Fast-dissolving detergent composition and ultra-concentrated liquid laundry product

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to a composition comprising (a) at least one anionic surfactant and (b) a primary alcohol-started nonionic surfactant having formula (I): [Formula 1] JPEG2025511620000011.jpg14170 (In the formula, R' is selected from the group consisting of linear primary alcohols having a C8-18 alkyl chain, R'' is a methyl group or an ethyl group, x is an integer selected from 2 to 4, y is an integer selected from 1 to 30, and z is an integer selected from 1 to 50.) and wherein components (a) and (b) are in an amount of at least 50% by weight based on the total weight of the detergent composition, and component (b) is in an amount of at least 50% by weight of the sum of components (a) and (b). The detergent composition can maintain good flowability of a non-structured or non-aqueous super concentrated detergent, with less solvent, a high proportion of anionic surfactants, does not form gel during dissolution, and has good detergency.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to detergent compositions that dissolve rapidly and ultra-concentrated liquid laundry products.

Background Art

[0002] Standard (non-concentrated) liquid laundry detergents are still dominant in some markets, but concentrated liquid laundry detergents are becoming increasingly popular in both home care and industrial and institutional (I&I) cleaning applications to substantially reduce the consumption of product packages and transportation energy. Furthermore, some highly concentrated liquid laundry formulations can be packaged in water-soluble films, and the resulting unit-dose products have experienced rapid growth in recent years due to their new user experience. One of the important challenges in concentrating laundry detergents is to achieve good fluidity of the product and a rapid dissolution rate during dilution. Introducing a solvent into the formulation is the most common solution. However, the solvent does not contribute to fabric cleaning. On the other hand, when concentrating a liquid laundry formulation to reduce the tendency to gel during manufacture and dissolution, the proportion of anionic surfactants is usually decreased. This reduces the freedom in formulation design and may cause an increase in cost and a compromise in performance. Therefore, certain special surfactants are expected to reduce the thickening tendency of concentrated surfactant combinations and reduce the amount of solvent used, especially when the proportion of anionic surfactants in the formulation is high.

[0003] The mainstream market includes several types of concentrated liquid laundry detergents (LLDs), including structured liquids, unstructured liquids, and non-aqueous liquids. These are typically low-viscosity, clear, isotropic compositions containing large amounts of surfactants along with low levels of builders. Unstructured liquids typically contain 30% to 60% by weight of surfactants and 30% to 60% by weight of water. Non-aqueous liquids typically contain 30% to 80% by weight of surfactants and less than 15% by weight of water. From a cost-performance perspective, anionic surfactants such as AES (alcohol ether sulfate) and LAS (linear alkylbenzene sulfonate), as well as nonionic surfactants such as linear primary alcohol ethoxylate (L-PAE), account for the overwhelming majority of surfactant combinations. Combinations of these three types of surfactants tend to form a high-viscosity phase at high concentrations (30-70% by weight) and a gel phase during dilution with water. High viscosity formulations are inconvenient for manufacturing, packaging, and application. On the other hand, the high-viscosity phase formed during dissolution can lead to detergent residue on fabrics and washing machines, blockage of dispenser pipelines, and reduced cleaning performance.

[0004] Therefore, organic solvents such as glycols and glycol ethers are added to formulations to reduce viscosity, maintain handling properties, and shorten dissolution time. However, these organic solvents increase formulation costs even though they provide no cleaning power whatsoever. Another way to solve the thickening problem is to add alkoxylated nonionic surfactants, such as alkoxylated nonionic surfactants derived from Guerbet alcohols. Their fluidity is far better than that of the above surfactants at high concentrations, but their cleaning power is weaker compared to L-PAE. When a large amount of alkoxylated nonionic surfactant is used in a concentrated composition, the amount of solvent used may be reduced, but this usually weakens the cleaning power of the composition as well.

[0005] In addition, reducing the proportion of anionic surfactants in concentrated liquid laundry detergents is another common approach to overcome the tendency towards thickening. However, this can reduce the freedom of formulation design and lead to increased costs and compromises in performance.

[0006] Therefore, there remains an urgent demand from cleaning customers for nonionic surfactants that can maintain good fluidity of unstructured or non-aqueous ultraconcentrated detergents, while containing less organic solvent and a higher proportion of anionic surfactants, and that do not form gels during dissolution. [Overview of the Initiative]

[0007] After continuous exploration, the inventors have surprisingly developed detergent compositions and ultra-concentrated liquid laundry products that not only contain a smaller amount of solvent and a higher proportion of anionic surfactant, but also exhibit good cleaning power and good fluidity.

[0008] In the first aspect of this disclosure, this disclosure is, (a) at least one anionic surfactant, (b) Primary alcohol-derived nonionic surfactant having at least one formula (I): [ka] A detergent composition comprising (wherein R' is selected from the group consisting of linear primary alcohols having C8-18 alkyl chains, R'' is a methyl group or an ethyl group, x is an integer selected from 2 to 4, y is an integer selected from 1 to 30, and z is an integer selected from 1 to 50), The present invention provides a detergent composition in which component (a) and component (b) are present in an amount of at least 50% by weight based on the total weight of the detergent composition, and component (a) is present in an amount of at least 50% by weight of the sum of component (a) and component (b).

[0009] In a second aspect of the present disclosure, the present disclosure provides a superconcentrated liquid laundry product comprising a detergent composition.

[0010] In this disclosure, nonionic surfactants, as well as detergent compositions and liquid laundry products containing surfactants, may exhibit improved cleaning power and good viscosity control in highly concentrated formulations. Furthermore, they also exhibit better fluidity and do not form gels during dissolution, even with smaller amounts of solvent and higher proportions of anionic surfactant.

[0011] Please understand that the general description above and the detailed description below are illustrative and descriptive only, and do not limit the claimed invention. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0012] [Figure 1] This is a regression analysis showing a strong linear correlation between Delta P and viscosity measured by a Brookfield DV-II+Pro viscometer. [Figure 2] This is a comparison of the cleaning power (stain removal) of the unit dose laundry detergent formulations (a / b = 60 / 40 weight ratio) of Examples IE-1 to IE-10 and Comparative Examples CE-A to CE-E in this disclosure. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0013] Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meanings as those generally understood by those skilled in the art to which the invention pertains. Where disclosed herein, “and / or” means “and, or alternatively” or “in addition, or alternatively.” All scopes include the endpoint unless otherwise indicated.

[0014] In this disclosure, a primary alcohol-derived nonionic surfactant has formula (I): [ka] (In the formula, R' is selected from the group consisting of linear primary alcohols having C8-18 alkyl chains, R'' is a methyl group or an ethyl group, x is an integer selected from 2 to 4, y is an integer selected from 1 to 30, and z is an integer selected from 1 to 50).

[0015] In this specification, the term "C8-18 alkyl chain" refers to an alkyl chain having 8 to 18 carbon atoms. In embodiments of this disclosure, the C8-18 alkyl chain can be selected from n-octyl, n-nonyl, n-decyl, n-undecyl, n-dodecyl, n-tridecyl, n-tetradecyl, n-pentadecyl, n-hexadecyl, n-heptadecyl, n-octadecyl, or a mixture thereof.

[0016] In embodiments of this disclosure, x is an integer selected from 2, 3, and 4. In embodiments of this disclosure, y is an integer selected from 1 to 30, 1 to 25, 1 to 20, 1 to 16, 1 to 12, 1 to 9, 1 to 4, 4 to 30, 4 to 25, 4 to 20, 4 to 16, 4 to 12, 4 to 9, 9 to 30, 9 to 25, 9 to 20, 9 to 16, 9 to 12, 12 to 30, 12 to 25, 12 to 20, 12 to 16, 16 to 30, 16 to 25, 16 to 20, 20 to 30, and 20 to 25, and 25 to 30. In alternative embodiments of this disclosure, y is an integer selected from 21 to 30, 21 to 29, 23 to 29, and 25 to 29. In embodiments of the present disclosure, z is an integer selected from 1 to 50, 1 to 40, 1 to 30, 1 to 20, 1 to 10, 1 to 5, 5 to 50, 5 to 40, 5 to 30, 5 to 20, 5 to 10, 10 to 50, 10 to 40, 10 to 30, 10 to 20, 20 to 50, 20 to 40, 20 to 30, 30 to 50, 30 to 40, and 40 to 50.

[0017] In embodiments of this disclosure, the sum of x and z is 3-54, 3-50, 3-40, 3-30, 3-20, 3-10, 3-5, 5-54, 5-50, 5-40, 5-30, 5-20, 5-10, 10-54, 10-50, 10-40, 10-30, 10-25, 10-20, 10-15, 15-54, 1 It is an integer selected from 5-50, 15-40, 15-30, 15-25, 15-20, 20-54, 20-50, 20-40, 20-30, 20-25, 25-54, 25-50, 25-40, 25-30, 30-54, 30-50, 30-40, 40-54, 40-50, and 50-54.

[0018] In another embodiment of the present disclosure, the sum of x and z is an integer selected from 8-30, 8-25, 8-20, 8-15, 8-10, 10-30, 10-25, 10-20, 10-15, 15-30, 15-25, 15-20, 20-30, 20-25, and 25-30.

[0019] In alternative embodiments of the present disclosure, the number of y is less than the sum of x and z. Alternatively, y may be equal to the sum of x and z, or y may be greater than the sum of x and z. In alternative embodiments of the present disclosure, y is greater than 8, 12, 16, or 20. In alternative embodiments of the present disclosure, the sum of x and z is greater than 20, 24, 28, or 32.

[0020] In the present disclosure, a linear C8-18 alcohol-derived triblock nonionic surfactant can increase the concentration of an anionic surfactant in a detergent composition to a much higher level than in the prior art. In this regard, the inventors have found that a primary alcohol-derived nonionic surfactant can be applied to a detergent composition containing an anionic surfactant so as to increase the total surfactant concentration and decrease the solvent content. In the present disclosure, the detergent composition is characterized by (i) less than 20% by weight (preferably less than 15% by weight, more preferably less than 5% by weight, most preferably less than 1% by weight) of an organic solvent based on the weight of the detergent composition, (ii) at least 50% by weight (preferably at least 55% by weight, more preferably at least 60% by weight, even more preferably at least 70% by weight, most preferably at least 80% by weight) of a surfactant based on the weight of the detergent composition, and (iii) a viscosity of 1000 cP or less at 25°C (when measured by the HTR TADM method) and a viscosity of less than 1000 cP during the dissolution process, with at least two of these characteristics.

[0021] In the present disclosure, the detergent composition may contain (a) at least one anionic surfactant and (b) at least one primary alcohol-derived nonionic surfactant. In the present disclosure, the detergent composition may further contain (c) at least one organic solvent.

[0022] In the embodiments of the present invention, the anionic surfactant used in the present invention as component (a) is not particularly limited, and examples thereof include alkyl sulfate, alkyl ether sulfate, alkyl sulfonate, fatty acid salt, dialkyl sulfosuccinate, alkylbenzene sulfonate, alkyl phosphate, fatty acid soap, and α-olefin sulfonate. The anionic surfactant is preferably selected from alkyl sulfate, alkyl ether sulfate, alkane sulfonate, fatty acid salt, dialkyl sulfosuccinate, and any combination thereof. In the embodiments of the present disclosure, the anionic surfactant substantially does not contain any intermediate polar spacer inserted between the hydrophilic part and the hydrophobic part of the anionic surfactant. In the present disclosure, the intermediate polar spacer generally includes a chain of propylene oxide (PO), a chain of butylene oxide (BO), or any combination of ethylene oxide (EO), PO, and BO in a block or random order.

[0023] Regarding the optional organic solvents, they may be used alone in the detergent composition or in combination with other organic solvents in the detergent composition. In the embodiments of the present disclosure, the organic solvent may be at least one solvent selected from the group consisting of ethanol, isopropyl alcohol, propylene glycol, and the like.

[0024] In the embodiments of the present disclosure, components (a) and (b) are present in an amount of at least 50 wt%, at least 55 wt%, at least 60 wt%, at least 70 wt%, or at least 80 wt% based on the total weight of the detergent composition. In another embodiment of the present disclosure, components (a) and (b) are present in an amount of more than 50 wt%, more than 55 wt%, more than 60 wt%, more than 70 wt%, or more than 80 wt% based on the total weight of the detergent composition.

[0025] In embodiments of the present disclosure, component (a) is in an amount of at least 50% by weight, at least 55% by weight, at least 60% by weight, at least 70% by weight, or at least 80% by weight of the sum of components (a) and (b). In alternative embodiments of the present disclosure, component (a) is in an amount of more than 50% by weight, more than 55% by weight, more than 60% by weight, more than 70% by weight, or more than 80% by weight of the sum of components (a) and (b).

[0026] In embodiments of this disclosure, the detergent composition comprises component (c) in less than 20% by weight, less than 15% by weight, less than 10% by weight, less than 5% by weight, or less than 1% by weight.

[0027] In this disclosure, a detergent composition can be diluted with water to provide a liquid laundry product. In this disclosure, the detergent composition may contain some water, and the amount of water can be adjusted according to the actual need for washing. In one embodiment of this disclosure, the amount of water is generally small in highly concentrated detergent formulations. On the other hand, since the packaging material of a unit-dose detergent formulation is water-soluble, a unit-dose detergent formulation generally cannot contain too much water. For example, a unit-dose detergent formulation may contain 5 to 10% by weight of water.

[0028] This disclosure provides for the use of a detergent composition in a highly concentrated liquid laundry product having good fluidity and / or rapid dissolution at high concentrations, preferably having a viscosity of less than 1000 cP even at a surfactant concentration of at least 50% by weight, and / or a viscosity of less than 1000 cP during the dissolution process.

[0029] This disclosure provides detergent compositions that may exhibit the following properties: - Based on the weight of the detergent composition, good fluidity (lower viscosity of less than 1000 cP) at high surfactant concentrations such as at least 50% by weight (preferably at least 55% by weight, more preferably at least 60% by weight, even more preferably at least 70% by weight, most preferably at least 80% by weight), and - Rapid dissolution, for example, lower viscosity during the dissolution process, less than 1000 cP.

[0030] Furthermore, linear C8-18 primary alcohol-derived triblock nonionic surfactants contain much longer PO chains in their structure. In addition to significant viscosity control in highly concentrated unit-dose detergent formulations, they can effectively reduce the amount of organic solvent used in the formulation. [Examples]

[0031] Some embodiments of the present invention are described herein in the following examples, and all parts and percentages are by weight unless otherwise specified.

[0032] Examples 1-10 and Comparative Examples A-E of the present invention As shown in Table 1, the surfactants in Examples (IE) 1 to 10 and Comparative Examples (CE) A to E of the present invention were tested or evaluated according to the measurements described below. [Table 1]

[0033] Preparation of detergent composition A unit-dose liquid laundry detergent formulation was prepared according to the following steps: 1. Water and propylene glycol were mixed in a beaker while mechanically stirring. 2. Dodecylbenzenesulfonic acid (DBSA), sodium laureth-2 sulfate (AES), oleic acid, and monoethanolamine (MEA) were added to the beaker. 3. After neutralization, one of the nonionic surfactants IE-1 to IE-10 and CE-A to CE-E was added to the beaker and the mixture was blended uniformly. 4. The pH was adjusted to 7.5 with MEA to form a unit-dose liquid laundry detergent composition. [Table 2] [Table 3] [Table 4] [Table 5] [Table 6]

[0034] Testing and evaluation As shown in Figure 2, stain removal tests of concentrated and unit-dose liquid laundry detergent formulations were conducted. Cleaning process: -Equipment:Terg-o-tometer JB003-Sebum cloth -Application amount: 0.8g / L -Water hardness: Calculated as 250 ppm using CaCO3 (weight ratio - MgCl26H2O:CaCl2 = 20.37:16.7) -Temperature: 30℃ - Rotation speed: 120 rpm - Duration: 20 minutes

[0035] GB Sebum contains synthetic sebum, gum dye / cotton, supplied by the China Research Institute of Daily Chemical Industry.

[0036] 1. Dirt removal measurement: Equipment: Konica Minolta spectrophotometer CM-3600A.

[0037] 2. Procedure: The color of dried swatches was measured using a spectrophotometer before and after washing. Both sides of each swatch were measured, and the readings were averaged. The color measurement output included L*, a*, and b*. The cleaning power was calculated based on the following formula: Stain removal rate (%) = (L * after - L * before) / (96 - L * before) × 100%

[0038] Dilution test of unit dose detergent A unit dose of 5 g of detergent was added to a 50 mL plastic centrifuge tube. 0.5 g of DI water was added to the tube and it was shaken manually. After mixing the water with the detergent, the tube was inverted, and the fluidity was measured by the time it took for the liquid to flow from the top to the bottom of the tube. This procedure was repeated nine times. Fluidity was described as "fluid" if the flow time was less than 2 seconds, "viscous" if the flow time was more than 2 seconds but not more than 5 seconds, and "gel" if the flow time was more than 5 seconds.

[0039] Viscosity measurement during dissolution Initial viscosity and viscosity during dissolution were measured using the TADM (Total Aspiration and Dispensing Monitoring) function of a Hamilton MicroLab Star liquid handling robot at 20°C. The Hamilton robot aspirations and dispenses the sample at a set rate and monitors the pressure change. A calibration curve is created using a known viscosity standard. Viscosity is then calculated by comparing the pressure curve of the sample with the pressure curve of the viscosity standard. The data collected by the TADM method was in the form of delta P. In this invention, viscosity was calculated according to the formula: viscosity = 0.3461 × delta P - 115.44. In Figure 1, regression analysis shows a strong linear correlation between delta P and viscosity measured by a Brookfield DV-II+Pro viscometer. A 2 mL unit dose formulation was added to an 8 mL glass tube, and the initial viscosity was measured.

[0040] After viscosity measurement, 1 mL of deionized water was added to the tube, and the mixture was mixed until homogeneous. Then, viscosity was measured again using the TADM method. The process of adding water and measuring viscosity was repeated twice until 3 mL of deionized water was mixed into the unit dose formulation.

[0041] Based on the comparison between the above-described embodiments of the present invention and comparative examples, the following was found: 1. The formulations in Table 2 contained a very high total surfactant content of 80% by weight per unit dose, while, in contrast, the solvent content (propylene glycol) and water content were 10% by weight and 2.88% by weight, respectively. In addition, the formulations contained very high content of anionic surfactants, at 60% and 70% based on the total weight of surfactants. 2. In Figure 2, unit-dose formulations with better cleaning power than the comparative surfactants were obtained from most of the surfactants IE1 to IE10. 3. The formulations in Table 3 contained a reduced amount of propylene glycol. The anionic surfactant content was approximately 55% based on the total weight of the surfactants. 4. In Table 4, several surfactants in IE1-10 made low-solvent unit-dose formulations fluid at 20°C, and no high-viscosity phase was observed during dilution with water. However, all of the comparative formulations formed gels during dilution. 5. In Tables 5 and 6, the surfactants IE1-10 provided unit-dose formulations with a viscosity of less than 1000 cP, and no high-viscosity phase (>1000 cP) was observed during dilution with water. A high-viscosity phase was observed when unit-dose formulations containing CE-A, CE-B, or CE-C were diluted.

[0042] Based on all of the above performance comparisons, the EO-PO-EO triblock surfactants of this disclosure demonstrated excellent anti-gelling properties in concentrated liquid laundry detergent formulations. When used in concentrated detergent formulations, they not only maintain good fluidity and rapid dissolution but also reduce the organic solvent content.

Claims

1. A concentrated liquid laundry detergent formulation, (a) at least one anionic surfactant selected from the group consisting of alkyl sulfates, alkyl ether sulfates, alkyl sulfonates, fatty acid salts, dialkyl sulfosuccinates, alkylbenzene sulfonates, alkyl phosphates, fatty acid soaps, and α-olefin sulfonates, (b) Formula (I): 【Chemistry 1】 (In the formula, R' is selected from the group consisting of linear primary alcohols having an alkyl chain selected from n-dodecyl, n-tridecyl, n-tetradecyl, n-pentadecyl, n-hexadecyl, n-heptadecyl, n-octadecyl, or mixtures thereof. R'' is a methyl group, x is an integer selected from 2 to 4. y is an integer selected from 9 to 16. z is an integer selected from 10 to 30. A primary alcohol-derived nonionic surfactant having, A concentrated liquid laundry detergent formulation in which component (a) and component (b) are present in an amount of at least 70% by weight based on the total weight of the concentrated liquid laundry detergent formulation, component (a) is present in an amount of at least 60% by weight of the sum of component (a) and component (b), and component (a) / component (b) (weight ratio) is 60 / 40 to 70 / 30.

2. The concentrated liquid laundry detergent formulation according to claim 1, wherein component (a) and component (b) are present in an amount of at least 80% by weight based on the total weight of the concentrated liquid laundry detergent formulation.

3. The concentrated liquid laundry detergent formulation according to claim 1, wherein the concentrated liquid laundry detergent formulation further comprises (c) an organic solvent.

4. The concentrated liquid laundry detergent formulation according to claim 3, wherein the concentrated liquid laundry detergent formulation contains more than 0% by weight and less than 20% by weight of component (c).

5. The concentrated liquid laundry detergent formulation according to claim 1, wherein the anionic surfactant is selected from alkyl sulfates, alkyl ether sulfates, alkanesulfonates, fatty acid salts, dialkyl sulfosuccinates, and any combination thereof.

6. The concentrated liquid laundry detergent formulation according to claim 1, wherein the anionic surfactant does not include any intermediate polarity spacer inserted between the hydrophilic portion and the hydrophobic portion of the anionic surfactant.

7. The concentrated liquid laundry detergent formulation according to claim 6, wherein the intermediate polarity spacer comprises a chain of propylene oxide (PO), a chain of butylene oxide (BO), or any combination of ethylene oxide (EO), PO, and BO in a block or random order.

8. An ultra-concentrated liquid laundry product comprising the concentrated liquid laundry detergent formulation described in claim 1.

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