Polymer Compositions for Stable Enzymes and Anti-Greying Laundry
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Solution Overview
Problem
Laundry detergents face challenges in effectively removing various types of soilings, including pigments and fatty substances, and suffer from storage stability issues, especially in liquid formulations, with enzymes often becoming deactivated. Additionally, greying of laundry due to redeposition of soil during washing remains a significant problem, and existing anti-greying agents are not sufficiently effective.
Innovation Solution
Inventive compositions include polymers with specific repeating units and molecular weights, combined with enzymes and surfactants, to enhance soil removal and stability. These compositions utilize polymers with defined structural units, molecular weights, and optional enzyme variants to improve anti-greying performance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If enzymes are used in liquid laundry detergents to remove soil, then cleaning effectiveness is improved, but storage stability deteriorates due to enzyme deactivation
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a polymer as an intermediary substance that forms a protective complex with the enzyme. This polymer acts as a mediator between the enzyme and the harsh storage environment, preventing enzyme deactivation while maintaining cleaning effectiveness. The polymer-enzyme complex protects the enzyme from denaturation during storage without compromising its catalytic activity during washing.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a composite system combining the enzyme with specific polymer materials. This composite approach integrates the cleaning functionality of the enzyme with the protective properties of the polymer, resulting in a stable formulation that maintains both cleaning effectiveness and storage stability. The composite structure allows the enzyme to function while being protected from environmental degradation.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If conventional anti-greying agents are used to prevent soil redeposition, then greying reduction is improved, but effectiveness remains insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The patent modifies the chemical parameters of anti-greying agents by incorporating specific polymer structures with controlled molecular weights and functional groups. These parameter changes enhance the polymer's ability to bind to soil particles and prevent their redeposition on fabric. The modified chemical structure improves the anti-greying performance while maintaining compatibility with other detergent components.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent develops a composite anti-greying system combining conventional anti-greying agents with specifically designed polymers. This composite approach synergistically combines the soil-binding properties of the polymer with the anti-greying functionality of the conventional agents, achieving superior greying reduction compared to single-component systems.
3Productivity
If polymers are used to remove fatty soil, then fat removal is improved, but compatibility with builders deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces local functional groups on the polymer structure that are specifically designed to interact with both fatty soil and builder components. Certain regions of the polymer molecule have hydrophobic characteristics for fat binding, while other regions have hydrophilic or ionic characteristics for compatibility with builders. This local differentiation of properties allows simultaneous fat removal and builder compatibility.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent optimizes polymer parameters including molecular weight, degree of alkoxylation, and functional group composition to achieve balanced compatibility with both fatty soil and builder systems. By carefully controlling these parameters, the polymer maintains effective fat removal capability while ensuring compatibility with common detergent builders, avoiding precipitation or interaction issues.
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 demonstrate improved soil removal, particularly from fatty substances, and reduce greying of laundry by effectively preventing soil redeposition, while maintaining enzyme stability and composition stability over time.
Implementation Method 1
Laundry detergents need to remove all sorts of soiling from laundry, for example all sorts of pigments, clay, fatty soil, and dyestuffs
Implementation Method 2
It has been suggested to use a lipase to support fat removal but many builders—especially in liquid laundry detergents—do not work well with lipase
Implementation Method 3
The greying is assigned to redeposition of soil during washing. In order to reduce redeposition of soil, specific native or modified polysaccharides such as polysaccharides treated with gaseous or liquid SO2 have been developed
Data Source
AI summary
A composition including(A) at least one polymer with an average molecular weight Mw of at least 1,500 g/mol including, as repeating units, structural units according to general formula (I)whereZ1 are the same or different and selected from hydrogen and methyl,R1 are the same or different and selected from C2-C6-alkyl, C6-aryl and C5-heteroaryl, each substituted with at least one acidic group selected from COOH groups and SO3H groups and their respective alkali metal salts, and, optionally, with hydroxy, C1-C4-alkyl or —NR2aR2b,R2a and R2b are the same or different and selected from H, C1-C4-alkyl, or NR2aR2b together form a C5-C6-cycloalkylenamino or a 1-imidazole group,n is in a range of from 3 to 100,X1 is selected from O and N—R3, with R3 being selected from hydrogen and methyl,A1 are the same or different and selected from C2-C6-alkylene and (AO)y1, with AO being selected from ethylene oxide and propylene oxide and combinations thereof, and y1 being from 2 to 200.Also described herein are polymers (A) and a process to make such polymers (A).