Polyether Polysiloxane Surfactant for Alcohol Foaming
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Solution Overview
Problem
Alcohol-containing foaming cleansing compositions face challenges such as rapid alcohol evaporation, difficulty in distributing thickened formulations evenly, and inhibition of foam production due to alcohol's effect on surfactants, particularly in achieving effective antiviral activity and robust foaming properties across varying pump speeds and manufacturers.
Innovation Solution
Selecting a polyether polysiloxane surfactant with optimized backbone and polyether side chain lengths based on alcohol concentration, using polyethylene oxide (PEO), polypropylene oxide (PPO), or mixed PEO/PPO polyethers, to enhance foaming properties and stability in alcohol and water compositions, ensuring the composition remains effective across different alcohol concentrations and pump speeds.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of energy
If thickeners are added to increase viscosity to address rapid alcohol evaporation, then evaporation is reduced, but distribution and dosing becomes difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the physical state parameter of the composition from liquid to foam. By formulating an alcohol-containing foaming composition with surfactants that can foam in high alcohol concentrations, the product remains easy to distribute and dose (foam expands uniformly) while reducing alcohol evaporation through the foam matrix structure.
2Ease of manufacture
If conventional surfactants are added to produce foam, then foaming properties are improved, but alcohol inhibits foam production
Solution Approach 1:
The patent identifies and uses surfactants with specific molecular parameters that allow them to function in high alcohol environments. The surfactant structure (hydrophilic-lipophilic balance, chain length, head group type) is selected to maintain foam stability despite the presence of 60-95% alcohol, which would inhibit conventional surfactants.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses composite surfactant systems combining multiple surfactant types (anionic, nonionic, amphoteric) to achieve stable foam in high alcohol concentrations. The synergistic interaction between different surfactant classes overcomes the inhibitory effect of alcohol on individual surfactants.
3Ease of manufacture
If silicone-based surfactants are used to achieve foaming in high alcohol compositions, then foam production is improved, but performance varies with pump speed and manufacturer
Solution Approach 1:
The patent develops a universal surfactant system that performs consistently across different dispensing conditions. By selecting surfactants with appropriate critical micelle concentrations and foam stabilization properties, the composition maintains reliable foaming performance whether dispensed by hand pump, automatic pump, or other mechanisms at varying speeds.
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 optimized surfactant selection improves the foaming and stability of alcohol and water compositions, allowing for robust foaming performance across a range of alcohol concentrations and pump speeds, addressing issues of evaporation and distribution while maintaining antiviral efficacy.
Implementation Method 1
The surfactant was selected to have a surface tension of +/â15 dyn/cm of the surface tension of the alcohol component of the formulation
Implementation Method 2
a silicon-based surface active agent in an amount of at least 0.01% of the total composition
Data Source
AI summary
The invention provides a method of selecting a polyether polysiloxane surfactant to optimise an alcohol and water containing foaming cleansing composition selecting an amount of alcohol to be used in the final composition; and selecting the degree of polymerisation of the backbone of the siloxane (PDMS) of the polyether polysiloxane surfactant and the degree of polymerisation of polyether side groups of the polyether polysiloxane surfactant for that amount of alcohol from a predetermined optimisation calibration, where the alcohol is a C1 to C4 straight or branched chain alcohol, the polysiloxane backbone is polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) and the polyether is selected from a polyethylene oxide (PEO), polypropylene oxide (PPO) or a mixed PEO/PPO polyether.