Patent Application
20050000030
The present invention relates to compositions for treating fabric articles, especially articles of clothing, linens and drapery, wherein the compositions provide improved cleaning of soils from and/or care of and/or treatment of fabric articles, especially while providing superior garment care for articles sensitive to water as compared to conventional fabric article treating compositions.
For the cleaning of fabric articles consumers currently have the choice of conventional laundry cleaning or dry cleaning.
Conventional laundry cleaning is carried out with relatively large amounts of water, typically in a washing machine at the consumer's home, or in a dedicated place such as a coin laundry. Although washing machines and laundry detergents have become quite sophisticated, the conventional laundry process still exposes the fabric articles to a risk of dye transfer and shrinkage. Significant portions of fabric articles used by consumers are not suitable for cleaning in a conventional laundry process. Even fabric articles that are considered “washing machine safe” frequently come out of the laundry process badly wrinkled and require ironing.
Dry cleaning processes rely on non-aqueous solvents for cleaning. By avoiding water these processes minimize the risk of shrinkage and wrinkling; however, cleaning of soils, particularly water-based and alcohol-based soils, is very limited with these processes. Typically, the dry-cleaner removes such soils by hand prior to the dry-cleaning process. These methods are complex, requiring a wide range of compositions to address the variety of stains encountered, very labor intensive and often result in some localized damage to the treated article.
Accordingly there is an unmet need, in commercial laundry, in dry-cleaning and in the home, for fabric article treating compositions, which simultaneously provide acceptable cleaning of across a variety of soils while remaining safe for a wide range of fabric articles.
The present invention provides compositions which exhibit improved cleaning of soils from and/or care of and/or treatment of fabric articles. These benefits may be delivered to the fabric article treated by the compositions of the present invention while maintaining excellent fabric care properties.
In one aspect of the present invention, a fabric article treating composition comprising:
In another aspect of the present invention, a consumable detergent composition comprising:
These and other aspects, features and advantages will become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art from a reading of the following detailed description and the appended claims. All percentages, ratios and proportions herein are by weight, unless otherwise specified. All temperatures are in degrees Celsius (° C.) unless otherwise specified. All measurements are in SI units unless otherwise specified. All documents cited are, in relevant part, incorporated herein by reference.
The term “fabric article” used herein is intended to mean any article that is customarily cleaned in a conventional laundry process or in a dry cleaning process. As such, the term encompasses articles of clothing, linens, drapery, and clothing accessories. The term also encompasses other items made in whole or in part of fabric, such as tote bags, furniture covers, tarpaulins and the like.
The term “lipophilic fluid” used herein is intended to mean any nonaqueous fluid capable of removing sebum, as described in more detail herein below.
The term “fabric article treating composition” used herein is intended to mean any lipophilic fluid-containing composition containing cleaning and/or care additives that comes into direct contact with fabric articles to be cleaned. It should be understood that the term “fabric article treating composition” encompasses uses other than cleaning, such as conditioning and sizing. Furthermore, optional cleaning adjuncts such as additional surfactants other than those surfactants described above, bleaches, and the like may be added to the “fabric article treating composition”. That is, cleaning adjuncts may be optionally combined with the lipophilic fluid. These optional cleaning adjuncts are described in more detail hereinbelow. Such cleaning adjuncts may be present in the fabric article treating compositions of the present invention at a level of from about 0.01% to about 10% by weight of the fabric article treating composition.
The term “soil” means any undesirable substance on a fabric article that is desired to be removed. By the terms “water-based” or “hydrophilic” soils, it is meant that the soil comprised water at the time it first came in contact with the fabric article, or the soil retains a significant portion of water on the fabric article. Examples of water-based soils include, but are not limited to, beverages, many food soils, water soluble dyes, bodily fluids such as sweat, urine or blood, and outdoor soils such as grass stains and mud.
The term “capable of suspending water in a lipophilic fluid” means that a material is able to suspend, solvate and/or emulsify water, in a way that the water remains visibly suspended, solvated or emulsified when left undisturbed for a period of at least five minutes after initial mixing of the components. In some examples of compositions in accordance with the present invention, the compositions may be colloidal in nature and/or appear milky. In other examples of compositions in accordance with the present invention, the compositions may be transparent.
The term “insoluble in a lipohilic fluid” means that when added to a lipophilic fluid, a material physically separates from the lipophilic fluid (i.e. settle-out, flocculate, float) within 5 minutes after addition, whereas a material that is “soluble in a lipophilic fluid” does not physically separate from the lipophilic fluid within 5 minutes after addition.
The term “consumable detergent composition” means any detersive composition, that when combined with a discrete lipophilic fluid, results in a fabric article treating composition according to the present invention.
The term “processing aid” refers to any material that renders the consumable detergent composition more suitable for formulation, stability, and/or dilution with a lipophilic fluid to form a fabric article treating composition in accordance with the present invention.
The term “mixing” as used herein means combining two or more materials (i.e., more specifically a discrete lipophilic fluid and a detergent composition in accordance with the present invention) in such a way that a homogeneous mixture or stable dispersion or suspension is formed. Suitable mixing processes are known in the art. Nonlimiting examples of suitable mixing processes include vortex mixing processes and static mixing processes.
“Solvent compatibility group”, as used herein, means any hydrocarbon, silicone, polyalkylene oxide (ethoxy, propoxy, butoxy, etc. and mixtures) or flurorinated groups. Hydrocarbon groups may be linear, cyclic, branched, saturated or unsaturated straight and branched chain linear aliphatic; saturated and unsaturated cyclic aliphatic, including heterocyclic aliphatic; or mononuclear or polynuclear aromatics, including heterocyclic aromatics. Polyoxyalkylene groups may comprise of one or more or a mixture of alkoxy repeat units. Silicone and fluorinated groups may consist of one or more or a mixture of repeat units.
“Functionalized”, as used herein, means the indicated solvent compatibility groups are chemically bonded to the polyol.
A “functional unit”, as used herein, means one solvent compatibility group used to functionalize the polyol.
The present invention provides compositions which exhibit improved cleaning of soils (i.e., removal and/or reduction of soils) from and/or care of and/or treatment of fabric articles. These benefits may be delivered to the fabric article treated by the compositions of the present invention while maintaining excellent fabric care properties.
Lipophilic Fluid
“Lipophilic fluid” as used herein means any non-aqueous solvent that meets the Sebum Removal Test described hereinbelow and that at least partially liquid and/or readily flowable (nonviscous) at ambient temperature and pressure. In general, a suitable lipophilic fluid can be fully liquid at ambient temperature and pressure, can be an easily melted solid, e.g., one which becomes liquid at temperatures in the range from about 0° C. to about 60° C., or can comprise a mixture of liquid and vapor phases at ambient temperatures and pressures, e.g., at 25. ° C. and 1 atm. pressure.
It is preferred that the lipophilic fluid herein be nonflammable or, have relatively high flash points and/or low VOC characteristics, these terms having conventional meanings as used in the dry cleaning industry, to equal or, preferably, exceed the characteristics of known conventional dry cleaning fluids.
The Sebum Removal Test described herein is used to identify suitable lipophilic fluids for use in the present invention. The test method uses commercially available Crisco® canola oil, oleic acid (95% pure, available from Sigma Aldrich Co.) and squalene (99% pure, available from J. T. Baker) as model soils for sebum. The test materials should be substantially anhydrous and free from any added adjuncts, or other materials. As a general guideline, perfluorobutylamine (Fluorinert FC43®) on its own (with or without adjuncts) is a reference material that, by definition, is unsuitable as the lipophilic fluid.
The sebum Removal Test starts with the preparation of three vials. Place 1.0 g of canola oil in the first; in a second vial place 1.0 g of the oleic acid (95%), and in a third and final vial place 1.0 g of the squalene (99%). Add 1 g of the fluid to be tested for lipophilicity to each vial. Separately mix at room temperature and pressure each prepared vial for 20 seconds on a standard vortex mixer at maximum setting. Place vials on the bench and allow to stand for 15 minutes at room temperature and pressure. If, after 15 minutes a single phase is formed in any of the vials containing lipophilic soils, then the fluid qualifies as suitable for use as a “lipophilic fluid” in accordance with the invention. However, if two or more separate layers are formed in all three vials, then the amount of fluid dissolved in the oil phase will need to be further determined before rejecting or accepting the fluid as qualified as a “lipophilic fluid.”
In such a case, with a syringe, carefully extract a 200 microliter sample from each layer in each vial. The syringe-extracted layer samples are placed in GC autosampler vials and subjected to conventional GC analysis after determining the retention time of calibration samples of each of the three models soils and the fluid being tested. If more than 1% of the test fluid by GC, preferably more, is found to be present in any one of the layers which consists of the oleic acid, canola oil or squalene layer, then the test fluid is also qualified for use as a lipophilic fluid. If needed, the method can be further calibrated using heptacosafluorotributylamine, i.e., Fluorinert FC-43 (fail) and cyclopentasiloxane (pass).
A suitable GC is a Hewlett Packard Gas Chromatograph HP5890 Series II equipped with a split/splitless injector and FID. A suitable column used in determining the amount of lipophilic fluid present is a J&W Scientific capillary column DB-1HT, 30 meter, 0.25 mm id, 0.1 um film thickness cat# 1221131. The GC is suitably operated under the following conditions:
Carrier Gas: Hydrogen; Column Head Pressure: 9 psi; Flows: Column Flow@˜1.5 ml/min.; Split Vent@˜250-500 ml/min.; Septum Purge@1 ml/min.; Injection: HP 7673 Autosampler, 10 ul syringe, 1 ul injection; Injector Temperature: 350° C.; Detector Temperature: 380° C.; Oven Temperature Program: initial 60° C., hold 1 min.; rate 25° C./min.; final 380° C. hold 30 min.
Preferred lipophilic fluids suitable for use herein can further be qualified for use on the basis of having an excellent garment care profile. Garment care profile testing is well known in the art and involves testing a fluid to be qualified using a wide range of garment or fabric article components, including fabrics, threads and elastics used in seams, etc., and a range of buttons. Preferred lipophilic fluids for use herein have an excellent garment care profile; for example, they have a good shrinkage or fabric puckering profile and do not appreciably damage plastic buttons.
For purposes of garment care testing or other qualification, e.g., flammability, a lipophilic fluid for use in the lipophilic fluid can be present in a mixture, e.g., with water, at approximately the ratio to be used in the final lipophilic fluid which will come into contact with fabric articles. Certain materials, which remove sebum, qualify for use as lipophilic fluids; for example, ethyl lactates can be quite objectionable in their tendency to dissolve buttons, and if such a material is to be used in the lipophilic fluid, it will be formulated with water and/or other solvents such that the overall mix is not substantially damaging to buttons. Other lipophilic fluids, decamethyl-cyclopentasiloxane for example, meet the garment care requirements commendably. Some suitable lipophilic fluids may be found in granted U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,865,852; 5,942,007; 6,042,617; 6,042,618; 6,056,789; 6,059,845; and 6,063,135.
Nonlimiting examples of suitable lipophilic fluid materials include siloxanes, other silicones, hydrocarbons, glycol ethers, glycerine derivatives such as glycerine ethers, perfluorinated amines, perfluorinated and hydrofluoroether solvents, low-volatility nonfluorinated organic solvents, diol solvents, other environmentally-friendly solvents and mixtures thereof.
“Siloxane” as used herein means silicone fluids which are non-polar and insoluble in water or lower alcohols. Linear siloxanes (see for example U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,443,747, and 5,977,040) and cyclic siloxanes are useful herein, including the cyclic siloxanes chosen from octamethyl-cyclotetrasiloxane (tetramer), dodecamethyl-cyclohexasiloxane (hexamer), and preferably decamethyl-cyclopentasiloxane (pentamer, commonly referred to as “D5”). A preferred siloxane comprises more than about 50% cyclic siloxane pentamer, in another embodiment more than about 75% cyclic siloxane pentamer, in yet another embodiment at least about 90% of the cyclic siloxane pentamer. Also preferred for use herein are siloxanes which are a mixture of cyclic siloxanes having at least about 90% (preferably at least about 95%) pentamer and less than about 10% (preferably less than about 5%) tetramer and/or hexamer.
Mixtures of lipophilic fluid are also suitable, provided that the requirements of the Lipophilic Fluid Test, as described below, are met. The lipophilic fluid can include any fraction of dry-cleaning solvents, especially newer types including fluorinated solvents, or perfluorinated amines. Some perfluorinated amines such as perfluorotributylamines, while unsuitable for use as lipophilic fluid, may be present as one of many possible adjuncts present in the lipophilic fluid-containing composition.
Other suitable lipophilic fluids include, but are not limited to, diol solvent systems e.g., higher diols such as C6 or C8 or higher diols, organosilicone solvents including both cyclic and acyclic types, and the like, and mixtures thereof.
Nonlimiting examples of low volatility nonfluorinated organic solvents include for example OLEAN® and other polyol esters, or certain relatively nonvolatile biodegradable mid-chain branched petroleum fractions.
Nonlimiting examples of glycol ethers include propylene glycol methyl ether, propylene glycol n-propyl ether, propylene glycol t-butyl ether, propylene glycol n-butyl ether, dipropylene glycol methyl ether, dipropylene glycol n-propyl ether, dipropylene glycol t-butyl ether, dipropylene glycol n-butyl ether, tripropylene glycol methyl ether, tripropylene glycol n-propyl ether, tripropylene glycol t-butyl ether, tripropylene glycol n-butyl ether.
Nonlimiting examples of other silicone solvents, in addition to the siloxanes, are well known in the literature, see, for example, Kirk Othmer's Encyclopedia of Chemical Technology, and are available from a number of commercial sources, including GE Silicones, Toshiba Silicone, Bayer, and Dow Corning. For example, one suitable silicone solvent is SF-1528 available from GE Silicones.
Nonlimiting examples of suitable glycerine derivative solvents for use in the methods and/or apparatuses of the present invention include glycerine derivatives having the following structure:
wherein R1, R2 and R3 are each independently selected from: Hydrogen; branched or linear, substituted or unsubstituted C1-C30 alkyl, C2-C30 alkenyl, C1-C30 alkoxycarbonyl, C3-C30 alkyleneoxyalkyl, C1-C30 acyloxy, C7-C30 alkylenearyl; C4-C30 cycloalkyl; C6-C30 aryl; and mixtures thereof. Two or more of R1, R2 and R3 together can form a C3-C8 aromatic or non-aromatic, heterocyclic or non-heterocyclic ring.
Nonlimiting examples of suitable glycerine derivative solvents, further include 2,3-bis(1,1-dimethylethoxy)-1-propanol; 2,3-dimethoxy-1-propanol; 3-methoxy-2-cyclopentoxy-1-propanol; 3-methoxy-1-cyclopentoxy-2-propanol; carbonic acid (2-hydroxy-1-methoxymethyl)ethyl ester methyl ester; glycerol carbonate and mixtures thereof.
Nonlimiting examples of other environmentally-friendly solvents include lipophilic fluids that have an ozone reactivity of from about 0 to about 0.31, lipophilic fluids that have a vapor pressure of from about 0 to about 0.1 mm Hg, and/or lipophilic fluids that have a vapor pressure of greater than 0.1 mm Hg, but have an ozone reactivity of from about 0 to about 0.31. Nonlimiting examples of such lipophilic fluids that have not previously been described above include carbonate solvents (i.e., methyl carbonates, ethyl carbonates, ethylene carbonates, propylene carbonates, glycerine carbonates) and/or succinate solvents (i.e., dimethyl succinates).
“Ozone Reactivity” as used herein is a measure of a VOC's ability to form ozone in the atmosphere. It is measured as grams of ozone formed per gram of volatile organics. A methodology to determine ozone reactivity is discussed further in W. P. L. Carter, “Development of Ozone Reactivity Scales of Volatile Organic Compounds”, Journal of the Air & Waste Management Association, Vol. 44, Page 881-899, 1994. “Vapor Pressure” as used can be measured by techniques defined in Method 310 of the California Air Resources Board.
Preferably, the lipophilic fluid comprises more than 50% by weight of the lipophilic fluid of cyclopentasiloxanes, (“D5”) and/or linear analogs having approximately similar volatility, and optionally complemented by other silicone solvents.
Surfactant Component
The surfactant component of the present invention can be a material that is capable of suspending water in a lipophilic fluid and/or enhancing soil removal benefits of a lipophilic fluid. The materials may be soluble in the lipophilic fluid.
The surfactant component, when present in the fabric article treating compositions of the present invention, preferably comprises from about 0.01% to about 20% more preferably from about 0.02% to about 5%, even more preferably from about 0.05% to about 2% by weight of the fabric article treating composition.
The surfactant component, when present in the consumable detergent compositions of the present invention, preferably comprises from about 1% to about 99%, more preferably 2% to about 75%, even more preferably from about 5% to about 60% by weight of the consumable detergent composition.
Another class of materials can include polyol-based surfactants. “Polyol”, as used herein, means any aliphatic or aromatic compound containing at least two free hydroxyl groups. In practicing the processes disclosed herein, the selection of a suitable polyol is simply a matter of choice. For example, suitable polyols may be selected from the following classes: saturated and unsaturated straight and branched chain linear aliphatic; saturated and unsaturated cyclic aliphatic, including heterocyclic aliphatic; or mononuclear or polynuclear aromatics, including heterocyclic aromatics. Carbohydrates and glycols are exemplary polyols. Especially preferred glycols include glycerin. Monosaccharides suitable for use herein include, for example, mannose, galactose, arabinose, xylose, ribose, apiose, rhamnose, psicose, fructose, sorbose, tagitose, ribulose, xylulose, glusose, and erythrulose. Oligosaccharides suitable for use herein include, for example, maltose, kojibiose, nigerose, cellobiose, lactose, melibiose, gentiobiose, turanose, rutinose, trehalose, sucrose and raffinose. Polysaccharides suitable for use herein include, for example, amylose, glycogen, cellulose, chitin, inulin, agarose, zylans, mannan and galactans. Although sugar alcohols are not carbohydrates in a strict sense, the naturally occurring sugar alcohols are so closely related to the carbohydrates that they are also preferred for use herein. The sugar alcohols most widely distributed in nature and suitable for use herein are sorbitol, erythritol, arabitol, xylitol, threitol, pentaerythritol, mannitol and galactitol.
Particular classes of materials suitable for use herein include monosaccharides, disaccharides and sugar alcohols. Other classes of materials include sugar ethers, alkoxylated polyols, such as polyethoxy glycerol, pentaerythritol and other polyols containing amines such as glucosamine.
Polyol based surfactants have the ability to aid in cleaning for water soluble and water based soils. However, these functionalities typically do not have good compatibility in dry cleaning solvent such as decamethylcyclopentasiloxane. The present invention utilizes a solvent compatibility group functionalized onto a polyol for improved cleaning. An example of a generic structure is shown in the following example:
The surfactant suitable for use in the present invention has the general formula:
Ly—(Xv—Yu)x—L′z
wherein L and L′ are solvent compatibilizing (or lipophilic) moieties, which are independently selected from:
D″ is R62SiO2/2 wherein R6 is independently H, an alkyl group or (CH2)l(C6Q4)m(A)n—[(T)o-(A′)p-]q-(T′)rZ(G)s, wherein 1 is 1-10; m is 0 or 1; n is 0-5; o is 0-3; p is 0 or 1; q is 0-10; r is 0-3; s is 0-3; C6Q4 is unsubstituted or substituted; Q is independently selected from H, C1-10 alkyl, C2-10 alkenyl, and mixtures thereof; A and A′ are each independently a linking moiety representing an ester, a keto, an ether, a thio, an amido, an amino, a C1-4 fluoroalkyl, a C1-4 fluoroalkenyl, a branched or straight chained polyalkylene oxide, a phosphate, a sulfonyl, a sulfate, an ammonium, and mixtures thereof; T and T′ are each independently a C1-30 straight chained or branched alkyl or alkenyl or an aryl which is unsubstituted or substituted; Z is a hydrogen, carboxylic acid, a hydroxy, a phosphato, a phosphate ester, a sulfonyl, a sulfonate, a sulfate, a branched or straight-chained polyalkylene oxide, a nitryl, a glyceryl, an aryl unsubstituted or substituted with a C1-30 alkyl or alkenyl, a carbohydrate unsubstituted or substituted with a C1-10 alkyl or alkenyl or an ammonium; G is an anion or cation such as H+, Na+, Li+, K+, NH4+, Ca+2, Mg+2, Cl−, Br−, I−, mesylate or tosylate; and D″ can be capped with C1-C4 alkyl or hydroxy groups;
Example of a general sucrose based structure is shown in the following structure:
Wherein R are independently selected from H, alkyls, polyoxyalkylenes, siloxanes or flurorinated groups; and at least two hydroxyl groups are present in the polyol moiety, either to terminate one or more R groups, be present within one or more of the R groups or be present from non-complete functionalization of a polyol starting material with an example being sucrose. The alkyl groups may be linear or branched, cyclic or acyclic, saturated or unsaturated, and contain about 1-30 carbons, preferably about 6 to 30 carbons, more preferably about 8 to 18 carbons. Silicone and fluorinated groups may consist of 1-50 repeat units.
The method of functionalizing the polyol moiety may be, but not limited to alkylation, esterification, etherification, amidation, amination and other linking chemistries. Thus, the corresponding bridging group B can be alkyl, ester, ether, amido, and amino linking groups. The number and size of the lipophilic moieties L associated with a given polyol group is important for optimized the performance of the surfactant. Not limited in theory, the number and size of the lipophilic moieties L used for a given polyol is important for optimized performance. Without being bounded by theory, too large and/or too many lipophilic moieties L can lead to various unwanted properties such as too high a solubility profile in the solvent, too high a molecular weight leading to molecular weight inefficiency and potentially the materials becoming a solid making solubiliztion in the solvent and formulation difficulty. Too few and/or too small solvent lipophilic moieties Lcan lead to reduced performance of the polyol due to poor solubility in the solvent.
The present invention polyol based surfactants may comprise one or more polyalkylene oxide units within the structure. EO/PO/BO and higher materials are alkoxy moieties, preferably selected from ethoxy, propoxy, butoxy and mixed EO/PO, EO/BO. PO/BO, EO/PO/BO groups wherein the number of repeat units (m) may consist of 1-50 units. The alkoxy moieties may) be either a distribution or with an average degree of alkoxylation or it may be a single specific chain with an exact alkoxylation number. Placement of the alkoxy moieties in the stucture may be near the polyol moiety or on the ends on the R units. Placement of the alkoxy moieties in the stucture may be near the polyol moiety or on the ends on the R units.
Placement of the alkoxy moieties in the stucture may be near the polyol moiety or on the ends on the R units.
In one embodiment of the present invention, the functionalized polyol has an average of at least 1 solvent compatibility group per molecule. In another embodiment of the invention, the polyol has an average of at least 2 solvent compatibility groups per molecule (twin tail), while in another embodiment the polyol has an average of from about 3 to about 8 solvent compatibility groups per molecule.
In one embodiment of the present invention, the functionalized polyol has an average of at least 2 OH groups per molecule. In another embodiment of the invention, the polyol has an average of at least 3 OH groups per molecule, while in another embodiment the polyol has an average of from about 3 to about 8 OH groups per molecule.
In one embodiment of the present invention, the functionalized polyol may have the 2 or more hydroxyls replaced with 1 or more of the following groups or combinations of groups: sulfate, sulfonate, carboxylate, amine, alkanolamine, phosphate and amide containing moieties. The following structures exemplify polyol ester containing surfactants useful in the present invention:
In one embodiment of the present invention, functionalized polyol is derived from a sucrose ester with an average of at least 2 OH groups per molecule with a lipophilic group R derived from a linear, cyclic, branched, unsaturated feedstock based on hydrocarbon or silicone as shown below.
In one embodiment of the present invention, functionalized polyol is derived from a sucrose ester with an average of at least 2 OH groups per molecule with a lipophilic group R derived from a linear, cyclic, branched, unsaturated feedstock based on hydrocarbon or silicone as shown below.
Compound 1 is a sucrose ester shown above with the solvent compatibility groups being derived from a oleyl based feedstock such as soybean oil where the degree of esterification as an average of 5.
Compound 2 is a sucrose ester shown above with the solvent compatibility groups being derived from a oleyl based feedstock such as soybean oil where the degree of esterification as an average of 6.
Compound 3 is a sucrose ester shown above with the solvent compatibility groups being derived from a oleyl based feedstock such as soybean oil where the degree of esterification as an average of 7.
In one embodiment of the present invention, a functionalized polyol is derived from a sucrose ether with an average of at least 2 OH groups per molecule with a lipophilic group R derived from a linear, cyclic, branched, unsaturated feedstock based on hydrocarbon or silicone as shown below.
In one embodiment of the present invention, functionalized polyol is derived from a sorbitan ester with an average of at least 2 OH groups per molecule with a lipophilic group R derived from linear, cyclic, branched, unsaturated feedstock based on hydrocarbon or silicone as shown below.
The polyol based surfactants of the present invention have at least 2 free hydroxyls per molecule, more preferably higher as long as solvent compatibility is maintained.
The polyol based surfactants of the present invention have at least one compatibility group per molecule, more preferably the minimum number needed to maintain solvent compatibility.
The polyol based surfactants of the present invention have R groups which are saturated, unsaturated, linear or branched, cyclic or acyclic hydrocarbons ranging from 6 to 30 total carbons, more preferably from 8 to 18 carbons.
The polyol based surfactants are present in the cleaning formulations of the present invention at levels from 0.001% to 20%, more preferably from about 0.01% to 2%.
An optional second surfactant can be selected from a class of materials that includes siloxane-based surfactants (siloxane-based materials). The siloxane-based surfactants in this application may be siloxane polymers for other applications. The siloxane-based surfactants typically have a weight average molecular weight from 500 to 20,000. Such materials, derived from poly(dimethylsiloxane), are well known in the art. In the present invention, not all such siloxane-based surfactants are suitable, because they do not provide improved cleaning of soils compared to the level of cleaning provided by the lipophilic fluid itself. Examples of the types of siloxane-based surfactants described herein above may be found in EP-1,043,443A1, EP-1,041,189 and WO-01/34,706 (all to GE Silicones) and U.S. Pat. No. 5,676,705, U.S. Pat. No. 5,683,977, U.S. Pat. No. 5,683,473, and EP-1,092,803A1 (all to Lever Brothers).
Nonlimiting commercially available examples of suitable siloxane-based surfactants are TSF 4446 (ex. General Electric Silicones), XS69-B5476 (ex. General Electric Silicones); Jenamine HSX (ex. DelCon) and Y12147 (ex. OSi Specialties).
A second preferred class of materials suitable for the surfactant component is organic in nature. Preferred materials are organosulfosuccinate surfactants, with carbon chains of from about 6 to about 20 carbon atoms. Most preferred are organosulfosuccinates containing dialkly chains, each with carbon chains of from about 6 to about 20 carbon atoms. Also preferred are chains containing aryl or alkyl aryl, substituted or unsubstituted, branched or linear, saturated or unsaturated groups.
Nonlimiting commercially available examples of suitable organosulfosuccinate surfactants are available under the trade names of Aerosol OT and Aerosol TR-70 (ex. Cytec).
The optional non-silicone additive (i.e., materials do not contain an Si atom), which preferably comprises a strongly polar and/or hydrogen-bonding head group, further enhances soil removal by the compositions of the present invention. Examples of the strongly polar and/or hydrogen-bonding head group-containing materials include, but are not limited to alcohols, cationic materials such as cationic surfactants, quaternary surfactants, quaternary ammonium salts such as ammonium chlorides (nonlimiting examples of ammonium chlorides are Arquad materials commercially available from Akzo Nobel) and cationic fabric softening actives, nonionic materials such as nonionic surfactants (i.e., alcohol ethoxylates, polyhydroxy fatty acid amides), gemini surfactants, anionic surfactants, zwitterionic surfactants, carboxylic acids, sulfates, sulphonates, phosphates, phosphonates, and nitrogen containing materials. In one embodiment, non-silicone additives comprise nitrogen containing materials chosen from primary, secondary and tertiary amines, diamines, triamines, ethoxylated amines, amine oxides, amides and betaines, a nonlimiting example of a betaines is Schercotaine materials commercially available from Scher Chemicals and mixtures thereof.
In another embodiment embodiment, alkyl chain contains branching that may help lower the melting point.
In yet another embodiment, primary alkylamines comprising from about 6 to about 22 carbon atoms are used. Particularly preferred primary alkylamines are oleylamine (commercially available from Akzo under the trade name Armeen OLD), dodecylamine (commercially available from Akzo under the trade name Armeen 12D), branched C16-C22 alkylamine (commercially available from Rohm & Haas under the trade name Primene JM-T) and mixtures thereof.
Suitable cationic materials may include quaternary surfactants, which maybe quaternary ammonium compounds. Commercially available agents include Varisoft materials from Goldschmidt.
Polar Solvent
Compositions according to the present invention may further comprise a polar solvent. Non-limiting examples of polar solvents include: water, alcohols, glycols, polyglycols, ethers, carbonates, dibasic esters, ketones, other oxygenated solvents, and mixutures thereof. Further examples of alcohols include: C1-C126 alcohols, such as propanol, ethanol, isopropyl alcohol, etc., benzyl alcohol, and diols such as 1,2-hexanediol. The Dowanol series by Dow Chemical are examples of glycols and polyglycols useful in the present invention, such as Dowanol TPM, TPnP, DPnB, DPnP, TPnB, PPh, DPM, DPMA, DB, and others. Further examples include propylene glycol, butylene glycol, polybutylene glycol and more hydrophobic glycols. Examples of carbonate solvents are ethylene, propylene and butylene carbonantes such as those available under the Jeffsol tradename. Polar solvents for the present invention can be further identified through their dispersive (δD), polar (δP) and hydrogen bonding (δH) Hansen solubility parameters. Preferred polar solvents or polar solvent mixtures have fractional polar (fP) and fractional hydrogen bonding (fH) values of fP>0.02 and fH>0.10, where fP=δP/(δD+δP+δH) and fH=δH/(δD+δP+δH), more preferably fP>0.05 and fH>0.20, and most preferably fP>0.07 and fH>0.30.
In the detergent composition of the present invention, the levels of polar solvent can be from about 0 to about 70%, preferably 1 to 50%, even more preferably 1 to 30% by weight of the detergent composition.
Water, when present in the wash fluid fabric article treating compositions of the present invention, may comprise from about 0.001% to about 10%, more preferably from about 0.005% to about 5%, even more preferably from about 0.01% to about 1% by weight of the wash fluid fabric article treating composition.
Water, when present in the detergent compositions of the present invention, preferably comprises from about 1% to about 90%, more preferably from about 2% to about 75%, even more preferably from about 5% to about 40% by weight of the consumable detergent composition.
Processing Aids
Optionally, the compositions of the present invention may further comprise processing aids. Processing aids facilitate the formation of the fabric article treating compositions of the present invention, by maintaining the fluidity and/or homogeneity of the consumable detergent composition, and/or aiding in the dilution process. Processing aids suitable for the present invention are solvents, preferably solvents other than those described above, hydrotropes, and/or surfactants, preferably surfactants other than those described above with respect to the surfactant component. Particularly preferred processing aids are protic solvents such as aliphatic alcohols, diols, triols, etc. and nonionic surfactants such as ethoxylated fatty alcohols.
Processing aids, when present in the fabric article treating compositions of the present invention, preferably comprise from about 0.02% to about 10%, more preferably from about 0.05% to about 10%, even more preferably from about 0.1% to about 10% by weight of the fabric article treating composition.
Processing aids, when present in the consumable detergent compositions of the present invention, preferably comprise from about 1% to about 75%, more preferably from about 5% to about 50% by weight of the consumable detergent composition.
Cleaning Adjuncts
Some suitable cleaning adjuncts include, but are not limited to, builders, surfactants, other than those described above with respect to the surfactant component, enzymes, bleach activators, bleach catalysts, bleach boosters, bleaches, alkalinity sources, antibacterial agents, colorants, perfumes, pro-perfumes, finishing aids, lime soap dispersants, odor control agents, odor neutralizers, polymeric dye transfer inhibiting agents, crystal growth inhibitors, photobleaches, heavy metal ion sequestrants, anti-tarnishing agents, anti-microbial agents, anti-oxidants, anti-redeposition agents, soil release polymers, electrolytes, pH modifiers, thickeners, abrasives, divalent or trivalent ions, metal ion salts, enzyme stabilizers, corrosion inhibitors, polyamines and/or their alkoxylates, suds stabilizing polymers, solvents, process aids, fabric softening agents, optical brighteners, hydrotropes, suds or foam suppressors, suds or foam boosters and mixtures thereof.
Treated Fabric Article
A fabric article that has been treated in accordance a method of the present invention is also within the scope of the present invention. Preferably such a treated fabric article comprises an analytically detectable amount of at least one compound (e.g., an organosilicone) having a surface energy modifying effect but no antistatic effect; or an analytically detectable amount of at least one compound having a surface energy modifying and/or feel-modifying and/or comfort-modifying and/or aesthetic effect and at least one antistatic agent other than said at least one compound.
Synthesis of Oleyl Based Sucrose Esters with an Average Degree of Esterification of 5.0:
Materials: oleyl (from soybean feedstock) sucrose ester=7.75 (MW=2390 g/mole) DMSO (Dimethylsulfoxide−EM Science)
Sucrose (342 g/mole−Domino Sugar)
Potassium Carbonate Catalyst
Procedure:
Add the DMSO and sucrose into a 12 Liter reactor and mix well to dissolve the sucrose. Then add the oleyl ester 7.75 and 30 g catalyst. Heat to 100-110° C. React until desired degree of esterification is reached by measuring on SFC (supercritical fluid chromatography). Nitrogen is swept over the reactor.
When reaction is completed, cool to ˜65° C. then wash with 10% water and gently mix. Centrifuge at ˜6000 rpm for 5 minutes to remove remaining catalyst, soap and DMSO. Decant off the top liquid layer. Evaporate any remaining DMSO/Water by running material through the 2″ Wipe Film Evaporator (WFE) at 100° C. and ˜0.8 mm Hg.
A control fabric care composition containing a nonionic surfactant and one or more cleaning adjuncts is prepared by mixing the components as following:
*a secondary alcohol nonionic surfactant from Dow
**a silicone copolyol from General Electric
This detergent composition is diluted with D5/0.5% water to 1 wt % concentration in the resulting wash liquor (referred to as “Example 2”). The stain removal or fabric cleaning capability of Example 2 is tested according to ASTM D4265-98 using cotton swatches and artificial stains.
A detergent composition is prepared according to Example 2, except that a sucrose ester (compound 1) was added at 15% of the formula partially replacing propylene glycol. This composition is diluted with D5/0.5% water to 1 wt % concentration in the resulting wash liquor. The stain removal or fabric cleaning capability of the composition is tested according to ASTM D4265-98 using cotton swatches and artificial stains. Example 3 shows improved stain removal on grass, US clay and spaghetti sauce compared to Example 2.
A detergent composition is prepared according to Example 2, except that the sucrose esters 6.0 and 7.0 (compounds 2 and 3) was added at 15% of the formula partially replacing propylene glycol. This composition is diluted with D5/0.5% water to 1 wt % concentration in the resulting wash liquor. The stain removal or fabric cleaning capability of the composition is tested according to ASTM D4265-98 using cotton swatches and artificial stains. Example 4 shows reduced stain removal on grass, US clay and spaghetti sauce compared to Example 3.
The following are non-limiting examples of fabric article treating compositions in accordance with the present invention.
The following are nonlimiting examples of consumable detergent compositions in accordance with the present invention:
While particular embodiments of the present invention have been illustrated and described, it would be apparent to those skilled in the art that various other changes and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. It is therefore intended to cover in the appended claims all such changes and modifications that are within the scope of this invention.
All percentages stated herein are by weight unless otherwise specified. It should be understood that every maximum numerical limitation given throughout this specification will include every lower numerical limitation, as if such lower numerical limitations were expressly written herein. Every minimum numerical limitation given throughout this specification will include every higher numerical limitation, as if such higher numerical limitations were expressly written herein. Every numerical range given throughout this specification will include every narrower numerical range that falls within such broader numerical range, as if such narrower numerical ranges were all expressly written herein.
All documents cited are, in relevant part, incorporated herein by reference; the citation of any document is not to be construed as an admission that it is prior art with respect to the present invention.
This application claims priority under 37 U.S.C. § 119(e) to U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/482,958, filed Jun. 27, 2003.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 60482958 | Jun 2003 | US |
