilution. Furthermore, gel phases may form, which leads to increased time expenditure in the preparation of the impregnation solutions. In both cases, the production output is reduced. A further object of the invention was therefore to provide surfactants with which concentrates can be prepared which, by virtue of their viscosity, storage stability, lack of foam upon dilution and rapid dilutability, permits a technically simple and therefore cost-effective production of the wet wipes.
DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The invention provides wet wipes which are characterized in that they are impregnated with mixed ethers.
Surprisingly, it has been found that nonionic surfactants of the mixed ether type, preferably in combination with alkyl oligoglucosides, satisfy the complex object in an excellent manner. Impregnating agents based on mixed ethers have proven in the application to be low-viscosity and virtually foam-free, and in application the wet wipes impregnated therewith do not leave behind any streaks and do not impair the shine. Concentrates based on mixed ethers are low-viscosity and, upon dilution to the application concentration, particularly low-foaming.
Mixed Ethers
Mixed ethers are known nonionic surfactants which are usually obtained by adding ethylene oxide and/or propylene oxide, blockwise or in random distribution, onto suitable primary alcohols, and then etherifying the alkoxylates with alkyl halides; the etherification is also referred to as “terminal capping”. The mixed ethers usually conform to the formula (I)
in which R
1
is an alkyl and/or alkenyl radical having 1 to 22, preferably 6 to 18 and in particular 12 to 16, carbon atoms, R
2
is an alkyl radical having 1 to 12, preferably 4 to 8, carbon atoms or a benzyl radical, x and z, independently of one another, are 0 or numbers from 1 to 40 and y is 0 or numbers from 1 to 10, with the proviso that the sum of the carbon atoms in the radicals R
1
and R
2
is at least 4, preferably at least 8 and in particular at least 12, and the sum of the indices x, y and z is different from 0. Typical examples are the etherification products of the addition products of, on average, 1 to 40, preferably 5 to 30 and in particular 8 to 15, mol of ethylene oxide and/or 1 to 10, preferably 2 to 5, mol of propylene oxide onto caproic alcohol, caprylic alcohol, 2-ethylhexyl alcohol, capric alcohol, lauryl alcohol, isotridecyl alcohol, myristyl alcohol, cetyl alcohol, palmoleyl alcohol, stearyl alcohol, isostearyl alcohol, oleyl alcohol, elaidyl alcohol, petroselinyl alcohol, linolyl alcohol, linolenyl alcohol, elaeostearyl alcohol, arachyl alcohol, gadoleyl alcohol, behenyl alcohol, erucyl alcohol and brassidyl alcohol, and technical-grade mixtures thereof with methyl chloride, butyl chloride, benzyl chloride or octyl chloride. The amount of mixed ethers used can, based on the wet wipes, be 0.05 to 2% by weight and preferably 0.1 to 0.5% by weight and, based on the concentrates, 10 to 50% by weight, preferably 15 to 25% by weight.
Cosurfactants
In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the mixed ethers are used together with further anionic, nonionic, cationic and/or amphoteric or zwitterionic surfactants.
Typical examples of anionic surfactants are soaps, alkylbenzenesulfonates, alkanesulfonates, olefin-sulfonates, alkyl ether sulfonates, glycerol ether sulfonates, &agr;-methyl ester sulfonates, sulfo fatty acids, alkyl sulfates, fatty alcohol ether sulfates, glycerol ether sulfates, hydroxy mixed ether sulfates, monoglyceride (ether) sulfates, fatty acid amide (ether) sulfates, mono- and dialkyl sulfosuccinates, mono- and dialkyl sulfosuccinamates, sulfotriglycerides, amide soaps, ether carboxylic acids and salts thereof, fatty acid isethionates, fatty acid sarcosinates, fatty acid taurides, N-acylamino acids, such as, for example, acyl lactylates, acyl tartrates, acyl glutamates and acyl aspartates, alkyl oligoglucoside sulfates, protein fatty acid condensates (in particular wheat-based vegetable products) and alkyl (ether) phosphates. If the anionic surfactants contain polyglycol ether chains, these may have a conventional homolog distribution, but preferably have a narrowed homolog distribution.
Typical examples of nonionic surfactants are fatty alcohol polyglycol ethers, alkylphenol polyglycol ethers, fatty acid polyglycol esters, fatty acid amide polyglycol ethers, fatty amine polyglycol ethers, alkoxylated triglycerides, hydroxy mixed ethers, unoxidized or partially oxidized alk(en)yl oligoglycosides or glucuronic acid derivatives, fatty acid N-alkylglucamides, protein hydrolysates (in particular wheat-based vegetable products), polyol fatty acid esters, sugar esters, sorbitan esters, polysorbates and amine oxides. If the nonionic surfactants contain polyglycol ether chains, these may have a conventional homolog distribution, but preferably have a narrowed homolog distribution.
Typical examples of cationic surfactants are quaternary ammonium compounds such as, for example, dimethyl distearyl ammonium chloride, and ester quats, in particular quaternized fatty acid trialkanolamine ester salts. Typical examples of amphoteric or zwittionic surfactants are alkylbetaines, alkylamidobetaines, aminopropionates, aminoglycinates, imidazolinium-betaines and sulfobetaines. Said surfactants are exclusively known compounds. With regard to structure and preparation of these substances, reference may be made to relevant review works, for example J. Falbe (ed.), “Surfactants in Consumer Products”, Springer Verlag, Berlin, 1987, pp. 54-124 or J. Falbe (ed.), “Katalysatoren, Tenside und Mineralöladditive”, Thieme Verlag, Stuttgart, 1978, pp. 123-217.
Typical examples of particularly suitable surfactants are fatty alcohol polyglycol ether sulfates, monoglyceride sulfates, mono- and/or dialkyl sulfosuccinates, fatty acid isethionates, fatty acid sarcosinates, fatty acid taurides, fatty acid glutamates, &agr;-olefinsulfonates, ether carboxylic acids, fatty acid glucamides, alkylamidobetaines, amphoacetals and/or protein fatty acid condensates, the latter preferably based on wheat proteins.
Alkyl and/or Alkenyl Oligoglycosides
Performance investigations demonstrate that mixtures of mixed ethers and alkyl and/or alkenyl oligoglycosides are particularly advantageous. The latter are known nonionic surfac

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