Foaming Cleaning Composition with Alkyl Ethoxylated Sulfate
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Solution Overview
Problem
Manual dishwashing under running water often requires excessive detergent, leading to increased rinsing needs and slower cleaning processes, especially when dealing with lightly soiled items or tough food soils, and existing products may spread excessively, causing waste and inhalation risks.
Innovation Solution
A spray dispenser containing a foaming cleaning composition with a surfactant system of alkyl ethoxylated sulfate and a co-surfactant, along with a glycol ether solvent, which provides strong yet easily rinsable suds, effective for various soil types and minimizes overspray, with a pH and reserve alkalinity optimized for tough soil removal.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If detergent is delivered to a sponge for cleaning small number of items, then cleaning can be performed, but excessive detergent is dosed requiring more rinsing and time to mix detergent with water
Solution Approach 1:
The cleaning composition is pre-formulated in the spray dispenser with the exact amount of detergent needed, eliminating the need for users to manually dose and mix detergent with water during the cleaning process. The composition is ready-to-use upon spraying.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention extracts the detergent dosing step from the cleaning process by providing a pre-dosed spray composition that delivers the precise amount of cleaning agent needed, removing the problematic manual dosing and mixing operations.
2Productivity
If sprayable cleaning composition is used, then cleaning is performed quickly, but composition spreads to surrounding atmosphere causing waste and inhalation risks
Solution Approach 1:
The invention changes the physical parameters of the cleaning composition by formulating it to foam upon contact with water or air. This foam structure contains the cleaning agents, preventing them from spreading as aerosol droplets to the surrounding atmosphere while maintaining rapid cleaning action.
Solution Approach 2:
The cleaning composition undergoes a phase transition from liquid spray to foam structure. This phase change occurs when the spray contacts water or air, transforming the liquid into a foamed state that localizes the cleaning agents and prevents atmospheric dispersion.
3Reliability
If different products are designed for different types of soils, then cleaning effectiveness is improved, but user must have large number of products which is not practical
Solution Approach 1:
The cleaning composition is formulated with a universal surfactant system and solvent combination that can effectively clean multiple types of soils including lightly soiled items and tough food soils. This single multi-functional product replaces the need for multiple specialized cleaning products.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention uses a composite cleaning system combining specific surfactants (alkyl ethoxylated sulfate and co-surfactant) with glycol ether solvents to create a formulation that addresses multiple soil types and cleaning scenarios within a single product.
4Ease of operation
If manual dishwashing is performed under running water with sponge, then cleaning can be done, but excessive detergent dosing requires more rinsing
Solution Approach 1:
The spray composition is formulated to deliver the precise partial amount of detergent needed for effective cleaning without excess. This controlled dosing eliminates the need for additional rinsing cycles to remove surplus detergent, reducing total rinsing time.
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 solution enables faster, reduced-effort cleaning of dishware, including tough soils, with minimal product waste and inhalation risk, by providing strong, long-lasting suds that are easy to rinse and effective on a range of soils without excessive spreading.
Implementation Method 1
a surfactant system comprising an alkyl ethoxylated sulfate anionic surfactant and a co-surfactant
Implementation Method 2
a glycol ether solvent selected from the group consisting of glycol ethers of Formula I: R1O(R2O)nR3, Formula II: R4O(R5O)nR6
Data Source
AI summary
A cleaning product having a spray dispenser and a cleaning composition suitable for spraying and foaming, the composition housed in the spray dispenser wherein the composition contains: i) 2 to 15% by weight of a surfactant system comprising an alkyl ethoxylated sulfate anionic surfactant and a specific co-surfactant; and ii) a specific glycol ether solvent.