COMPOSITIONS AND THEIR USE

Abstract

The present invention is directed to a cleaning formulation. The formulation is in particular intended to be utilised in a “waterless” context, which means that no additional water (besides any water that may already be contained in the formulation) is necessary in order to achieve cleaning.

Claims

1. The formulation of claim 3, comprising: one or more surfactants; the silicate selected from magnesium lithium silicates and mixtures thereof; wherein the silicate is present in a total amount in the range 0.01 to 0.5 wt %.

2. The formulation of claim 3, comprising: the silicate selected from the group consisting of: silicate of formula H.sub.2LiMgNaO.sub.12Si.sub.4; silicate of formula M.sub.wE.sub.xSi.sub.yO.sub.z.aH.sub.2O, wherein M is an alkali metal and E is an alkaline earth metal; wherein w, x, y and z are all numbers greater than 0 and wherein a is 0 or a number greater than 0; and mixtures thereof.

3. A formulation comprising: solvent; silicate present in an amount in the range 0.01 to 1.5 wt %; and at least one polymer; wherein the formulation has a viscosity of at least 20 mPa.Math.s measured at a shear rate of 11.3 cm/s and a temperature of 20° C.

4. The formulation of claim 3, having a viscosity of up to 100 mPa.Math.s.

5. The formulation of claim 3, wherein the formulation is thixotropic.

6. The formulation of claim 3, wherein the silicate comprises silicate of formula M.sub.wE.sub.xSi.sub.yO.sub.z.aH.sub.2O wherein M=Li and E=Mg.

7. The formulation of claim 3, wherein the silicate comprises magnesium lithium silicate CAS #37220-90-9.

8. (canceled)

9. (canceled)

10. The formulation of claim 3, wherein the solvent is water.

11. The formulation of claim 3, further comprising one or more surfactants.

12. The formulation of claim 11, wherein at least one surfactant has a hydrophilic-lipophilic balance HLB of at least 20.

13. The formulation of claim 11, wherein at least one surfactant is a water-soluble salt or acid of the formula ROSO.sub.3M, wherein M is H or a cation.

14. The formulation of claim 3, wherein the formulation comprises sodium dodecyl sulfate.

15. The formulation of claim 11, wherein at least one surfactant is a water-soluble salt or acid of the formula RO(A).sub.mSO.sub.3X, wherein R is an unsubstituted C.sub.10-C.sub.24 alkyl or hydroxyalkyl group having a C.sub.10-C.sub.24 alkyl component, A is an ethoxy or propoxy unit, m is greater than zero.

16. The formulation of claim 11, wherein the surfactant is present in an amount from 0.05 to 0.075 wt %

17. (canceled)

18. The formulation of claim 3, wherein the polymer comprises sodium carboxymethyl cellulose.

19. The formulation of claim 3, wherein the polymer comprises oxidised polyethylene CAS #68441-17-8.

20. (canceled)

21. The formulation of claim 3, further comprising an organic acid.

22. The formulation of claim 3, having a pH from 6 to 8.

23. The formulation of claim 3, comprising: water; magnesium lithium silicate CAS #37220-90-9; oxidised polyethylene CAS #68441-17-8; M-carboxymethylcellulose M-dodecyl sulfate; M-carbonate; M-citrate; wherein M is at least one type of counter ion.

24. The formulation of claim 23, wherein the counter ion is only sodium.

25.-38. (canceled)

Description

DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

[0103] FIG. 1 shows a temperature-viscosity relationship for a prior art formulation containing sodium polyacrylate as the main thickening agent. The temperature increase causes a permanent and large reduction in the viscosity.

[0104] FIG. 2 shows the viscosity change of the present inventive cleaning formulation at different temperatures. It is clear that the viscosity profile is more stable at increased temperatures in comparison to prior art formulations. If desired, the viscosity can be appropriately increased during the manufacturing process to compensate for the viscosity loss caused by higher temperatures during marine transportation. However, as the viscosity loss is not particularly large, any increase in viscosity in the manufacturing process would not need to be particularly large either.

[0105] FIG. 3 shows the variation in viscosity with temperature measured for lithium magnesium silicate hydrate in water measured at a concentration of 1 g/L. This gives an acceptable viscosity for cleaning in all working temperature ranges.

[0106] FIG. 4 shows the variation in viscosity with temperature measured for sodium polyacrylate (used in prior art formulations) measured at a concentration of 1 g/L. While the viscosity is initially acceptable, at higher temperatures it deteriorates to unacceptable levels.

[0107] Embodiment 1: A formulation for cleaning comprising:

solvent;
silicate selected from magnesium lithium silicates and mixtures thereof;
wherein silicate is present in a total amount in the range 0.01 to 1.5 wt %.

[0108] Embodiment 2: A formulation for cleaning comprising:

solvent;
silicate selected from the group consisting of
silicate of formula H.sub.2LiMgNaO.sub.12Si.sub.4,
silicate of formula M.sub.wE.sub.xSi.sub.yO.sub.z.aH.sub.2O, wherein M is an alkali metal and E is an alkaline earth metal;
wherein w, x, y and z are all numbers greater than 0 and wherein a is 0 or an number greater than 0;
and mixtures thereof;
wherein silicate is present in a total amount in the range 0.01 to 1.5 wt %.

[0109] Embodiment 3: A formulation for cleaning comprising:

solvent, preferably water;
silicate present in an amount in the range 0.01 to 1.5 wt %;
at least one polymer;
wherein the formulation has a viscosity of at least 20 mPa.Math.s, preferably at least 28 mPa.Math.s, measured at a shear rate of 11.3 cm/s and a temperature of 20° C.

[0110] Embodiment 4: The formulation of any of the preceding embodiments, having a viscosity of up to 100 mPa.Math.s, preferably up to 75 mPa.Math.s, more preferably up to 45 mPa.Math.s.

[0111] Embodiment 5: The formulation of any of the preceding embodiments, wherein the formulation is thixotropic.

[0112] Embodiment 6: The formulation of any of the preceding embodiments, wherein the silicate comprises silicate of formula M.sub.wE.sub.xSi.sub.yO.sub.z.aH.sub.2O wherein M=Li and E=Mg, preferably also wherein w=2, x=2, y=3 and z=9.

[0113] Embodiment 7: The formulation of any of the preceding embodiments, wherein the silicate comprises magnesium lithium silicate CAS #37220-90-9, preferably wherein the silicate consists essentially of magnesium lithium silicate CAS #37220-90-9.

[0114] Embodiment 8: The formulation of any of the preceding embodiments, wherein silicate is present in an amount of 1 wt % or less, preferably 0.5 wt % or less, most preferably 0.3 wt % or less relative to the cleaning formulation.

[0115] Embodiment 9: The formulation of any of the preceding embodiments, wherein silicate is present in an amount of at least 0.02 wt %.

[0116] Embodiment 10: The formulation of any of the preceding embodiments, wherein the solvent is water and the composition preferably comprises at least 95% water, preferably at least 99% water, wherein the water is preferably deionized or distilled water.

[0117] Embodiment 11: The formulation of any of the preceding embodiments, further comprising one or more surfactants.

[0118] Embodiment 12: The formulation of embodiment 11, wherein at least one surfactant has a hydrophilic-lipophilic balance HLB of at least 20, preferably at least 30, and even more preferably at least 38.

[0119] Embodiment 13: The formulation of embodiment 11 or 12, wherein at least one surfactant is a water-soluble salt or acid of the formula ROSO.sub.3M, wherein R preferably is a C.sub.7-C.sub.24 hydrocarbyl, preferably an alkyl or hydroxyalkyl having a C.sub.7-C.sub.24 alkyl component, more preferably a C.sub.12-C.sub.18 alkyl or hydroxyalkyl, and M is H or a cation, e.g., an alkali metal cation (e.g., sodium, potassium, lithium), or ammonium or substituted ammonium (e.g., methyl-, dimethyl-, and trimethyl ammonium cations and quaternary ammonium cations, such as tetramethyl-ammonium and dimethyl piperidinium cations and quaternary ammonium cations derived from alkylamines such as ethylamine, diethylamine, triethylamine, and mixtures thereof.

[0120] Embodiment 14: The formulation of any of the preceding embodiments, wherein the formulation comprises sodium dodecyl sulfate.

[0121] Embodiment 15: The formulation of any of embodiments 11 to 14, wherein at least one surfactant is a water-soluble salt or acid of the formula RO(A).sub.mSO.sub.3X, wherein R is an unsubstituted C.sub.10-C.sub.24 alkyl or hydroxyalkyl group having a C.sub.10-C.sub.24 alkyl component, preferably a C.sub.12-C.sub.20 alkyl or hydroxyalkyl, more preferably C.sub.12-C.sub.18 alkyl or hydroxyalkyl, A is an ethoxy or propoxy unit, m is greater than zero, typically between about 0.5 and about 6, more preferably between about 0.5 and about 3, and X is H or a cation which can be, for example, a metal cation (e.g., sodium, potassium, lithium, calcium, magnesium, etc.), ammonium or substituted-ammonium cation.

[0122] Embodiment 16: The formulation of any of embodiments 11 to 15, wherein the surfactant is present in an amount from 0.05 to 0.075 wt %

[0123] Embodiment 17: The formulation of any of the preceding embodiments, further comprising a polymer.

[0124] Embodiment 18: The formulation of embodiment 17, wherein the polymer comprises sodium carboxymethyl cellulose.

[0125] Embodiment 19: The formulation of embodiments 17 or 18, wherein the polymer comprises oxidised polyethylene CAS #68441-17-8, preferably having an average molecular weight of from 1,000,000 to 2,000,000 Da.

[0126] Embodiment 20: The formulation of any of the preceding embodiments, wherein sodium carboxymethylcellulose is present in an amount from 0.05 wt % to 0.1 wt % and/or polyethylene oxide is present in an amount from 0.01 wt % to 0.10 wt %.

[0127] Embodiment 21: The formulation of any of the preceding embodiments further comprising an organic acid, preferably citric acid.

[0128] Embodiment 22: The formulation of any of the preceding embodiments having a pH of from 6 to 8, preferably from 6.5 to 7.5, more preferably between 7.0 and 7.2.

[0129] Embodiment 23: A cleaning formulation according to any of the preceding embodiments consisting essentially of:

water;
magnesium lithium silicate CAS #37220-90-9;
oxidised polyethylene CAS #68441-17-8;

M-carboxymethylcellulose

[0130] M-dodecyl sulfate;

M-carbonate;

M-citrate,

[0131] wherein M is at least one type of counter ion.

[0132] Embodiment 24: The formulation of embodiment 23, wherein the counter ion is only sodium.

[0133] Embodiment 25: A method of cleaning a surface, the method comprising the following steps:

(a) providing the cleaning formulation of any of the preceding Embodiments;
(b) applying the undiluted cleaning formulation to the surface.

[0134] Embodiment 26: The method of embodiment 25, comprising the following steps:

(a1) providing a first microfiber cloth;
(a2) contacting the first microfiber cloth with the undiluted cleaning formulation; and
(c) cleaning the surface by contacting the first microfiber cloth with a surface to be cleaned so as to apply the undiluted cleaning formulation to the surface.

[0135] Embodiment 27: The method of embodiment 25 or embodiment 26, further comprising:

(d) providing a second microfiber cloth
(e) rubbing the surface using the second microfiber cloth so as to remove the cleaning formulation and polish the surface to be cleaned.

[0136] Embodiment 28: The method of embodiment 27 wherein the first microfiber cloth and the second microfiber cloth comprise fibres, each fibre comprising between 50 and 150 fibrils, preferably around 75 fibrils, preferably wherein the fibres have a widest diameter of between 0.2 and 1 micrometres.

[0137] Embodiment 29: The method of any of embodiments 25 to 28 wherein the surface comprises metal, ceramic, enamel, varnished or sealed surfaces, painted surfaces, plastic, leather, glass or wood.

[0138] Embodiment 30: The method of any of embodiments 25 to 29 wherein the surface is an external surface of a vehicle.

[0139] Embodiment 31: The method of embodiment 30 wherein the amount of the cleaning formulation used is in the range 200 to 1000 ml, preferably in the range 300 to 500 ml.

[0140] Embodiment 32: The method of any of embodiments 25 to 31 wherein the surface is an internal surface of a vehicle.

[0141] Embodiment 33: A method of preparing the formulation of any of embodiments 1 to 24 comprising the following steps: [0142] (a) providing the silicate; [0143] (b) dispersing the silicate in a solvent; preferably water, for example deionized or distilled water.

[0144] Embodiment 34: Use of the cleaning formulation of one of embodiments 1 to 24 for cleaning a surface, wherein the surface preferably comprises metal, ceramic, enamel, varnished or sealed surfaces, painted surfaces, plastic, leather, glass or wood, preferably belonging to a vehicle.

[0145] Embodiment 35: The use of embodiment 34 wherein the surface is an external surface of a vehicle.

[0146] Embodiment 36: The use of embodiment 34 wherein the surface is an internal surface of a vehicle.

[0147] Embodiment 37: A kit for the cleaning of a surface, especially the external or internal surface of a vehicle, comprising a container which contains a cleaning formulation according to any of embodiments 1 to 24 and at least one microfiber cloth.

[0148] Embodiment 38: A kit according to embodiment 37 comprising two microfiber cloths, preferably wherein the two cloths are of different structure.