PACKAGING FOR CHLORINE TABLET

Abstract

The present invention relates to a packaging comprising at least one tablet individually wrapped in a polymer film, characterised in that the tablet comprises 5% to 100% of active chlorine releasing agent, and the method for preparing same. The present invention also relates to the use of a polymer film for individually wrapping a tablet intended to be placed in a packaging, characterised in that the tablet comprises 5% to 100% of active chlorine releasing agent.

Claims

1. Packaging (3) comprising at least one tablet (1) individually wrapped in a polymer film (2), the tablet comprising 5% to 100% of active chlorine releasing agent.

2. Packaging of claim 1, wherein the tablet comprises 5% to 99.9% of active chlorine releasing agent.

3. Packaging of claim 1, wherein the tablet comprises 7.5% to 99.9%, of active chlorine releasing agent.

4. Packaging of claim 1, wherein the packaging is a bag.

5. Packaging of claim 1, wherein the packaging is an airtight packaging.

6. Packaging of claim 1, wherein the active chlorine releasing agent is chosen from dichloroisocyanurates.

7. Packaging of claim 6, wherein the active chlorine releasing agent is sodium dichloroisocyanurate, potassium dichloroisocyanurate, or mixtures thereof.

8. Packaging claim 1, wherein the polymer film comprises a film-forming agent chosen from polyvinyl alcohol, a polymer of biological origin based on corn starch or milk protein, polypropylene, bi-oriented polypropylene, metallised polypropylene, polyethylene, polyolefins, polyethylene terephthalate and polyvinyl chloride.

9. Packaging of claim 1, wherein the polymer film has a thickness comprised between 10 and 100 μm.

10. Method for preparing a packaging (3) comprising at least one tablet (1) individually wrapped in a polymer film (2), the tablet comprising 5% to 100%, by weight of active chlorine releasing agent, the method comprising the following steps: a) preparing the tablet (1) comprising 5% to 100% by weight of active chlorine releasing agent; b) incorporating the tablet (1) obtained at step a) in the polymer film (2); c) closing the polymer film wrapping the tablet (1); d) optionally, repeating steps a) to c) until the desired number of wrapped tablets is obtained; e) cutting the polymer film after step c) or step d); f) incorporating the wrapped tablet(s) obtained at step e) in the packaging (3); and g) closing the packaging (3).

11. Method according of claim 10, wherein the tablet comprises 7.5% to 99.9%, of active chlorine releasing agent.

12. Method of claim 10, wherein the packaging is a bag.

13. (canceled)

14. (canceled)

15. (canceled)

16. (canceled)

17. Packaging of claim 1, wherein the tablet comprises 20 to 99.9%, of active chlorine releasing agent.

18. Packaging of claim 1, wherein the packaging is an airtight bag.

19. Method of claim 10, wherein the tablet comprises 5% to 99.9%, by weight of active chlorine releasing agent.

20. Method of claim 10, wherein the tablet comprises 20 to 99.9% of active chlorine releasing agent.

21. Method of claim 10, wherein the packaging is an airtight bag.

Description

DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

[0080] FIG. 1 represents a tablet (1) individually wrapped in a polymer film (2). The polymer film (2) completely wraps the tablet (1).

[0081] FIGS. 2A and 2B represent a packaging, notably an airtight packaging (3) comprising a tablet (1) individually wrapped in a polymer film (2). The polymer film (2) completely wraps the tablet (1). FIG. 2A shows a packaging, notably an individually airtight packaging (3) and FIG. 2B shows a packaging, notably an airtight packaging (3) being able to comprise several film wrapped tablets.

[0082] The examples that follow aim to illustrate the present invention.

EXAMPLES

Example 1: Comparison of the Disintegration Time and the Stability of Tablets Packaged According to the Invention with Non-Film Wrapped Tablets or Tablets not Placed in a Airtight Packaging

[0083] In this example, we compared the disintegration time and the stability of tablets based on NaDCC (sodium dichloroisocyanurate) strictly identical in composition, weight, shape and method of implementation thereof.

[0084] The tablets tested have a weight of 5 grams, of cylindrical shape of 20 mm diameter. The composition of these tablets is summarised in table 1 below:

TABLE-US-00001 TABLE 1 Composition of the tested tablets Percentage by weight compared to the total Name weight of the tablet NaDCC 80 Sodium bicarbonate 12 Adipic acid 8

[0085] These tablets were produced on rotary press with the same compressive force, namely 90 kN.

[0086] The tablets thus obtained were next individually wrapped in a polymer film (Flowpack) or not, as described in table 2 below. The tablets were next placed in a secondary packaging, airtight or not, as described in table 2 below.

TABLE-US-00002 TABLE 2 Description of the tests Number Test Type of Type of secondary of No Flowpack packaging tablets Test No Flowpack Flexible airtight bag based 30 1-NF on PET (polyethylene terephthalate) (12 μm)/PE (polyethylene) (90 μm), of dimensions 160 × 195 mm (also called Doypack) Test Film made of Flexible airtight bag based 30 2-PP bi-oriented on PET (polyethylene polypropylene terephthalate) (12 μm)/PE (PP) of (polyethylene) (90 μm), of 30 μm thickness dimensions 160 × 195 mm (also called Doypack) Test 3- Polyvinyl Flexible airtight bag based 30 PVOH alcohol (PVOH) on PET (polyethylene based film of terephthalate) (12 μm)/PE 30 μm thickness (polyethylene) (90 μm), of dimensions 160 × 195 mm (also called Doypack) Test Film made of Flexible airtight bag based 30 4-PE polyethylene on PET (polyethylene (PE) of 30 μm terephthalate) (12 μm)/ thickness. PE (polyethylene) (90 μm), of dimensions 160 × 195 mm (also called Doypack) Test No Flowpack Airtight pot made of high 30 5-NF density polyethylene associated with a hermetic lid made of polypropylene, of dimensions 116 × 60 mm Test No Flowpack Non-airtight box (sensitive 30 6-NF to humidity) of cardboard type of 1 mm thickness, of dimensions 60 × 85 × 80 mm Test 7- Film based on Non-airtight box (sensitive to 30 PVOH polyvinyl alcohol humidity) of cardboard type (PVOH) of of 1 mm thickness, of 30 μm thickness dimensions 60 × 85 × 80 mm

[0087] The packagings containing the tablets were next placed in a climatic chamber at 38° C. and 46% relative humidity. These conditions enable accelerated ageing to be carried out: 1 week represents six months of stability at ambient temperature. The ageing of these tablets was monitored over one month in a climatic chamber, which corresponds to two years of stability at ambient temperature. Each week, the following measurements were carried out on the tablets: [0088] Appearance [0089] Diametral hardness [0090] Disintegration time [0091] Active chlorine measurement [0092] Quantity of chlorine gas released [0093] Chorine smell measured by a consumer panel

[0094] The appearance of the tablets was evaluated by visual observation.

[0095] The diametral hardness of the tablets was measured using a hardness tester of Dr Schleuniger 8M type and is expressed in Newtons (N).

[0096] The disintegration time of the tablets was measured statically in a beaker of one litre of water at 20° C.

[0097] The concentration of active chlorine was measured by iodometric assay. The reagents used were the following: 0.024N sodium thiosulfate, 10% KI solution, 4N sulphuric acid and 5 g/L solution of starch paste.

[0098] The quantity of chlorine gas released was measured using a GASTEC N.sup.o 0.8La type measurement kit. This is a colorimetric reagent tube.

[0099] The measurement of the chlorine smell was evaluated immediately after taking the packagings out of the climatic chamber by a consumer panel of ten persons. A rating was assigned by each person: 10 strong smell, 5 mild smell, 0 no smell. An average of the ratings obtained was made for each measurement.

[0100] The results obtained are summarised in tables 3 to 5 below:

TABLE-US-00003 TABLE 3 Monitoring of the appearance, hardness and disintegration of the tablets T = 1 T = 2 T = 3 T = 4 Tests Tests T = 0 week weeks weeks weeks Appearance Test 1- ok ok Start of Swelling Swelling of tablets NF-ES swelling Test 2- ok ok ok ok ok PP-ES Test 3- ok ok ok ok ok PVOH-ES Test 4- ok ok ok ok ok PE-ES Test 5- Ok Ok Start of Swelling Swelling NF-EP swelling Test 6- ok Ok Start of Swelling Swelling NF-NE swelling Test 7- ok ok ok ok ok PVOH-NE Hardness Test 1- 110N 155N 162N 197N 200N of tablets NF-ES Test 2- 110N 132N 143N 156N 158N PP-ES Test 3- 110N 137N 148N 160N 162N PVOH-ES Test 4- 110N 135N 147N 158N 163N PE-ES Test 5- 110N 153N 165N 193N 205N NF-EP Test 6- 110N 155N 163N 195N 201N NF-NE Test 7- 110N 138N 146N 157N 161N PVOH-NE Disintegration Test 1- 3 minutes 5 minutes 7 minutes 10 minutes 13 minutes of tablets NF-ES Test 2- 3 minutes 4 minutes 4 minutes 5 minutes 5 minutes PP-ES Test 3- 2 minutes 2 minutes 3 minutes 5 minutes 6 minutes PVOH-ES Test 4- 3 minutes 3 minutes 5 minutes 6 minutes 7 minutes PE-ES Test 5- 3 minutes 5 minutes 8 minutes 10 minutes 12 minutes NF-EP Test 6- 3 minutes 4 minutes 7 minutes 10 minutes 11 minutes NF-NE Test 7- 3 minutes 4 minutes 4 minutes 5 minutes 6 minutes PVOH-NE Concentration of Test 1- 41% 38% 36% 33% 32% active chlorine NF-ES Test 2- 41% 40% 40% 39% 39% PP-ES Test 3- 41% 39% 39% 37% 37% PVOH-ES Test 4- 41% 40% 40% 40% 39% PE-ES Test 5- 41% 39% 35% 32% 31% NF-EP Test 6- 41% 38% 34% 32% 30% NF-NE Test 7- 41% 41% 39% 39% 38% PVOH-NE NF = non Flowpacked - ES = airtight packaging of bag type - EP = airtight packaging of pot type - NE = non-airtight packaging

TABLE-US-00004 TABLE 4 Monitoring of the quantity of chlorine gas released T = 1 T = 2 T = 3 T = 4 Test Test T = 0 week weeks weeks weeks Measurement Test 1 - 1 ppm 1 ppm 1.3 ppm 1.6 ppm 2 ppm of chlorine NF-ES (Doypack (Doypack (Doypack (Doypack gas released yellowing and slightly slightly swollen and in the start of swollen and swollen and delaminated packaging degradation) delaminated, delaminated yellowing) yellowing) yellowing) Test 2- 0 ppm 0.01 ppm 0.01 ppm 0.01 ppm 0.01 ppm PP-ES (Doypack ok) (Doypack ok) (Doypack ok) (Doypack ok) Test 3- 0 ppm 0.01 ppm 0.01 ppm 0.01 ppm 0.01 ppm PVOH-ES (Doypack ok) (Doypack ok) (Doypack ok) (Doypack ok) Test 4- 0 ppm 0.01 ppm 0.01 ppm 0.01 ppm 0.01 ppm PE-ES (Doypack ok) (Doypack ok) (Doypack ok) (Doypack ok)

TABLE-US-00005 TABLE 5 Monitoring of the chlorine smell by a consumer pane T = 1 T = 2 T = 3 T = 4 Test Test T = 0 week weeks weeks weeks Measurement Test 1 - 6 8 8 8 10 of the NF-ES chlorine Test 2- 0 0 0 0 1 smell PP-ES Test 3- 0 0 0 0 2 PVOH-ES Test 4- 0 0 0 0 2 PE-ES

[0101] The results of this study show that the use of a Flowpack (tests 2 to 4) makes it possible to improve the stability of the tablets because the disintegration time does not increase or only slightly increases and the concentration of active chlorine remains stable unlike the non-film wrapped tablets (test 1). In addition, the measurement of the released gases and the measurement of the chlorine smell by the consumer panels show that the Flowpack makes it possible to retain the chlorine gas released inside the Flowpack.

Example 2: Comparison of the Disintegration Time and the Stability of Tablets Packaged According to the Invention with Non-Film Wrapped Tablets

[0102] In this example, we compared the stability of tablets based on NaDCC strictly identical in composition, weight, shape and implementation method thereof.

[0103] The tablets have a weight of 5 grams, of cylindrical shape of 20 mm diameter. The composition of the tablets is summarised in table 6 below:

TABLE-US-00006 TABLE 6 Composition of the tested tablets Percentage by weight compared Nom to the total weight of the tablet NaDCC 64 Sodium bicarbonate 20 Adipic acid 16

[0104] These tablets were all produced on a rotary press at the same compressive force, namely 90 kN. Among all the tablets produced, thirty tablets were film wrapped with a film made of polyethylene of 30 μm thickness (test 5-PE). The latter were next placed in an airtight packaging, of dimensions 160×195 mm, Kraft based (35 μm)/PET (12 μm)/PE (90 μm). Thirty other non-film wrapped tablets (test 6-NF) were placed in the same airtight packaging base Kraft/PET/PE. Each of the tablets of a same category were placed in a same bag.

[0105] These two packagings containing the tablets were next placed in a climatic chamber at 38° C. and 46% relative humidity. These conditions make it possible to carry out accelerated ageing: 1 week represents six months of stability at ambient temperature. The ageing of these tablets was monitored for a month in a climatic chamber, which corresponds to two years of stability at ambient temperature. Each week, the following measurements were carried out on the tablets: [0106] Appearance [0107] Diametral hardness [0108] Disintegration time [0109] Measurement of the active chlorine [0110] Quantity of chlorine gas released [0111] Measurement of the chlorine smell by a consumer panel

[0112] The appearance of the tablets was evaluated by visual observation.

[0113] The diametral hardness of the tablets was measured using a hardness tester of Dr Schleuniger 8M type and is expressed in Newtons (N).

[0114] The disintegration time of the tablets was measured statically in a beaker of one litre of water at 20° C.

[0115] The concentration of active chlorine was measured by iodometric assay. The reagents used were the following: 0.024N sodium thiosulfate, 10% KI solution, 4N sulphuric acid and 5 g/L starch paste solution.

[0116] The quantity of chlorine gas released was measured using a GASTEC N.sup.o 8La type measurement kit. This is a colorimetric reagent tube.

[0117] The measurement of the chlorine smell was evaluated immediately after taking the packagings out of the climatic chamber by a consumer panel of ten persons. A rating was assigned by each person: 10 strong smell, 5 mild smell, 0 no smell. An average of the ratings was calculated for each measurement.

[0118] The results obtained are summarised in tables 7 to 9 below:

TABLE-US-00007 TABLE 7 Monitoring of the appearance, hardness and disintegration of the tablets T = 1 T = 2 T = 3 T = 4 Tests Tests T = 0 week weeks weeks weeks Appearance Test 6-NF ok ok Start of Swelling Swelling of tablets swelling Test 5-PE ok ok ok Ok ok Hardness of Test 6-NF 110N 155N 162N 197N 200N tablets Test 5-PE 110N 134N 145N 155N 159N Disintegration Test 6-NF 6 minutes 8 minutes 10 minutes 10 minutes 11 minutes of tablets Test 5-PE 6 minutes 7 minutes 7 minutes 8 minutes 8 minutes Concentration Test 6-NF 37% 34% 33% 30% 28% of active Test 5-PE 37% 37% 35% 34% 34% chlorine

TABLE-US-00008 TABLE 8 Monitoring of the quantity of chlorine gas released T = 1 T = 2 T = 3 T = 4 Test Test T = 0 week weeks weeks weeks Measurement Test 6-NF 1 ppm 1 ppm 1.3 ppm 1.6 ppm 2 ppm of chlorine (Doypack (Doypack (Doypack (Doypack gas released yellowing slightly slightly swollen and in the and start of swollen and swollen and delaminated packaging degradation) delaminated, delaminated yellowing) yellowing) yellowing) Test 5-PE 0 ppm 0.01 ppm 0.01 ppm 0.01 ppm 0.01 ppm (Doypack ok) (Doypack ok) (Doypack ok) (Doypack ok)

TABLE-US-00009 TABLE 9 Monitoring of the chlorine smell by a consumer panel T = 1 T = 2 T = 3 T = 4 Test Test T = 0 week weeks weeks weeks Measurement of Test 6-NF 6 8 8 8 10 the chlorine smelt Test 5-PE 0 0 0 0 2

[0119] The results of this study show that the use of a Flowpack based on polyethylene (PE) of 30 μm (test 5-PE) makes it possible to improve the stability of the tablets because the disintegration time increases slightly and the concentration of active chlorine remains stable unlike the non-film wrapped tablets (Test 6-PE). In addition, the measurement of the released gases and the measurement of the chlorine smell by the consumer panels show that the Flowpack makes it possible to retain the chlorine gas released inside the Flowpack.

Example 3: Comparison of the Disintegration Time of Tablets Packaged According to the Invention with Non-Film Wrapped Tablets

[0120] In this example, we compared the disintegration time of two tablets based on NaDCC strictly identical in composition, weight, shape and implementation thereof.

[0121] The tested tablets have a weight of 5 grams, of cylindrical shape of diameter 20 mm. The composition of these two tablets is summarised in table 10 below:

TABLE-US-00010 TABLE 10 Composition of the tested tablets Percentage by weight compared Name to the total weight NaDCC 80 Sodium bicarbonate 12 Adipic acid 8

[0122] Two tablets were produced on a rotary press, with the same compressive force. One tablet was film wrapped (test 7-PVOH) in a water soluble film based on polyvinyl alcohol (PVAL) of 30 μm using a laboratory Flowpacker. The other tablet was not film wrapped (test 8-NF). The disintegration time of the two tablets was measured statically in a beaker of 1 litre of water at 20° C. The results obtained are given in table 11 below.

TABLE-US-00011 TABLE 11 Monitoring of the disintegration of the tablets Test 8-NF Test 7-PVOH Disintegration time 4 minutes 4 minutes Presence of residues A lot of residues Very few residues

[0123] When the two tablets were immersed in a beaker of water, we observed the following points: [0124] The tablet alone sinks directly to the bottom of the beaker [0125] The film wrapped tablet floats on the surface of the water. The dissolution of the tablet begins when water infiltrates inside the Flowpack, thus making the pastille break up. At the end of one minute, the lower part of the Flowpack is completely dissolved, thus releasing the whole of the tablet in powder form which falls like rain to the bottom of the beaker.

[0126] The results of this study show that the use of a water soluble Flowpack based on PVOH with tablets containing NaDCC make it possible to obtain a tablet having both good dissolution and a rapid disintegration time. The granules of NaDCC being completely dissolved, the tablet is efficient more rapidly than the non-film wrapped tablet. The solution prepared with the film wrapped tablet is ready to use.

Example 4: Comparison of the Stability of the Secondary Packaging of Tablets Packaged According to the Invention with Non-Film Wrapped Tablets and with Chlorine Free Dishwasher Tablets, Film Wrapped or not

[0127] For this example, we took the reference known in the dishwasher market: SUN. The products were constituted in the following manner: several tens of chlorine free tablets were film wrapped in a water soluble film (PVOH) then introduced into a plastic bag of airtight polymeric type acting as secondary packaging. The whole assembly was next arranged in a non-airtight cardboard box in order to come close to the conditions of commercially available products.

[0128] Our interest focused on the use of the airtight bag as secondary packaging: does it swell in the presence of a high level of humidity or not? Can the type of packaging used by SUN for dishwasher tablets be duplicated for chlorine?

[0129] In this example, we observed the appearance of the plastic bag in different configurations: [0130] the bag contains 30 SUN dishwasher tablets or 30 chlorine tablets according to example 1 (NaDCC) [0131] the tablets may be individually wrapped in a polymer film or not [0132] the bag is placed in an environment at ambient temperature (25° C. and 37% relative humidity on average) and or in a climatic chamber (38° C. and 46% relative humidity)

[0133] The results are grouped together in table 12 below. In this table, the following abbreviations are used: [0134] LV=SUN dishwashing tablet; [0135] CL=chlorine tablet according to example 1; [0136] AA=environment at ambient temperature (25° C. and 37% relative humidity on average); [0137] EC=climatic chamber (38° C. and 46% relative humidity); [0138] X=no; [0139] ∫=yes; and [0140] T=time.

[0141] The results of this study show that the use of a polymer film and humidity have no impact on the SUN dishwasher product because there is no release observed, thus no swelling of the bag is observed.

[0142] On the other hand, for the non-film wrapped chlorine tablets, a swelling of the secondary packaging is observed, whether in an environment at ambient temperature or a humid environment.

[0143] It is also observed that the use of film wrapped chlorine tablets makes it possible to avoid this swelling. Indeed, the airtight bag does not swell when the chlorine tablet is film wrapped, whether the bag is placed in an environment at ambient temperature or in a humid environment. Within the scope of the present invention, humidity and temperature thus do not have any impact on the swelling of the secondary packaging, notably the airtight secondary packaging.

[0144] We can thus conclude that there indeed exists an interaction between the chlorine tablet and the secondary packaging and that this interaction does not result from the external environment. We can also conclude that the Flowpack reduces the interaction between the chlorine tablet and the air present in the bag, avoiding swelling of the secondary packaging used.

TABLE-US-00012 TABLE 12 study of the swelling of the secondary packaging Test 1 Test 2 Test 3 Test 4 Test 5 Test 6 Test 7 Test 8 Type of LV LV LV LV CL CL CL CL tablets (dishwasher or chlorine) Presence of a X √ X √ X √ X √ water soluble polymer film Airtight √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ secondary packaging Ambient air or AA AA EC EC AA AA EC EC Climatic chamber T = 1 week No swelling No swelling No swelling No swelling No swelling No swelling No swelling No swelling T = 2 weeks No swelling No swelling No swelling No swelling Slight No swelling Slight No swelling swelling swelling T = 3 weeks No swelling No swelling No swelling No swelling Slight No swelling Important No swelling swelling swelling T = 4 weeks No swelling No swelling No swelling No swelling Slight No swelling Important No swelling swelling swelling