Low toxicity, low odor, low volatility solvent for agricultural chemical formulations

Abstract

An agricultural chemical composition comprises a solvent having the general formula CO(OR.sub.a)(R.sub.b), wherein R.sub.a is a linear or branched alkyl group of one to eight carbon atoms and R.sub.b is an aromatic group. Active agricultural components are dissolved in the solvent to produce a solution usable for distributing the active components.

Claims

1. An agricultural chemical formulation consisting of a blend of: between about 5% and about 70% by weight of ametryn, triadimenol, imidacloprid, epoxiconazole, chlorothalonil, diflufenican, cypermethrin, fluoxastrobin, boscalid, nicosulfuron, metsulfuron, trifluralin, bifenthrin, myclobutanil, pendimethalin, deltamethrin, tolfenpyrad, pyridaben, tebuconazole, metolachlor, carfentrazone, clomazone, propanil or a mixture thereof dissolved in one or more ester compounds having the general formula CO(OR.sub.a)(R.sub.b), wherein R.sub.a is a linear or branched alkyl group of one to eight carbon atoms and R.sub.b is an aromatic group and optionally between about 3% by weight to about 50% by weight of an emulsifier selected from a cationic surfactant, a mixture of the cationic surfactant and an anionic surfactant and a mixture of a the cationic surfactant, the anionic surfactant and a nonionic surfactant, stabilizer, anti-oxidant, corrosion inhibitor, activator, wetting agent, dye humectant, a co-solvent selected from dimethylsulfoxide, cyclohexanone, an n-alkylpyrrolidone, a fatty acid dimethyl ester, a fatty acid ester, a dibasic ester, an aromatic hydrocarbon, an aliphatic hydrocarbon, a dimethylamide, a ketone, an ether, an amide, a carboxylic acid, an aldehyde, an epoxide, an estermide, an acyl halide, an acid anhydride, a nitrile, a nitro, a thiol and a sulfide or a combination thereof, where the % by weight is based on the total weight of the blend.

2. The agricultural chemical formulation of claim 1, wherein R.sub.b comprises a benzene ring.

3. The agricultural chemical formulation of claim 1, wherein R.sub.a is selected from the group consisting of methyl, ethyl, propyl, butyl, pentyl, hexyl, heptyl and, octyl.

4. The agricultural chemical formulation of claim 1, wherein R.sub.b is selected from the group consisting of benzyl, xylyl and, toluyl.

5. The agricultural chemical formulation of claim 1, wherein an emulsifier is present in the blend.

6. The agricultural chemical formulation of claim 5 wherein the ester is butyl benzoate.

7. The agricultural chemical formulation of claim 1, wherein two or more ester compounds having the general formula CO(OR.sub.a)(R.sub.b), wherein R.sub.a is a linear or branched alkyl group of one to eight carbon atoms and R.sub.b is an aromatic group are present in the blend.

8. The agricultural chemical formulation of claim 5, wherein the co-solvent is present in the blend.

9. The agricultural chemical formulation of claim 8, wherein the co-solvent is a hydrocarbon.

10. A chemical composition consisting of a blend of between about 5% and about 70% by weight of ametryn, triadimenol, imidacloprid, epoxiconazole, chlorothalonil, diflufenican, cypermethrin, fluoxastrobin, boscalid, nicosulfuron, metsulfuron, trifluralin, bifenthrin, myclobutanil, pendimethalin, deltamethrin, tolfenpyrad, pyridaben, tebuconazole, metolachlor, carfentrazone, clomazone, propanil or a mixture thereof dissolved in butyl benzoate and optionally between about 3% by weight and about 50% by weight of a co-solvent selected from dimethylsulfoxide, cyclohexanone, an n-alkylpyrrolidone, a fatty acid dimethyl ester, a fatty acid ester, a dibasic ester, an aromatic hydrocarbon, an aliphatic hydrocarbon, a dimethylamide, a ketone, an ether, an amide, a carboxylic acid, an aldehyde, an epoxide, an estermide, an acyl halide, an acid anhydride, a nitrile, a nitro, a thiol, a sulfide, and a mixture thereof, where the % by weight is based on the total weight of the blend.

11. A process of making an agricultural chemical formulation according to claim 1, comprising: dissolving ametryn, triadimenol, imidacloprid, epoxiconazole, chlorothalonil, diflufenican, cypermethrin, fluoxastrobin, boscalid, nicosulfuron, metsulfuron, trifluralin, bifenthrin, myclobutanil, pendimethalin, deltamethrin, tolfenpyrad, pyridaben, tebuconazole, metolachlor, carfentrazone, clomazone, propanil or a mixture thereof in one or more ester compounds having the general formula CO(OR.sub.a)(R.sub.b), wherein R.sub.a is a linear or branched alkyl group of one to eight carbon atoms and R.sub.b is an aromatic group wherein a mass ratio of the agricultural compound to the one or more ester compounds is between about 0.25:1 and about 20:1.

12. The agricultural chemical formulation according to claim 1, wherein between about 60% and about 70% by weight of ametryn, triadimenol, imidacloprid, epoxiconazole, chlorothalonil, diflufenican, cypermethrin, fluoxastrobin, boscalid, nicosulfuron, metsulfuron, trifluralin, bifenthrin, myclobutanil, pendimethalin, deltamethrin, tolfenpyrad, pyridaben, tebuconazole, metolachlor, carfentrazone, clomazone, propanil or a mixture thereof is dissolved in the one or more ester compounds having the general formula CO(OR.sub.a)(R.sub.b), wherein R.sub.a is a linear or branched alkyl group of one to eight carbon atoms and R.sub.b is an aromatic group.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

(1) Surprisingly, agricultural chemicals may be readily dispersed in certain types of organic solvents to form an effective delivery fluid that has low toxicity, flammability, and odor. An agricultural chemical formulation may be made by dissolving one or more active components in an ester comprising one or more compounds having the general formula CO(OR.sub.a)(R.sub.b), wherein R.sub.a is a linear or branched alkyl group of one to eight carbon atoms and R.sub.b is an aromatic group. In one aspect, R.sub.a may be selected from the group consisting of methyl, ethyl, propyl, butyl, pentyl, hexyl, heptyl, octyl, and derivatives thereof. In another aspect, R.sub.b may comprise a benzene ring. R.sub.b may be selected from the group consisting of benzyl, xylyl (i.e. dimethyl benzyl), toluyl (i.e. methyl benzyl), ethyl benzyl, and derivatives thereof. In one embodiment, R.sub.a may be a butyl group. In another embodiment, R.sub.b may be a benzyl group. One example of a suitable solvent that yields favorable properties in an agricultural blend is butyl benzoate. Other suitable compounds include, but are not limited to, methyl benzoate, ethyl benzoate, propyl benzoate, methyl toluate, ethyl toluate, propyl toluate, butyl toluate, methyl xylate, ethyl xylate, propyl xylate, butyl xylate, methyl ethylbenzoate, ethyl ethylbenzoate, propyl ethylbenzoate, and butyl ethylbenzoate.

(2) The active component generally comprises between about 5% and about 75% by weight of the blend, such as between about 10% and about 50%, for example between about 20% and about 40%. The ester typically comprises between about 30% and about 80% of the blend, such as between about 40% and about 65%, for example between about 45% and about 55%. Mixtures of esters may be used as well.

(3) Active components usable with the materials described above include various pesticides, herbicides, and adjuvants. Active components may be compounds of a type selected from the group consisting of pyrethroids, mitose inhibitors, protoporphyrinogen-IX oxidase inhibitors, bleacher herbicides, triazoles, METI compounds, photosynthesis inhibitors, insecticides, nicotinic receptor agonist/antagonist compounds, fungicides such as organochlorine compounds, strobilurins, carboxanilides, ALS inhibitors such as sulfonyl ureas, plant growth regulators, molluscides, nematocides, acaricides, and combinations thereof. Examples of such compounds include, but are not limited to, ametryn, triadimenol, imidacloprid, epoxiconazole, chlorothalonil, diflufenican, cypermethrin, fluoxastrobin, boscalid, nicosulfuron, metsulfuron, trifluralin, bifenthrin, myclobutanil, pendimethalin, deltamethrin, tolfenpyrad, pyridaben, tebuconazole, metolachlor, carfentrazone, clomazone, propanil, and derivates thereof. Compatible mixtures of such active components may be used in multifunctional formulations comprising solvents described herein. For example, multiple pesticides may be used in a single formulation to remove multiple classes of malefactors, pesticides may be blended with fertilizers and/or herbicides or other compatible active ingredients to improve the efficiency of crop management.

(4) Formulations described herein provide good deliverability of active components in emulsions or dispersions while exhibiting low toxicity, low bio-accumulation, good biodegradability and high flash points. The solvents described above also slow crystallization of active components when dispersed in water emulsions, avoiding decay in concentration of the active component in the emulsion. Also, the solvents described above generally do not degrade materials found in equipment used for spreading the emulsions or dispersions.

(5) Other components present in the formulations described above may be surfactants, emulsifiers, stabilizers, anti-oxidants, corrosion inhibitors, activators, wetting agents, dyes, adjuvants, humectants, and the like. Such compounds may provide between about 3% and about 50% by weight, such as between about 3% and about 20% by weight, of the formulation.

(6) Examples of emulsifiers include, but are not limited to, anionic and cationic surfactants. Anionic surfactants may include calcium salts, amine salts, or sulfonates of C.sub.10-C.sub.16 alkylbenzenes, alkylether sulfates, alkylphenoletherphosphates and ester phosphates, nonionic surfactants such as alkoxylated alcohols and alkylphenols, ethoxylated fatty acids, ethoxylated vegetable oils such as ethoxylated castor oil, fatty acid esters, for example esters of sorbitol, and their ethoxylated derivatives, ethoxylated amines, and condensates of glycerol. Cationic surfactants may include cationic amines, optionally combined with alkylsulfonates, ether sulfonates, or ether phosphates. Surfactants usable in emulsifier blends also include, but are not limited to, anionic calcium and/or amine neutralization linear alkylsulfonates surfactants, such as NANSA EVM 70/2E or NANSA YS94, phosphate esters of nonionic surfactants such as SURFONIC PE-1198 or TERSPERSE 2202, cationic tallow amine surfactants such as SURFONIC T-15, nonionic surfactants such as SURFONIC L24-7 or ECOTERIC T85, blends of anionic and nonionic surfactants such as TERMUL 3640, each of which is available from Huntsman Performance Products of The Woodlands, Tex.

(7) Co-solvents usable in formulations described herein include dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO), cyclohexanone, short chain alcohols such as 2-ethylhexanol and n-butanol, n-alkylpyrrolidones, fatty acid dimethyl esters, fatty acid esters, dibasic esters, aromatic hydrocarbons and/or aliphatic hydrocarbons, which may be paraffinic, olefinic, or diolefinic, dimethylamides such as C.sub.8-dimethylamide, C.sub.10-dimethylamide, and C.sub.12-dimethylamide, glycols such as ethylene glycol, propylene glycol, or polyalkylene glycols, triols, other esters, ketones, ethers, amides, carboxylic acids, aldehydes, epoxides, estermides, acyl halides, acid anhydrides, nitriles, nitros, thiols, sulfides, and combinations thereof. Examples of aromatic hydrocarbons are the SOLVESSO solvents available from ExxonMobil Chemical Co., of Houston, Tex. Examples of paraffinic hydrocarbons are the EXXSOL solvents of ExxonMobil Chemical Co. Cyclic hydrocarbons such as cyclohexanone and isophorone, and ester solvents such as methyloleate and EXXATE solvents of ExxonMobil Chemical Co. or the PURASOLV lactate esters available from Purac Biochem B.V. Corp. of Gorinchem, The Netherlands.

(8) Table 1 lists formulations of exemplary agricultural mixtures having the advantages described herein.

(9) TABLE-US-00001 TABLE 1 Exemplary Agricultural Chemical Formulations Using Ester Solvents Blends, wt % Ingredients 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Trifluralin, technical (mitose inhibitor) 60 Deltamethrin, technical (pyrethroid) 9 5 Bifenthrin, technical (pyrethroid) 5 20 Tebuconazole, technical (azole) 20 25 Myclobutanil, technical (azole) 15 Metolachlor, technical (VLCFA inhibitor) 50 Clomazone, technical (bleacher herbicide) 45 Propanil, technical (photosynthesis inhibitor) 25 Cypermethrin (pyrethroid) 40 Butyl benzoate (solvent) 81 40 30 68 70 75 42 45 60 36 50 N-methylpyrolidone 20 Propylene glycol (humectant) 4 Water 5 Emulsifier Blend 10 50 10 12 10 10 8 10 15 10 10

(10) The emulsifier blend used in each of the formulations above may include the additives and surfactants listed above.

(11) The agricultural formulations described herein are generally used by adding 5 to 5,000 liters of water per liter of formulation. The formulations described herein may be emulsifiable concentrate (EC) formulations that, when blended with water form an emulsion in water (EW) formulation, a microemulsion (ME) formulation, or may be a dispersion concentrate (DC) formulation. An ME formulation is an emulsion in which droplets of the EC formulation dispersed in the water are so small as to be effectively invisible. An ME formulation may be made using a microemulsion concentrate (MEC), which is an EC that, when mixed with water, will form an ME. A DC formulation features the active components dispersed in a liquid phase in such an amount that, when combined with water, the amount of active components in the resulting applicable liquid exceeds the soluble level of the active components in water, so that at least a portion of the active components remain solid. A DC generally features a solid suspended in an oil or water phase. A suspoemulsion (SE) may be made by mixing an EC and a DC and optionally adding further liquid such as oil or water.

(12) While the foregoing is directed to embodiments of the present invention, other and further embodiments of the invention may be devised without departing from the basic scope thereof, and the scope thereof is determined by the claims that follow.