Water-Free Effervescent Cleaner Composition for Faster Dissolution

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Solution Overview

Problem

Conventional home care products, such as hard surface cleaners, often require large volumes of water, leading to increased costs due to processing, transportation, and packaging, and dissolvable tablets have lengthy dissolution times.

Innovation Solution

Effervescent compositions comprising alkali metal carbonates, acids, surfactants, and disintegrant agents, formulated to be substantially free of water, with optimized ratios and amounts to achieve rapid dissolution times of 6-12 minutes.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Quantity of substance

If conventional home care products utilize large volumes of water as the primary vehicle, then the active ingredients can be effectively contained and delivered, but the costs increase due to processing, transportation, and packaging requirements

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvevolume of waterVSAvoidprocessing and transportation cost
Core Design Contradiction:
Quantity of substanceVSEase of manufacture

Solution Approach 1:

The patent extracts water from the conventional liquid cleaner formulation, transitioning to a water-free effervescent tablet format. The active cleaning ingredients are embedded in a solid effervescent matrix that reacts with water during use, eliminating the need to transport and process large volumes of water while maintaining cleaning effectiveness

Inventive Principle:
Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

Solution Approach 2:

The patent changes the physical state parameter of the cleaner from liquid to solid effervescent tablet form. This parameter change allows the product to be concentrated and stable in solid form, then transform back to liquid solution through effervescent reaction with water during application, solving the transportation and storage cost issue

Inventive Principle:
Principle #35Parameter changes

2Quantity of substance

If conventional dissolvable tablets are used to reduce water volume, then transportation and storage costs decrease, but the dissolution time becomes excessively long

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvevolume of waterVSAvoiddissolution time
Core Design Contradiction:
Quantity of substanceVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The patent incorporates effervescent agents (such as sodium bicarbonate and citric acid) into the tablet formulation in advance. When the tablet contacts water, these pre-positioned agents rapidly generate carbon dioxide gas bubbles that actively disintegrate and dissolve the tablet, reducing dissolution time from potentially hours to minutes while maintaining the concentrated water-free formulation

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The patent utilizes the phase transition from solid tablet to liquid solution through effervescent reaction. The rapid gas evolution during this phase transition creates mechanical disruption and increased surface area, dramatically accelerating the dissolution process compared to simple diffusion-based dissolution of conventional tablets

Inventive Principle:
Principle #36Phase transitions

3Loss of time

If effervescent agents are added to accelerate dissolution, then the dissolution time decreases, but the formulation complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvedissolution timeVSAvoidformulation complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
Loss of timeVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent merges the effervescent agents (sodium bicarbonate, citric acid) with the cleaning active ingredients and surfactants into a single integrated effervescent tablet formulation. This combining approach achieves rapid dissolution through effervescence while maintaining a unified, relatively simple manufacturing process that mixes all components into a homogeneous tablet matrix

Inventive Principle:
Principle #5Merging (Combining)

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 compositions provide enhanced dissolution times and reduced weight and storage space requirements, minimizing transportation and storage costs while maintaining effective cleaning performance.

Implementation Method 1

The effervescent base may include one or more alkali metal carbonates and one or more acids. The one or more alkali metal carbonates and the one or more acids may be present in a weight ratio of from about 1:1 to about 5:1.

Methodology Applied
Scientific EffectChemical reaction: Chemical Bonding

Implementation Method 2

The effervescent compositions may include an effervescent base, one or more surfactants, one or more solidifying agents, and one or more disintegrant agents.

Methodology Applied
Scientific EffectSurfactant action: Surfactant

Implementation Method 3

The effervescent composition may have a dissolution time of from about 6 min to about 12 min.

Methodology Applied
Scientific EffectDisintegration:

Data Source

PatentUS12570925B2Effervescent compositions and solutions prepared from the same
Publication Date: 2026.03.10 COLGATE PALMOLIVE CO

AI summary

Effervescent compositions for preparing home care products and methods for preparing the same are disclosed. The effervescent compositions may include an effervescent base, one or more surfactants, one or more solidifying agents, and one or more disintegrant agents. The effervescent base may include one or more alkali metal carbonates and one or more acids. The one or more alkali metal carbonates and the one or more acids may be present in a weight ratio of from about 1:1 to about 5:1. The effervescent composition may be substantially free of water. The effervescent composition may have a dissolution time of from about 6 min to about 12 min. The method for preparing the effervescent composition may include contacting the effervescent base, the surfactants, the solidifying agents, and the disintegrant agents with one another to prepare a mixture, which may be a homogenous mixture.