Polymeric Particle Cleaning With Staged Detergent Dosing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional wet cleaning processes result in the dilution and premature removal of anti-redeposition additives, perfumes, and optical brighteners due to high chemical loading, leading to inadequate cleaning and increased costs, especially when using polymeric particles in detergent formulations.
Innovation Solution
A method where the detergent formulation is split into its constituent chemical parts, with cleaning components added during the wash cycle and more expensive post-treatment components added after polymeric particle removal, optimizing chemical loading and effectiveness.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If all-in-one detergent formulations are used with high chemical loading, then cleaning performance is maintained, but anti-redeposition additives, perfumes, and optical brighteners are diluted and removed prematurely from the textile surface
Solution Approach 1:
The detergent formulation is segmented into two separate dosing stages: (1) cleaning components (surfactants, enzymes, oxidizing agents) are dosed at the start of the wash cycle, and (2) post-treatment components (anti-redeposition additives, perfumes, optical brighteners) are dosed after polymeric particle removal. This segmentation prevents premature dilution and removal of valuable chemicals while maintaining effective cleaning performance.
Solution Approach 2:
The cleaning components are added preliminarily at the start of the wash cycle to perform the primary cleaning function. This allows the more expensive post-treatment components to be added later at optimal concentrations without being diluted or removed by the polymeric particles during the wash process.
2Reliability
If all-in-one detergent formulations with high chemical loading are used, then sufficient chemicals remain on the final cleaned textile surface, but the overall chemical loading and detergent formulation cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
By segmenting the detergent dosing into cleaning components and post-treatment components added at different times, the formulation avoids the need for high overall chemical loading. Each component is added at optimal concentration when needed, reducing total chemical usage while maintaining cleaning quality.
Solution Approach 2:
The dosing timing parameter is changed from simultaneous addition to sequential addition at different stages of the wash cycle. This parameter change allows optimization of chemical concentrations at different times, reducing overall chemical loading while maintaining effective cleaning performance.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If polymeric particles are used in the detergent formulation, then environmental benefits are achieved with limited water, but interactions between detergent components and polymer particles cause premature removal of formulation components
Solution Approach 1:
The detergent dosing is segmented into two stages: cleaning components are added when polymeric particles are present to enable effective cleaning, then polymeric particles are removed, and finally post-treatment components are added. This segmentation prevents harmful interactions between detergent components and polymeric particles that would cause premature removal of formulation components.
4Ease of operation
If conventional all-in-one detergent formulations are used, then the process is simple, but expensive post-treatment components are diluted and removed during the wash cycle
Solution Approach 1:
The dosing process is segmented into two simple steps: (1) add cleaning components at the start of the wash cycle, (2) remove polymeric particles, then (3) add post-treatment components. This segmented approach maintains operational simplicity while preventing dilution and removal of expensive post-treatment components.
Data Source
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AI summary
The invention provides a method for cleaning a soiled substrate, the method comprising the treatment of the moistened substrate with a formulation comprising a multiplicity of polymeric particles, wherein the polymeric particles are applied in combination with a detergent formulation, the method being characterised in that the detergent formulation is divided into its separate chemical constituents and these chemical constituents are added at different times during the wash cycle. The method allows for improved cleaning with reduced overall chemical loading, and facilitates addition of the more expensive parts of the formulations when they are most effective for cleaning performance, thereby providing considerable cost savings in comparison with conventional all-in-one detergent formulations. A method for cleaning the polymeric particles is also provided.