DETERGENT COMPOSITION HAVING A FLOW LIMIT

Abstract

The production of a flow limit in liquid surfactant compositions by way of the use of a micro emulsion containing, in each case based on the total weight of the emulsion, a) a liquid phase, b) a total quantity of 10 wt % to 99.0 wt % of at least one non-polymer organic thickening agent having a molecular weight in the range from 100 g/mol to 500 g/mol as an emulsified phase, c) a total quantity of 0.001 wt % to 89.0 wt % of a surfactant system containing at least one non-ionic surfactant.

Claims

1. A microemulsion, containing, in each case based on the total weight of the emulsion, a) a liquid phase, b) a total amount from 2.0 wt. % to 90.0 wt. % of at least one non-polymeric, organic thickening agent having a molecular weight in the range from 100 g/mol to 1500 g/mol as the emulsified phase, c) a total amount from 2.0 wt. % to 89.0 wt. % of a surfactant system, containing at least one non-ionic surfactant.

2. The microemulsion according to claim 1, characterized in that the above-mentioned thickener is in the oil-rich phase of the microemulsion.

3. The microemulsion according to claim 1, characterized in that the liquid phase and the emulsified phase are present as bicontinuous phases or as layers of an L.sub.-phase.

4. The microemulsion according to claim 1, characterized in that the surfactant system has a fishtail point in the range from 0.01 wt. % to 80 wt. %.

5. The microemulsion according to claim 1, wherein the surfactant system comprises a plurality of surfactants, comprising at least a first surfactant C1 and a second surfactant C2, wherein the fishtail point is in the range from 0.01 to 80 wt. % total surfactant and 0.01 to 50 wt. % surfactant C2.

6. The microemulsion according to claim 1, characterized in that the mean curvature of the amphiphilic film in the single-phase region of the microemulsion is 0 in the temperature range 0 to 100 C.

7. The microemulsion according to claim 1, characterized in that the total amount of the above-mentioned thickening agent is 5 wt. % to 95 wt. %.

8. The microemulsion according to claim 1, characterized in that the above-mentioned at least one low-molecular-weight, organic thickening agent is selected from hydrogenated castor oil, 12-hydroxyoctadec-9-anoic acid, 12-hydroxystearic acid, a glyceride having at least two 12-hydroxyoctadec-9-anoic functional groups, triricinolein, a glyceride having at least two 12-hydroxystearic acid functional groups, tris-12-hydroxystearin, 4,6-O-benzylidene monosaccharide, C.sub.8-C.sub.22 alkylamide derivatives of D-glucosamine, urea derivatives, gemini surfactants, or mixtures thereof.

9. The microemulsion according to claim 1, characterized in that at least one C.sub.8-20 alkyl ether is contained as the non-ionic surfactant.

10. The microemulsion according to claim 1, characterized in that the surfactant system additionally contains at least one anionic surfactant.

11. The microemulsion according to claim 10, characterized in that the at least one anionic surfactant is selected from C.sub.9-C.sub.15 alkylbenzene sulfonate, C.sub.10-C.sub.20 alkyl ether sulfate having 2 to 10 units of alkylene oxide, dialkylsulfosuccinate of formula (I) or combinations thereof, ##STR00017## in which the functional groups R.sup.1 and R.sup.2, independently of one another, are each linear or branched and contain 6 to 22 carbon atoms, and are selected from 1-hexyl, 3,5,5-trimethyl-1-hexyl, 2-ethyl-1-hexyl, 6-methyl-1-heptyl, 2-methyl-1-heptyl, 2-propyl-1-pentyl, 2,4,4-trimethyl-1-pentyl, 1-ethyl-2-methyl-1-pentyl, and 1,4-dimethyl-1-hexyl, and 1/n Mn.sup.n+ is an equivalent of an n-valent cation.

12. The microemulsion according to claim 1, characterized in that the total amount of the above-mentioned surfactant is 1 wt. % to 60 wt. %.

13. A method for preparing a microemulsion existing at a temperature T1, in which i) based on the weight of the microemulsion, a total amount from 10 wt. % to 99.0 wt. % of at least one non-polymeric, organic thickening agent having a molecular weight from 100 g/mol to 1500 g/mol as the first liquid phase is mixed with at least one liquid as the second liquid phase, at least one surfactant C1 and at least one surfactant C2, thus producing a cloudy mixture, and ii) the mixture is brought to a temperature T1 and mixed thoroughly, with the proviso that the temperature T1 is at least as high as the melting point of at least one above-mentioned non-polymeric, organic thickening agent from step i), and a microemulsion is obtained.

14. A liquid surfactant composition which is obtained by mixing a total amount, based on the total weight of the liquid surfactant composition, from 0.001 wt. % to 5 wt. % of at least one microemulsion according to claim 1 with a composition containing water and at least one surfactant, with the provisions that the liquid surfactant composition contains a total amount from 5 to 80 wt. % of at least one surfactant and has a yield point.

15. A method for preparing a liquid surfactant composition in which a) substances heated to a temperature T2 are mixed with a microemulsion of claim 1 at a temperature T3, and b) the mixture is subsequently cooled to a temperature T4, the temperatures T2 and T3 being at least as high as the melting point of at least one above-mentioned non-polymeric, organic thickening agent of the microemulsion and the temperature T4 being below the melting point of said non-polymeric, organic thickening agent.

Description

EXAMPLES

Preparation of the Microemulsion According to the Invention (Microemulsion Premix 1)

[0245] A microemulsion according to the invention was prepared according to the following method:

0.45 g hydrogenated castor oil (HCO) was mixed with 0.134 g dioctyl sulfosuccinate sodium salt (AOT-AS: 97%) and 0.15 g alkyl polyglycol ether (Marlox RT 42-AS: 100%, Sasol) in 0.045 g H2O and melted at 90 C. in order to obtain a first transparent microemulsion.

[0246] The uncooled microemulsion obtained in this way is used to prepare the liquid surfactant compositions of examples 1 to 3.

Example 1

General Description of the Mixture of Microemulsion Premix With Liquid Washing Agent Premix

[0247] A defined amount of the microemulsion premix according to the invention is heated to the desired preparation temperature (see example 3). The amount is selected such that a desired amount of HCO is present in the finished mixture. At the preparation temperature, the components of the liquid washing agent matrix are gradually added to the microemulsion premix. Preferably, the amphiphilic components (surfactants) are initially added and homogenized. In this case, these amphiphilic components are used either as a stock solution with water or in a pure form. The mixture is furthermore homogenized and maintained at the desired temperature. The pH is also adjusted. Subsequently, the mixture is gradually cooled to room temperature and temperature-sensitive components (enzymes, perfume, pigment) are subsequently added. The cooling does not cause the previously set pH to change. The preparation process functions at least just as well, if not better, when the amphiphilic components of the liquid washing agent matrix are brought to the desired preparation temperature and desired amounts of the microemulsion premixes according to the invention are homogeneously mixed therewith. When the amphiphilic components of the liquid washing agent matrix are homogenized with the microemulsion premixes, care should preferably be taken that the desired preparation temperature is kept constant.

TABLE-US-00001 TABLE 1 Liquid surfactant composition % active substance Chemical name in the formula Stabilizer 1.06 Citric acid 2.34 Anti-foam additive 0.04 C12-18 fatty alcohol ether sulfate with 2EO 7.42 C12-18 fatty alcohol with 7 EO 5.82 C10-13 alkylbenzene sulfonic acid 5.82 NaOH 2.47 Glycerin 2.66 Complexing agent 0.53 Preservative 0.06 Ethanol 1.32 from microemulsion 1 (premix): Hydrogenated castor oil (HCO) 0.90 Dioctyl sodium sulfosuccinate 0.26 Alkyl polyglycol ether* 0.30 Temperature-sensitive components: Enzymes 0.90 Perfume 0.78 Pigment 0.001 Water, up to 100% *Active substance from the raw material Marlox RT 42 (Sasol).

[0248] This formulation is stable and shows no sign of instability. The resulting yield point of this liquid washing agent matrix mixed with premix microemulsion is 0.3 Pa. Visible beads can be suspended in bulk and evenly distributed. A similar formulation without HCO is unstable (liquid phase separation can be observed) and has no yield point (0.0 Pa). The beads sink and accumulate on the bottom of the flask.

[0249] The same formulation mixed with the HCO-containing premixes from EP 1 502 646 B1 and WO 2015/200062 A1 do not produce the above-described results. In this case, the crystallized HCO is in an undissolved state in bulk in the form of one or more white, solid clumps as larger agglomerates on the floor. There is no yield point (0.0 Pa). The visible beads sink to the bottom of the flask and accumulate there.

Example 2

[0250]

TABLE-US-00002 TABLE 2 Liquid surfactant composition according to the invention % active substance Chemical name in the formula Stabilizer 1.12 Citric acid 3.58 Anti-foam additive 0.05 C12-18 fatty alcohol ether sulfate with 2EO 10.07 C12-18 fatty alcohol with 7 EO 7.84 C10-13 alkylbenzene sulfonic acid 7.84 NaOH 3.47 1,2-propanediol 6.38 Complexing agent 0.78 Texcare SRN 170 1.46 Ethanol 2.24 from microemulsion 1 (premix): Hydrogenated castor oil (HCO) 0.90 Dioctyl sodium sulfosuccinate 0.26 Alkyl polyglycol ether 0.30 Temperature-sensitive components Optical brighteners 0.11 Enzymes 1.86 Perfume 1.01 Pigment 0.01 Water, up to 100% * Active substance from the raw material Marlox RT 42 (Sasol).

[0251] This formulation is stable and shows no sign of instability. The resulting yield point of this liquid washing agent matrix mixed with premix microemulsion is 1.7 Pa. Visible beads can be suspended in bulk and evenly distributed. A similar formulation without HCO is unstable (liquid phase separation can be observed) and has no yield point (0.0 Pa). The beads sink and accumulate on the bottom of the flask.

[0252] The same formulation mixed with the HCO-containing premixes from EP 1 502 646 B1 and WO 2015/200062 A1 did not produce any of the above-described results.

[0253] The crystallized HCO is in an undissolved state in bulk in the form of one or more white, solid clumps as larger agglomerates on the floor. There is no yield point (0.0 Pa). The visible beads sink to the bottom of the flask and accumulate there.

Example 3

[0254]

TABLE-US-00003 TABLE 3 Correlation between preparation temperature and resulting yield point based on results obtained from example 1. Preparation temperature Resulting yield point [ C.] [Pa] 90 0.82 80 0.90 75 1.30

[0255] The use of premixes according to the invention always leads to the formation of a yield point. These results show a relationship between the preparation temperature during the preparation process of the liquid washing agent formulation and the intensity of the resulting yield point. In this way, the values of the yield points of the liquid washing agent can be set specifically.