Sugar Amine Fatty Acid Compositions for Low-Viscosity Detergents
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Solution Overview
Problem
Traditional soap solutions are often viscous and lack solubility, especially at lower pH values, making it difficult to incorporate longer-chain fatty acids or fatty acid soaps into detergents and cleaning agents effectively.
Innovation Solution
Compositions containing sugar amines such as dimethylglucamine and hydroxyethyl-methyl-glucamine, along with protonated sugar amines and fatty acids or their salts, which form low-viscosity, homogeneous solutions over a wide pH range, facilitating the use of longer-chain fatty acids in detergents and cleaning agents.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If traditional soap solutions are used, then fatty acids or fatty acid salts can be incorporated into detergents, but the solutions become viscous and lose solubility especially at lower pH values
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies parameter changes by introducing sugar amines (specifically dimethylglucamine and hydroxyethylmethylglucamine) as neutralizing agents instead of traditional bases. This chemical parameter change enables the formation of low-viscosity, homogeneous solutions of fatty acids and fatty acid salts across a wide pH range (pH 6-9), particularly improving solubility and reducing viscosity at lower pH values where traditional soap solutions fail.
2Reliability
If longer-chain fatty acids are incorporated into detergents, then cleaning effectiveness is improved, but solubility and homogeneity of the solution deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent resolves this contradiction by changing the chemical parameters of the neutralizing agent to sugar amines, which have unique properties that enable longer-chain fatty acids (C12-C22) to form homogeneous, low-viscosity solutions. The sugar amine structure with multiple hydroxyl groups and amino groups creates stable, soluble complexes with long-chain fatty acids across a broad pH range, maintaining solution homogeneity while enabling the use of higher carbon chain fatty acids for improved cleaning performance.
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 compositions produce low-viscosity, homogeneous solutions of fatty acids or fatty acid salts across a wide pH range, enhancing the incorporation of longer-chain fatty acids into detergents and cleaning agents, improving their solubility and usability.
Implementation Method 1
the use of the sugar amines as neutralizing agents for fatty acids
Data Source
AI summary
What are described are compositions comprising a) one or more sugar amines of the formula (I) in which R1 and R2 are independently H, CH3 or 2-hydroxyethyl and/or one or more corresponding protonated sugar amines with the counterion R-COO- in which R is defined as R from the substances of component b) below, and b) one or more substances selected from the group consisting of fatty acids of the formula R-COOH, fatty acid salts of the formula R-COO-M+ and mixtures thereof, in which R is a linear or branched saturated alkyl radical having 11 to 21 carbon atoms or a linear or branched, mono- or polyunsaturated alkenyl radical having 11 to 21 carbon atoms and M+ is a counterion. The compositions described are very advantageous, for example, for production of liquid washing compositions, and of shower gels, liquid soaps or face cleansers. In addition, the sugar amines are advantageously suitable as neutralizing agents for fatty acids.