Carbon Capture Surfactant Laundry Composition
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current liquid laundry compositions lack improved foaming characteristics, fragrance performance, color stability, viscosity management, and antimicrobial properties, while also relying on fossil fuel-based carbon sources, which are unsustainable and inefficient.
Innovation Solution
A laundry treatment composition featuring a surfactant with a C8-22 alkyl chain and ethoxylate units, where at least one ethoxylate unit is derived from carbon capture, enhancing foaming, viscosity, and fragrance retention, and incorporating ingredients that reduce light absorption and improve antimicrobial properties, with a focus on using renewable and sustainable carbon sources.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If fossil fuel-based carbon sources are used in laundry compositions, then manufacturing cost is reduced and production is simpler, but environmental sustainability deteriorates and carbon footprint increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the carbon source parameter from fossil fuel-based to carbon capture-derived, transforming the environmental characteristics while maintaining the surfactant's functional properties. This parameter change enables improved biodegradability and reduced carbon footprint without fundamentally altering the manufacturing process.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent converts harmful carbon emissions (CO2) from industrial processes into useful ethoxylate units for surfactant synthesis. By capturing and utilizing this waste carbon, the process transforms an environmental harm into a beneficial resource, reducing both carbon footprint and waste while maintaining manufacturing efficiency.
2Device complexity
If conventional surfactants are used, then formulation is simpler, but foaming characteristics and fragrance performance are insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs composite surfactant structures combining carbon capture-derived ethoxylate units with appropriate alkyl chains and functional groups. This composite approach enhances foaming characteristics and fragrance performance by creating molecules with optimized molecular weight, hydrophobicity, and volatility properties.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies local quality modification by controlling the ethoxylate unit composition within specific regions of the surfactant molecule. By adjusting the carbon content and molecular structure in different parts of the surfactant, the formulation achieves enhanced foaming and fragrance retention without requiring complex multi-component systems.
3Stability of the object's composition
If higher viscosity modifiers are added to improve product viscosity, then product use confidence is improved, but manufacturing cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent enables the surfactant itself to provide viscosity enhancement through its molecular structure and carbon capture-derived components. The ethoxylate units and alkyl chain configuration naturally contribute to appropriate viscosity characteristics, eliminating the need for separate expensive viscosity modifiers and reducing manufacturing costs while maintaining product stability.
Data Source
AI summary
A laundry treatment composition comprising a surfactant comprising a C8-22 alkyl chain and a mole average of from 2 to 40 ethoxylate units, at least one ethoxylate unit comprising carbon obtained from carbon capture.