Floor Stripper Thickening via Water Activation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Floor strippers often dewet on surfaces, evaporate quickly, and flow into undesired areas, reducing their effectiveness and requiring more effort to apply, especially on non-level surfaces.
Innovation Solution
A method involving a concentrate that thickens when diluted with water, using water thickeners like Xanthan gum and diutan gum, which maintains viscosity and stability, reducing dewetting and flow issues, and includes surfactants and metal ion-containing compounds to enhance performance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the stripper is diluted with water to reduce viscosity for easier application, then the ease of operation improves, but the stripper tends to dewet and flow into undesired areas
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the viscosity parameter of the stripper formulation by incorporating thickening agents such as hydroxyethyl cellulose, carboxymethyl cellulose, or xanthan gum. These agents increase the viscosity to a specific range (50-5000 mPas) that prevents dewetting and flow while maintaining ease of application through controlled dispensing characteristics.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a composite stripper formulation by combining traditional stripping agents with cellulose-based thickeners or xanthan gum. This composite structure integrates the functional properties of the stripping chemicals with the viscosity-modifying properties of the thickening agents, achieving both effective stripping and controlled flow characteristics.
2Ease of operation
If the stripper has low viscosity for easy dispensing, then the ease of operation improves, but the stripper flows into undesired areas and loses effectiveness
Solution Approach 1:
The patent optimizes the viscosity parameter to a specific range (50-5000 mPas) that balances dispensing ease with flow control. This viscosity range is high enough to prevent uncontrolled flow into undesired areas but low enough to allow smooth application, thereby maintaining both operational ease and stripping reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent utilizes naturally occurring polysaccharide structures (cellulose derivatives and xanthan gum) that have inherent flow control properties. These natural polymers create a viscoelastic structure that copies the desirable flow characteristics of honey or syrup, providing controlled application without requiring complex synthetic additives.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If a thickener is added to the concentrate to modify flow characteristics, then the tendency to dewet and flow reduces, but it becomes difficult to dispense from a container
Solution Approach 1:
The patent carefully controls the viscosity parameter within a specific range (50-5000 mPas) rather than maximizing thickness. This optimized viscosity range is thick enough to prevent dewetting and control flow but thin enough to remain pumpable and dispensable from standard containers, resolving the contradiction between flow control and dispensing ease.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs dynamic viscosity modifiers that allow the stripper to exhibit different flow characteristics under different conditions. The thickeners create a non-Newtonian fluid behavior where the viscosity adjusts based on shear rate, allowing easy dispensing during application while maintaining thickness when stationary to prevent flow and dewetting.
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 method provides a more effective and controlled application of floor strippers, reducing the need for frequent reapplication and minimizing unwanted flow, thereby improving stripping efficiency and ease of use.
Implementation Method 1
A method involving a concentrate that thickens when diluted with water, using water thickeners like Xanthan gum and diutan gum
Implementation Method 2
includes surfactants and metal ion-containing compounds to enhance performance
Implementation Method 3
includes surfactants and metal ion-containing compounds to enhance performance
Data Source
AI summary
Floor finishes can be stripped using a substantially nonchlorinated concentrate comprising a floor finish dissolver and an at least partially water-unactivated water thickener. The concentrate is diluted with water at an intended use location to activate the water thickener and noticeably increase within sixty minutes or less the viscosity of the resulting mixture, then applied to a hardened floor finish atop a floor and allowed to soften or dissolve the floor finish so that the finish may be removed from the floor.