Low-pH Laundry Detergent Composition With Strong Free-Flowing Particles
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing laundry detergent powders face challenges in balancing high pH for effective cleaning while maintaining good fabric care performance, leading to issues with fabric appearance and shape retention, and the removal of bulk alkalinity ingredients causes poor processability and physical properties of detergent particles.
Innovation Solution
Formulating laundry detergent compositions with reduced levels of sodium carbonate and sodium silicate and incorporating organic acid and magnesium sulfate to achieve a low pH, ensuring good processability and particle strength.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If high pH ingredients (sodium carbonate, sodium silicate) are used to achieve good cleaning performance, then cleaning effectiveness is improved, but fabric care profile deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the pH parameter from traditional high pH (10.5+) to low pH (6.5-8.5) by removing bulk alkalinity ingredients and adding organic acids. This parameter change resolves the contradiction by achieving good cleaning performance through alternative mechanisms at lower pH, thereby protecting fabric appearance and shape retention.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts and removes the bulk alkalinity ingredients (sodium carbonate and sodium silicate) from the formulation. By taking out these ingredients that cause fabric damage, the patent achieves low pH while maintaining cleaning effectiveness through other components, thus resolving the contradiction between cleaning performance and fabric care.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If bulk alkalinity ingredients (sodium carbonate, sodium silicate) are removed to achieve low pH profile, then fabric care profile is improved, but particle processability and physical properties deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces magnesium sulphate as an intermediary substance to replace the processability functions of removed alkalinity ingredients. Magnesium sulphate acts as a mediator that provides good particle formation, flowability, and cake strength during spray-drying, while allowing the formulation to maintain low pH without bulk alkalinity ingredients.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the chemical composition parameters by introducing specific organic acids (citric, lactic, malic, or acetic acid) at controlled levels (1-10wt%). This parameter change achieves the desired low pH profile while the accompanying magnesium sulphate maintains particle processability, resolving the contradiction between fabric care and manufacturing ease.
3Stability of the object's composition
If great amounts of acid are added to maintain bulk alkalinity levels to achieve low pH, then low pH profile is achieved, but formulation efficiency deteriorates and processability becomes difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and removes the bulk alkalinity buffer (sodium carbonate and sodium silicate) that would require large amounts of acid to neutralize. By taking out this buffering system, the patent achieves low pH with minimal acid addition (1-10wt%), avoiding the formulation complexity and processability issues that would arise from adding 15-20wt% acid to counteract high alkalinity.
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention also relates to a solid free flowing particulate laundry detergent composition comprising: (a) anionic detersive surfactant; (b) from 0wt% to 8wt% zeolite builder; (c) from 0wt% to 4wt% phosphate builder; (d) from 0wt% to 8wt% sodium carbonate; (e) from 0wt% to 8wt% sodium silicate; and (f) from 4wt% to 20wt% organic acid, wherein the composition at 1wt% dilution in deionized water at 20°C, has an equilibrium pH in the range of from 6.5 to 9.0, preferably from 6.5 to 8.0, wherein the composition comprises from 30wt% to 100wt% base detergent particle, wherein the base detergent particle comprises (by weight of the base detergent particle): (a) from 4wt% to 35wt% alkyl benzene sulphonate; (b) from 0wt% to 8wt% zeolite builder; (c) from 0wt% to 4wt% phosphate builder; (d) from 0wt% to 8wt% sodium carbonate; (e) from 0wt% to 8wt% sodium silicate; (f) from 1wt% to 10wt% organic acid; and (g) from 1wt% to 10wt% magnesium sulphate.