Smoke-Reducing Surfactant Package for Textile Care Detergents
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Solution Overview
Problem
Nonylphenol ethoxylates (NPEs) are environmentally harmful and their alternatives, alcohol ethoxylates (AEs), used in detergents, produce smoke when exposed to high heat during laundry processes, necessitating a phosphorous-free and NPE-free detergent that reduces or eliminates smoking.
Innovation Solution
A detergent composition comprising a smoke-reducing surfactant package with anionic and amphoteric surfactants, along with a nonionic surfactant having a specific mole ratio of free alcohol, is used to wash articles, which are then treated in a heated process to minimize smoke production, particularly in steam tunnels or ironing.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-affected harmful factors
If alcohol ethoxylates (AEs) are used as detergent ingredients to replace NPEs, then environmental safety is improved, but smoke production during heated laundry processes increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the chemical parameters of the detergent formulation by specifying precise mole ratios of free alcohol (0.01-0.50 moles per mole of AE) and using specific surfactant packages with defined HLB values (12-18). This parameter optimization allows the detergent to maintain cleaning effectiveness while significantly reducing smoke production during high-heat laundry processes, thus resolving the contradiction between environmental safety and smoke generation.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention creates a composite surfactant system combining alcohol ethoxylates with specific anionic surfactants (alkylbenzene sulfonates, alpha-olefin sulfonates), amphoteric surfactants (alkylamidopropyl hydroxysultaines), and nonionic surfactants. This composite formulation synergistically reduces smoke production while maintaining cleaning performance and environmental compatibility, eliminating the need to choose between NPEs (environmentally harmful) and plain AEs (smoke-producing).
2Object-affected harmful factors
If NPE-free and phosphorous-free detergents are formulated, then environmental safety is improved, but cleaning performance or fabric treatment quality may deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent optimizes critical parameters including the HLB value of the surfactant package (12-18), mole ratio of free alcohol (0.01-0.50 moles per mole of AE), and concentrations of different surfactant types. These parameter adjustments ensure effective cleaning performance and fabric softening while maintaining NPE-free and phosphorous-free formulation, thus achieving both environmental safety and cleaning reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention employs a composite surfactant system with multiple functional components: alcohol ethoxylates for cleaning, anionic surfactants for detergency, amphoteric surfactants for fabric softening, and nonionic surfactants for foam control. This composite approach replaces the multifunctional NPEs and phosphorous compounds with a synergistic mixture that achieves equivalent or superior performance while being environmentally safe.
3Object-generated harmful factors
If the amount of free alcohol in nonionic surfactants is reduced, then smoke production is reduced, but detergent effectiveness may decrease
Solution Approach 1:
The patent precisely controls the free alcohol content parameter, specifying 0.01-0.50 moles of free alcohol per mole of alcohol ethoxylate. This optimized range is sufficient to provide smoke-reducing benefits while maintaining adequate detergent effectiveness through the complementary action of other surfactants in the package, particularly anionic and amphoteric surfactants.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention introduces anionic surfactants (alkylbenzene sulfonates, alpha-olefin sulfonates) and amphoteric surfactants (alkylamidopropyl hydroxysultaines) as intermediary components that compensate for the reduced free alcohol content. These intermediary surfactants provide the necessary cleaning and fabric-treatment functions that would otherwise be provided by higher free alcohol levels, thus maintaining detergent effectiveness while reducing smoke production.
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 solution effectively reduces or eliminates smoke and haze from textiles during heated laundry processes, maintaining cleaning performance and whiteness while ensuring environmental safety by avoiding phosphorous and NPEs.
Implementation Method 1
methods for reducing or eliminating the production of smoke from a surface of an article during a heated laundry process
Implementation Method 2
a smoke reducing surfactant package comprising an anionic surfactant, an amphoteric surfactant or mixtures thereof; and a detersive surfactant comprising a nonionic surfactant having an amount of free alcohol
Data Source
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AI summary
The present invention provides compositions and methods to reduce smoking and/or haze during a heated laundry process. The compositions include a smoke reducing surfactant package and a detersive surfactant containing an amount of free alcohol. The smoke reducing surfactant package includes an anionic surfactant, an amphoteric surfactant or mixtures thereof. The surfactants are selected such that the amount of smoke or haze produced is reduced and or eliminated when garments contacted with the compositions containing the surfactants are heated to at least about 250°F. Methods of using the compositions are also provided.