Liquid Detergent with Enzyme System for Reduced Surfactant

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Solution Overview

Problem

Conventional detergents face challenges in reducing surfactant content while maintaining cleaning performance, leading to redeposition of dirt and color pigments on textiles, and struggle to stabilize combinations of color catchers and optical brighteners, especially at high pH values.

Innovation Solution

A liquid composition containing water, a specific range of surfactants, lipase, mannanase, and α-amylase, with reduced surfactant content (0.1-13% by weight) and minimal protease activity (0-0.0005% by weight), which includes a combination of anionic and nonionic surfactants, and enzymes to enhance cleaning performance and prevent redeposition.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Object-affected harmful factors

If surfactant content is reduced in detergents, then ecological performance is improved, but cleaning performance deteriorates

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveecological impactVSAvoidcleaning performance

Core Design Contradiction:

Object-affected harmful factorsVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The patent changes the chemical composition parameters by replacing conventional surfactants with a specific enzyme system (lipase, mannanase, and α-amylase in defined ratios) to achieve effective cleaning at reduced surfactant levels (0.1-13% by weight), thereby improving ecological performance while maintaining cleaning reliability

Inventive Principle:

Principle #35Parameter changes

Solution Approach 2:

The invention uses a composite enzyme system combining lipase, mannanase, and α-amylase in specific proportions, along with biodegradable surfactants, to create a multi-functional cleaning formulation that achieves effective dirt removal with reduced overall surfactant content

Inventive Principle:

Principle #40Composite materials

2Object-affected harmful factors

If surfactant content is reduced, then ecological performance is improved, but redeposition of dirt and color pigments increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveecological impactVSAvoidredeposition of dirt

Core Design Contradiction:

Object-affected harmful factorsVSObject-generated harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

The patent modifies the chemical parameters by incorporating specific enzymes (particularly mannanase for starch removal and lipase for lipid breakdown) that prevent dirt and color pigment redeposition through enzymatic degradation, allowing reduced surfactant content while preventing the harmful redeposition effect

Inventive Principle:

Principle #35Parameter changes

Solution Approach 2:

The enzyme system acts as an intermediary mechanism that actively prevents redeposition by breaking down dirt particles and color pigments into smaller, non-adhering molecules, compensating for the reduced surfactant anti-redeposition capability

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

3Illumination intensity

If color catchers and optical brighteners are combined in liquid detergents, then visual enhancement is improved, but stability deteriorates due to precipitate formation

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvevisual enhancementVSAvoidformulation stability

Core Design Contradiction:

Illumination intensityVSStability of the object's composition

Solution Approach 1:

The patent extracts or removes conventional optical brighteners from the formulation, achieving visual enhancement through alternative means (enzyme-mediated cleaning and biodegradable surfactant systems) that do not cause precipitate formation when combined with color catchers, thereby maintaining formulation stability

Inventive Principle:

Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

Solution Approach 2:

The invention uses biodegradable surfactants with short environmental persistence that do not interact adversely with color catchers, avoiding the stability problems associated with conventional persistent optical brighteners in liquid formulations

Inventive Principle:

Principle #27Cheap short-living objects (Disposable)

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 composition achieves excellent detergency with reduced surfactant content, minimizing redeposition and enhancing the whiteness of laundry without optical brighteners, ensuring a stable and effective cleaning solution.

Implementation Method 1

The composition contains, in particular, (b) at least one surfactant, (c) at least one lipase (d) at least one mannanase, (e) at least one α-amylase

Methodology Applied

Scientific EffectEnzyme: Enzyme

Data Source

PatentEP3083923B1Washing or cleaning product with reduced surfactant content

Publication Date: 2019.02.06 HENKEL KGAA

AI summary

Liquid compositions, especially for cleaning textiles, comprising (a) water, (b) at least one surfactant, (c) at least one lipase, (d) at least one mannanase, (e) at least one α-amylase, with the proviso that relative to the total weight of the composition, the total amount of surfactant is between 0 and 16 wt%, especially between 0.1 and 13 wt%, very preferably from 3.0 to 10.0 wt%, are suitable especially for the laundering of textiles. Good cleaning performance is achieved in spite of reduced surfactant content. The laundry does not suffer greying.