Powdered Laundry Unit Dose with Coated Enzymes
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional powdered laundry detergents and liquid detergent unit doses fail to combine essential cleaning mechanisms in sufficient concentrations and suitable densities for high-performance cleaning across varying water temperatures and hardness, leading to underperformance in soil removal and requiring additional products like oxy boosters.
Innovation Solution
A powdered unit dose laundry composition encapsulated in a polymer film, containing coated enzymes, a bleach composition, surfactants, alkaline compounds, detergent builders, chelants, and detersive polymers, which provides enhanced soil removal and oxidation capabilities.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If liquid detergent formulations are used in unit doses, then ease of operation is improved, but cleaning performance in hard water and oxidation capability deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple detergent types (liquid surfactants, powdered bleach, enzymes, builders) into a single unit dose pouch, merging the functions of primary cleaner and oxygen booster into one product that delivers both cleaning and oxidation capabilities
Solution Approach 2:
The invention uses composite material formulations including surfactant blends, bleach compositions, enzyme preparations, and polymer additives working together in a unified system that provides enhanced cleaning performance across different water hardness conditions
2Ease of manufacture
If powdered laundry products are used in unit dose format, then manufacturing cost is reduced, but functional concentration and cleaning performance deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent optimizes concentration parameters of active ingredients (surfactants at 10-50%, bleach at 5-30%, enzymes at 0.1-5%) to achieve high cleaning performance in a compact powder formulation that remains cost-effective to manufacture
Solution Approach 2:
The invention nests multiple functional components within the unit dose pouch, with powdered detergent composition containing encapsulated enzymes, bleach compounds, and builder materials concentrated in a space-efficient manner
3Reliability
If secondary laundry compositions (oxy boosters) are used in conjunction with liquid detergents, then oxidation capability is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the functions of primary detergent and oxygen booster into a single unit dose pouch, eliminating the need for separate secondary laundry compositions and simplifying the laundry process
Solution Approach 2:
The invention creates a universal unit dose product that performs both primary cleaning and oxidation functions, making the detergent suitable for various stain types and water conditions without requiring additional specialized products
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 achieves comparable performance to market-leading liquid unit dose formulations while being more cost-effective and providing oxidation, biocidal activity, and odor reduction benefits without the need for additional products.
Implementation Method 1
a bleach composition comprising an oxidizing agent and one or more bleach activators
Implementation Method 2
a surfactant composition
Implementation Method 3
a chelant
Data Source
AI summary
A unit dose laundry composition includes from 1 wt. % to 10 wt. % of one or more coated enzymes, from 1 wt. % to 40 wt. % of a bleach composition comprising an oxidizing agent and one or more bleach activators, from 15 wt. % to 80 wt. % of a surfactant composition, and one or more of an alkaline compound, a detergent builder, a chelant, or a polymer composition. The unit dose laundry composition is in the form of a powder, which has a bulk density of from 500 g/L to 1300 g/L, encapsulated a polymer film. A method of making the unit dose laundry composition includes combining one or more liquid active components with one or more high absorbing solid active components to produce a powder intermediate which may be blended with other solid components.