Hard Surface Cleaning Composition for Low-pH Grease Removal
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional high pH hard surface cleaners are harsh on skin and the environment, damage surfaces, and have inadequate wash performance for tough stains like kitchen oily stains, while lipase in current detergents does not provide satisfactory grease removal.
Innovation Solution
A cleaning composition comprising 0.1 to 60 wt% surfactant system, 0.1 to 40 wt% solvent, and optionally 0.001 to 10 wt% lipase, including specific lipases like Lipolase™, with a milder pH, enhancing grease stain removal and wash efficiency.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If high pH cleaners are used to ease cleaning, then cleaning effectiveness is improved, but skin harshness and environmental harm increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the pH parameter from conventional high pH (above 10) to a milder pH range (7-9), resolving the contradiction by demonstrating that lower pH can achieve equivalent or superior cleaning effectiveness through the synergistic combination of lipase enzymes and surfactants, thereby reducing skin harshness and environmental harm while maintaining cleaning productivity
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs a composite cleaning system combining lipase enzymes (0.01-10 wt%), surfactants (5-30 wt%), and builders (5-20 wt%), creating a multi-component formulation that achieves effective grease removal at milder pH levels, thus resolving the contradiction between cleaning effectiveness and skin harshness through material composition rather than relying on high pH alone
2Productivity
If high pH cleaners are used to ease cleaning, then cleaning effectiveness is improved, but surface damage increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent reduces the pH parameter from above 10 to 7-9, preventing chemical damage to sensitive surfaces such as aluminum, stainless steel, and coated surfaces while maintaining cleaning effectiveness through enzymatic action of lipases that break down grease molecules without requiring harsh alkaline conditions
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the chemical mechanism of high pH alkaline cleaning with a biochemical mechanism using lipase enzymes that catalyze the hydrolysis of grease and oily soils, providing effective cleaning through biological catalysis rather than harsh chemical reactions, thus preventing surface damage while maintaining cleaning productivity
3Productivity
If high pH cleaners are used, then grease removal is improved, but wash performance for tough stains remains insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a composite formulation combining lipase enzymes (0.01-10 wt%), surfactants (5-30 wt%), and builders (5-20 wt%), where the lipase provides consistent enzymatic breakdown of grease while surfactants and builders enhance overall wash performance, achieving reliable and consistent results for tough stains that high pH alone cannot reliably deliver
Solution Approach 2:
The patent optimizes the concentration parameters of lipase (0.01-10 wt%) and surfactants (5-30 wt%) to achieve consistent and reliable wash performance for tough grease stains, demonstrating that controlled parameter ranges with enzymatic action provide more reliable results than variable high pH formulations
4Productivity
If lipase is added to current detergents, then grease removal is enhanced, but wash performance remains unsatisfactory
Solution Approach 1:
The patent formulates a composite cleaning system where lipase (0.01-10 wt%) works synergistically with surfactants (5-30 wt%) and builders (5-20 wt%), creating a multi-component system where each ingredient enhances the others' performance, resolving the issue of unsatisfactory wash performance when lipase is used alone in current detergents
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces surfactants and builders as intermediary substances that facilitate and enhance the action of lipase on grease stains, where these intermediaries help solubilize, emulsify, and suspend the broken-down grease products, thereby improving overall wash performance and reliability beyond what lipase can achieve alone
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 provides effective grease stain removal with reduced pH, saving time and labor, and includes a solvent system to improve soil removal properties and adjust viscosity.
Implementation Method 1
0.001 to 10 wt % of a lipase
Implementation Method 2
lipase...facilitate greasy soils e.g., kitchen oily stains removal
Implementation Method 3
0.1 to 40 wt % of a solvent, wherein the solvent is selected from the group consisting of a lower alkanol, a benzyl alcohol, a lower alkyl ether, a glycol, an aryl glycol ether, a lower alkyl glycol ether, a glycerol ketal, an ester, a hydrocarbon/ester blend, a dibasic ester, alcohol ethoxylate such as a linear alcohol ethoxylate, a branched alcohol or oxo alcohol ethoxylate, and combinations thereof
Implementation Method 4
surfactant system...improve soil removal properties
Implementation Method 5
0.1 to 60 wt % of a surfactant system
Implementation Method 6
surfactant system...improve soil removal properties
Data Source
AI summary
A hard surface cleaning composition comprising: (a) 0.1 to 60 wt % of a surfactant system; (b) 0.1 to 40 wt % of a solvent, wherein the solvent is selected from the group consisting of a lower alkanol, a benzyl alcohol, a lower alkyl ether, a glycol, an aryl glycol ether, a lower alkyl glycol ether, a glycerol ketal, an ester, a hydrocarbon/ester blend, a dibasic ester, a linear alcohol ethoxylate, a branched alcohol, oxo alcohol ethoxylate, and combinations thereof; and (c) optionally 0.001 to 10 wt % of a lipase.