Cleaning compositions for solid surfaces – auxiliary compositions – Cleaning compositions or processes of preparing – Specific organic component
Reexamination Certificate
2000-08-21
2001-08-14
Hardee, John (Department: 1751)
Cleaning compositions for solid surfaces, auxiliary compositions
Cleaning compositions or processes of preparing
Specific organic component
C510S470000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06274546
ABSTRACT:
The present invention relates to high-viscosity liquid detergents which, as a result of using a thickening system, are storage- and viscosity-stable under very diverse climatic conditions, do not undergo phase separation, and have color stability even on exposure to light.
High-viscosity detergents and cleaners, and also cosmetics have been increasingly offered in recent years, those products having a “gel”-like consistency being widely accepted by the consumer. In the field of liquid detergents, high-viscosity gel products have the advantage that fewer nonaqueous solvents can be used and the product can be applied in a targeted manner to stains without running. In this connection, additional liquid detergents are customarily converted into high-viscosity products by the use of thickening agents, such as agar agar, carrageen, tragacanth, gum arabic, alginates, pectins, polyoses, guar flour, carob seed grain, starch, dextrins, gelatin, casein, carboxy-methylcellulose and also cellulose ethers, hydroxy- ethyl- and -propylcellulose and the like, seed grain ethers, polyacrylic and polymethacrylic compounds, vinyl polymers, polycarboxylic acids, polyethers, polyimines, polyamides, polysilicic acids, clay minerals, such as montmorillonites, zeolites and silicas. The use of these thickeners for increasing the viscosity in a very wide variety of liquids has been part of the prior art for some time. The use of polymers in liquid detergents is also well known.
The incorporation of said thickeners does not automatically lead to stable gels in the case of liquid detergents. A gel will usually form only by matching the nature and amount of the individual ingredients to the thickener used, some of the thickeners being incompatible with the ingredients of a liquid detergent. After storage for a few weeks, such products exhibit agglomerate formation, which is evident from the formulation becoming opaque (“cloud formation”). Additionally, the viscosity of such products sometimes drops drastically during storage. Since high-viscosity liquid detergents are usually offered in transparent bottles to highlight the esthetic features, it is also a requirement that the thickeners used are stable toward light since otherwise free-radical decomposition of the polymers arises, which manifests itself in the destruction of the product color and undesired “cloud formation”.
Liquid detergents with viscosities between 500 and 20,000 mPas, preferably from 2000 to 10,000 mPas, in which lamellar surfactant droplets are dispersed in an aqueous electrolyte phase, are described in European Patent Application EP-A 691 399 (Colgate). These compositions comprise 10 to 45% by weight of surfactant(s), at least one builder, and 0.01 to 5% by weight of a mercapto-terminally-capped polymer having an average molecular weight between 1500 and 50,000 gmol
−1
.
The use of boron compounds in aqueous liquid detergents is described in EP-A 381 262 (Unilever) . These liquid detergents comprise the boron compounds and a polyol as enzyme-stabilizing system for a mixture of proteolytic and lipolytic enzymes, preferred stabilizing systems consisting of a sorbitol/borax mixture. Information about viscosity and stability of the liquid detergents is not given in this specification.
Liquid, aqueous detergent concentrates which retain or increase their viscosity upon dilution with water are described in EP-A 724 013 (Colgate). This effect is achieved by the use of two surfactants having varying stability toward electrolytes and the addition of a dissolved electrolyte, where the concentrate has a viscosity of less than 2500 mPas and, upon dilution with water, loses its micellar structure at the expense of the formation of a lamellar phase.
The International Patent Application WO 96/01305 (Unilever) describes an aqueous cleaner and liquid detergent which, upon dilution with at least twice the amount of water, forms a microemulsion which has particle sizes of from 10 to 100 nm. The composition comprises 20 to 70% by weight of water, 15 to 40% by weight of a surfactant system which comprises at least one nonionic surfactant from the group of alkoxylated alcohols and not more than 20% by weight of anionic, cationic, amphoteric or zwitterionic surfactants, 5 to 30% by weight of solvent and 5 to 20% by weight of water-insoluble oil.
None of the cited specifications deals with the problem of providing high-viscosity liquid detergents which guarantee a stable viscosity, do not lead to agglomerate formation (so-called “cloud formation”) or phase separation, and do not have a decrease in color stability on exposure to light. The solution to this problem was the object of the present invention.
It has now been found that liquid detergents with said profile of properties can be prepared if a thickening system comprising a polymeric thickener, a boron compound and complexing agents is incorporated into the composition.
The invention therefore provides aqueous, high-viscosity liquid detergents comprising surfactant(s) and other customary ingredients of detergents and cleaners, where the compositions comprise, as thickening system, in each case based on the total composition,
a) 0.1 to 5% by weight of a polymeric thickener,
b) 0.5 to 7% by weight of a boron compound, and
c) 1 to 8% by weight of a complexing agent.
By using the thickening system according to the invention it is possible to prepare high-viscosity liquid detergents which are free from said disadvantages. According to the invention, it is possible to prepare concentrated high-viscosity liquid detergents which have surfactant contents above 35% by weight. For the purposes of the present invention, preferred aqueous, high-viscosity liquid detergents are those whose content of surfactant(s) is greater than 35% by weight.
The first component of the thickening system is a polymeric thickener. These organic high molecular weight substances, also called swell(ing) agents, which soak up liquids, swell up in the process and finally convert to viscous true or colloidal solutions, originate from the group of natural polymers, modified natural polymers and completely synthetic polymers.
Naturally occurring polymers which are used as thickeners are, for example, agar agar, carrageen, tragacanth, gum arabic, alginates, pectins, polyoses, guar flour, carob seed grain, starch, dextrins, gelatin and casein.
Modified natural substances mainly originate from the group of modified starches and celluloses, examples which may be mentioned here being carboxymethylcellulose and other cellulose ethers, hydroxyethyl- and -propylcellulose, and seed grain ethers.
A large group of thickeners which are widely used in many different fields of application are the completely synthetic polymers, such as polyacrylic and polymethacrylic compounds, vinyl polymers, polycarboxylic acids, polyethers, polyimines, polyamides and polyurethanes.
Thickeners from said classes of substance are commercially widely available and are obtainable, for example, under the trade names Acusol®-820 (methacrylic(stearyl alcohol-20-EO) ester-acrylic acid copolymer, 30% strength in water, Rohm & Haas), Dapral®-GT-282-S (alkylpolyglycol ether, Akzo), Deuterol®-Polymer-11 (dicarboxylic acid copolymer, Schöner GmbH), Deuteron®-XG (anionic heteropolysaccharide based on &bgr;-D-glucose, D-mannose, D-glucuronic acid, Schoner GmbH), Deuteron® -XN (nonionogenic polysaccharide, Schöner GmbH), Dicrylan®-Thickener-O (ethylene oxide adduct, 50% strength in water/isopropanol, Pfersee Chemie), EMA®-81 and EMA®-91 (ethylene-maleic anhydride copolymer, Monsanto), Thickener-QR-1001 (polyurethane emulsion, 19-21% strength in water/diglycol ether, Rohm & Haas), Mirox®-AM (anionic acrylic acid-acrylic ester copolymer dispersion, 25% strength in water, Stockhausen), SER-AD-FX-1100 (hydrophobic urethane polymer, Servo Delden), Shellflo®-S (high molecular weight polysaccharide, stabilized with formaldehyde, Shell), and Shellflo®-XA (xanthan biopolymer, stabilized with formaldehyde, Shell).
Preferred aqueous liquid detergents comprise, as component a) of the thickenin
Legel Dieter
Penninger Josef
Voelkel Theodor
Hardee John
Henkel Kommanditgesellschaft auf Aktien
Jaeschke Wayne C.
Murphy Glenn E. J.
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