Antioxidant Laundry Composition to Reduce Persistent Fabric Malodors
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current laundry processes often fail to completely eliminate malodors from fabrics, which can persist even after washing, due to the persistence of odor-causing substances and their degradation products.
Innovation Solution
A process involving a wash liquor with a diluted laundry detergent composition containing an antioxidant, such as an alkylated or hindered phenol, and a metal ion like Cu2+, which is used to treat fabrics during washing, effectively reducing malodors by combining the antioxidant with metal ions to neutralize odor sources.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-generated harmful factors
If conventional laundry wash processes are used, then fabrics are cleaned of soils, but malodors persist on fabrics after washing
Solution Approach 1:
An antioxidant composition is applied to the fabrics as an intermediary treatment after washing. This composition contains antioxidants that chemically interact with and neutralize the odor-causing substances (such as aldehydes and ketones) that persist on fabrics after conventional washing, thereby eliminating malodors that standard laundry processes cannot remove
Solution Approach 2:
The invention uses a composite approach by combining the antioxidant composition with specific carriers or delivery systems. The antioxidant formulation may include multiple components working synergistically - antioxidants for neutralizing odor molecules, carriers for controlled release, and potentially metal ions or enzymes that enhance the odor-neutralizing effect, creating a multi-functional treatment system
2Object-generated harmful factors
If spraying antioxidant compositions is used, then malodors are reduced, but the process complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The antioxidant composition is designed to be self-applied or easily applied through simple spraying mechanisms. The formulation may include properties that enable self-distribution on fabric surfaces or controlled release during storage, reducing the need for complex application equipment or multiple processing steps while still achieving effective malodor reduction
Solution Approach 2:
The antioxidant composition serves multiple functions simultaneously - it acts as an odor-neutralizing agent, a fabric protector, and potentially a freshness-maintaining treatment. This multi-functionality consolidates what would otherwise require separate treatments into a single application, simplifying the overall process while addressing the malodor persistence problem
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The process significantly reduces malodors on fabrics by neutralizing odor-causing substances, providing a noticeable decrease in malodor markers post-wash, as demonstrated by the malodor reduction test methods.
Implementation Method 1
the combination of the specific choice of antioxidant according to the present invention in combination with a metal ion that provides the reduced malodor benefit on the fabrics through the wash
Data Source
Figure 1
AI summary
The present invention relates to a process for reducing malodors on fabrics using a detergent composition containing an antioxidant and use of said antioxidant and said process.