Claims
- 1. A non-mushing high lathering synthetic toilet bar having a pH of about 4.5-9.5 and comprising based on the total weight of the actives:
- i. 40 to about 85% of a primary alkane sulfonate or a mixture of alkane sulfonates wherein the carbon chain contains 12 carbon atoms or averages 12 carbon atoms;
- ii. 5 to about 35% of a natural or synthetic fatty acid or mixtures thereof wherein the carbon chain contains or averages 12 carbon atoms;
- iii. 5 to about 30% of a binder modifier selected from the group consisting of alkali metal, magnesium and ammonium salts of C.sub.12 -C.sub.18 primary alkyl sulfates; and
- iv. based on the total weight of the bar, 5-25% water.
- 2. The toilet bar of claim 1 wherein the alkane sulfonate is a C.sub.12 alkane sulfonate.
- 3. The toilet bar of claim 1 wherein the fatty acids are C.sub.12 fatty acids.
- 4. The toilet bar of claim 1 wherein the alkane sulfonate fraction consists of 40-60% of C.sub.10 homologs and 60-40% of C.sub.14 homologs.
- 5. The toilet bar of claim 1 wherein the alkane sulfonate is present in an amount of about 56% and consists of an equal mixture of C.sub.10 and C.sub.14 homologs; the fatty acid is present in an amount of about 23%; and the binder modifier is present in an amount of about 16%.
- 6. The toilet bar of claim 1 wherein the alkane sulfonate is present in an amount ranging from about 55 to about 80%.
- 7. The toilet bar of claim 6 wherein the fatty acid is present in an amount ranging from about 10 to about 25%.
- 8. The toilet bar of claim 7 wherein the binder modifier is present in an amount ranging from about 10 to about 25%.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
This application is a division of application Ser. No. 419,558, filed Nov. 28, 1973, now U.S. Pat. No. 3,989,647, which is a continuation of application Ser. No. 137,228, filed Apr. 28, 1973, now abandoned, which is a continuation-in-part application of Ser. No. 54,008, filed July 10, 1970, now abandoned.
1. Field of Invention
Detergent bars.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The ideal toilet bar should have certain characteristics. For example, a toilet bar should possess good detergency when used on the skin and other surfaces in all kinds of water including hard, soft, sea, cold and hot. It should also exhibit excellent lathering qualities in all types of water and be mild and non-injurious to the skin. It should also have a pleasing appearance, rinse off easily and have a pleasing feel after use. The toilet bar itself should exhibit little or no tendency toward softening, blooming, crystallizing, cracking, drying or decomposing under storage conditions, and further have the ability to be produced in standard soap-making equipment.
Toilet bars prepared from soap have many of the aforementioned qualities, but as a class generally are deficient in one or more aspects and particularly with regard to lathering qualities under varying water conditions.
The addition of a synthetic detergent to soap to improve performance in hard and cold water has been practiced for many years, but the major objection to such combinations still resides in lather characteristics.
On the other hand, bars made principally of non-soap synthetic detergent are not satisfactory due to high hydroscopicity, unsatisfactory solubility characteristics, extreme defatting action on the skin, and lack of lubricant effect usually associated with soap, poor working properties in standard soap machinery, brittleness and poor cohesion or excessive softness of the bar itself. For example, alkyl benzene sulfonates are in general excellent from the standpoint of being able to produce lather in hard water, but, when used by themselves, result in detergent bars which are much too soft and sticky. Accordingly, in order to correct these deficiencies, the prior art suggests incorporation of various binders and fillers: however, bars so prepared still do not have the feel and other properties desirable in a toilet bar. In addition, bars made containing such constituents are difficult to process in conventional equipment.
Normally, alkene sulfonates made by adding SO.sub.3 to an .alpha.-olefin, although being much harder than alkyl benzene sulfonates, become very sticky when small percentages of water are incorporated in a formed detergent bar. As a consequence, bars made from these materials are also very difficult to process in the usual soap-making equipment, and additionally have a tacky after-feel on the hands and also exhibit a wear rate which is extremely high, and thus are undesirable notwithstanding the fact that the lather evolved is of excellent quality.
Other synthetic detergents such as alkyl sulfates, sarcosinates, mono-alkyl succinates, coco methyl tauride and the like, although offering many advantages, are either too harsh in the ranges that they lather, require critical conditions to plod successfully, or are too expensive to be used as the main ingredient in detergent bars.
The alkane sulfonates, particularly in the C.sub.8 -C.sub.18 molecular weight range have also been suggested for use in detergent compositions. These materials are hard, at least as mild as soap, and will tolerate up to 25% water without becoming sticky. When used by themselves, however, even with 25% water these materials do not possess the desired plasticity characteristic of soap. Thus, they are difficult to process in that they are too hard to plod and stamp successfully. Moreover, the quality of lather evolved leaves much to be desired in volume and in creaminess. In order to correct these defects, the prior art (Canadian Pat. No. 636,022; U.S. Pat. No. 3,442,812; and U.S. Pat. No. 2,781,321) suggests incorporation in addition to the primary alkane a fatty acid plus other optional ingredients. It has been found, however, that when toilet bars are prepared in accordance with this prior art, the resulting product suffers severely in lathering characteristics and may be quite mushy.
As inexpensive, synthetic detergent toilet bar is provided having superior lathering properties under all water conditions, which is mild and has a soap-like after-feel to the skin, which is non-mushing under conditions of use and is readily processed with conventional soap-making equipment by incorporating in selected proportions an alkane sulfonate containing 12 carbon atoms in the alkyl chain or a mixture of alkane sulfonates averaging 12 carbon atoms in the alkyl chain, a superfatting agent comprising natural or synthetic fatty acids containing 12 carbon atoms or mixtures of said acids averaging 12 carbon atoms and a binder modifier selected from the group consisting of hydroxyalkane sulfonates, acyl (C.sub.10 -C.sub.16) isethionates, alkylmethyl taurides, hydroxyalkylmethyl taurine, alkyl sulfates, alkyl phosphates, alkyl phosphonates, alkyl sulfosuccinates, mono-alkyl succinates, mono-alkyl succinates and maleates, alkane disulfonates and alkene sulfonates. The bar so provided has a composition comprising, based on the active present, of about 40% to about 80% by weight of the alkane sulfonate, about 5% to about 35% of a natural or a synthetic fatty acid, and 5% to about 30% of a binder modifier, and based on the total weight of the bar 5% to about 25% water.
I have found that a relatively inexpensive and readily available synthetic detergent material, which by itself does not make a good toilet bar, can be utilized in accordance with the present invention to provide a toilet bar which exhibits extraordinary qualities of lather evolution and creaminess, has a low wear rate, is readily processable but does not mush under conditions of use.
In accordance with the teachings of the present invention, toilet bars of improved performance qualities may be prepared by combining a select group of alkane sulfonates (A) with a select group of superfatting agents (B), and specific binder modifier (C) in critical proportions indicated by the cross-hatched area of the triangular graph of FIG. 1.
US Referenced Citations (5)
Foreign Referenced Citations (1)
| Number |
Date |
Country |
| 890,696 |
Mar 1962 |
UK |
Divisions (1)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
| Parent |
419558 |
Nov 1973 |
|
Continuations (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
| Parent |
137288 |
Apr 1973 |
|
Continuation in Parts (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
| Parent |
54008 |
Jul 1970 |
|
Patent Grant
4058487
