WO1999038943A2 - Bleaching agents and disinfectants - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to novel bleaching agents and disinfectants containing - in relation to said agents - (a) 1-6 wt. % alkali metal hypochlorites, b) 0.5-5 % alkylene glycol ether of formula (I) R?1O(CHR2CH¿2O)nR3, wherein R?1 and R3¿ represent independently of each other linear or branched alkyl radicals with 1-8 carbon atoms, R2 represents hydrogen or methyl and n represents 1-4, (c) 0.5-5 wt. % alky ether sulphates and/or aminoxides, (d) 0-4 wt. % fatty acid salts and (e) 0-2 wt. % alkali metal hydroxides, with the proviso that the sum of the above-mentioned quantities with water and optionally other auxiliary substances and additives amounts to 100 wt. %. The inventive preparations have outstanding cleaning properties for solid surfaces, high viscosity and very good storage stability, dispersibility for colorant pigments and chlorine stability.

Description

Bleach and disinfectant

Field of the Invention

The invention relates to new aqueous bleaching and disinfecting agents containing alkali metal hypochlorites, alkylene glycol ethers and selected surfactants in defined proportions.

State of the art

In the past, such bleaches based on alkali metal hypochlorites have proven themselves in the areas of hygiene and disinfection, which have a remarkable viscosity and are therefore suitable for the treatment of horizontal as well as inclined and above all vertical surfaces. The viscosity of these agents has the effect that the contact time between them and the surfaces to be treated is considerably longer than in the case of commercially available liquid products which flow off rapidly from the surface.

There has been no shortage of attempts in the past to provide such viscous bleaching and disinfecting agents. For example, it has been found that certain surfactants or surfactant mixtures have a thickening effect on aqueous hypochlorite solutions. For example, EP-A 0274885 (ICI) recommends the use of mixtures of linear and branched amine oxides. According to the teaching of EP-A 0145084 (Unilever), mixtures of amine oxides with soaps, sarcosinates, thaws or sugar esters can also be used for this purpose. The documents EP-A 0079102, EP-A 0137551 and EP-A 0447261 (Unilever) disclose the use of amine oxides with soap or sarcosinate and other anionic surfactants, for example alkyl sulfates, alkyl ether sulfates, secondary alkane sulfonates or alkylbenzenesulfonates as a thickening component. EP-A 0156438 reports on the use of alkylarylsulfonates as thickeners in aqueous bleaching agents which contain certain stilbene dyes as optical brighteners. ES-A 8801389 (Henkel Iberica) relates to bleaching agents based on aqueous hypochlorite solutions which contain, as the surfactant component, predominantly alkyl ether sulfates and also small amounts of amine oxides. From EP-A1 0447261 aqueous bleaching agent compositions are also tongues containing sodium hypochlorite and anionic surfactants known. However, the hypochlorite concentration of these agents is 0.1 to 8 and preferably 0.5 to 5% by weight of active chlorine. In German Patent DE-C1 4333100, the applicant has already proposed stable and sufficiently viscous aqueous bleaching and cleaning agents based on hypochlorites, fatty alcohol ether sulfates and amine oxides, which contain amine oxide phosphonic acids as a mandatory component. Although these contribute significantly to the thickening of the agents, they cannot stabilize the active chlorine content. Finally, US Pat. No. 4,588,514 (Lever) discloses alkaline hypochlorite bleaches which contain amine oxides and small amounts of alkyl ether sulfates and soaps to adjust the viscosity. However, the preparations have a high hypochlorite content of 7% by weight. If the teaching is applied to modern bleaching agents with a low active chlorine content, neither sufficiently thickened nor storage-stable products are obtained.

The object of the invention was therefore to provide new aqueous bleaching and disinfecting agents which are characterized by a sufficiently high and stable viscosity at a low active chlorine content and which have excellent cleaning properties on hard surfaces, in particular with regard to greasy soiling.

Description of the invention

The invention relates to bleaching and disinfecting agents containing - based on the agents -

(a) 1 to 6% by weight of alkali metal hypochlorites,

(b) 0.5 to 5% by weight of alkylene glycol ether of the formula (I),

in which R ¹ and R ³ independently of one another represent linear or branched alkyl radicals having 1 to 8 carbon atoms, R ^{2 represents} hydrogen or methyl and n represents numbers from 1 to 4,

(c) 0.5 to 5% by weight of alkyl ether sulfates and / or amine oxides,

(d) 0 to 4% by weight of fatty acid salts and

(e) 0 to 2% by weight of alkali metal hydroxides,

with the proviso that the amounts given with water and possibly other auxiliaries and additives are 100% by weight. Surprisingly, it was found that bleaching agents and disinfectants of the stated composition are not only chlorine-stable and sufficiently viscous, but also have improved cleaning properties, in particular with respect to greasy soiling.

Alkali metal hypochlorites

Alkali metal hypochlorites are to be understood as meaning lithium, potassium and in particular sodium hypochlorite. The hypochlorites can preferably be used in amounts of 2 to 4% by weight, based on the composition.

Alkylene glycol ether

The alkylene glycol ethers to be used as component (b) in the context of the invention are known sales products. These are Ci-Cβ- and preferably Cι-C -alkyl end group-blocked alkylene glycols, such as, for example, the dimethyl, diethyl, diisiopropyl, n -Butyl, tert-butyl, n-octyl and 2-ethylhexyl ether of ethylene glycol, diethylene glycol, triethylene glycols, propylene glycols, dipropylene glycols and tripropylene glycols. Dipropylene glycol dimethyl ether, which is commercially available under the Proglyde® DMM brand, is preferably used. The alkylene glycol ethers can preferably be used in amounts of 1 to 3% by weight.

Alkyl ether sulfates

Alkyl ether sulfates are known anionic surfactants which are obtained by sulfation of nonionic surfactants of the alkylpolyglycol ether type and subsequent neutralization. The alkyl ether sulfates which are suitable for the purposes of the agents according to the invention follow the formula (II),

R40- (CH ₂ CH ₂ O) nS0 ₃ X (II)

in which R ^{4 represents} an alkyl radical having 12 to 18 carbon atoms, n represents numbers 2 to 5 and X represents sodium or potassium. Typical examples are the sodium salts of sulfates of the Ci2 i4 coco alcohol 2, 2, 3, and 3 EO adduct. The alkyl ether sulfates can have a conventional or narrow homolog distribution. The alkyl ether sulfates are preferably used in amounts of 2 to 4% by weight, based on the composition. Amine oxides

Amine oxides are also known substances, which are occasionally attributed to the cationic, but usually the nonionic surfactants. They are prepared from tertiary fatty amines, which usually have either one long and two short or two long and one short alkyl radical, and are oxidized in the presence of hydrogen peroxide. The amine oxides which are suitable for the purposes of the invention follow the formula (III)

R ^β

in which R ^{5 represents} a linear or branched alkyl radical having 12 to 18 carbon atoms, and R ⁶ and R ⁷ independently of one another represent R ⁵ or an optionally hydroxy-substituted alkyl radical having 1 to 4 carbon atoms. Amine oxides of the formula (III) are preferably used in which R ⁵ and R ^{6 are} C-12/14 and C-12/18 cocoalkyl radicals and R ^{7 is} a methyl or a hydroxyethyl radical. Also preferred are amine oxides of the formula (III) in which R ^{5 is} a C-12/14 or C1218 cocoalkyl radical and R ⁶ and R ^{7 have} the meaning of a methyl or hydroxyethyl radical. The amine oxides are preferably used in amounts of 1.5 to 3% by weight, based on the composition.

Fatty acid salts

The agents according to the invention may contain fatty acid salts of the formula (IV) as further constituents,

R ⁸ CO-OX (IV)

in which R ⁸ CO represents an acyl radical having 12 to 22 carbon atoms and X represents an alkali metal. Typical examples are the sodium and / or potassium salts of lauric acid, myristic acid, palmitic acid, palmoleic acid, stearic acid, isostearic acid, oleic acid, elaidic acid, petroselinic acid, linoleic acid, linolenic acid, elaeostearic acid, arachic acid, gadoleic acid, behenic acid and erucic acid and their mixtures they occur during the pressure splitting of technical fats and oils. Salts of technical coconut or tallow fatty acids are preferably used. Since the recipes according to the invention are strongly alkaline, the fatty acids which are neutralized in situ when they are introduced into the mixture can also be used instead of the salts. The fatty acid salts are preferably used in amounts of 1.5 to 2% by weight. Alkali metal hydroxides

Suitable alkali metal hydroxides are potassium hydroxide and in particular sodium hydroxide, which are preferably used in amounts of 1.5 to 2% by weight and are used to adjust the pH of the compositions to an optimal value of 12.5 to 14.

Industrial applicability

Immediately after production, the agents according to the invention with a content of cleaning-enhancing alkylene glycol ethers have a viscosity above 1000 mPas - measured at 20 ° C. in a Brookfield viscometer -, are stable in storage, resistant to chlorine consumption and, in addition to high cleaning properties, are also distinguished in particular by greasy soiling due to its excellent dispersibility for dye pigments. Another object of the invention therefore relates to the use of alkylene glycol ethers of the formula (I) as cleaning enhancers for the production of hypochlorite-containing bleaching agents and disinfectants.

Auxiliaries and additives which the preparations may further contain include, for example, other chlorine-stable surfactants or hydrotropes, such as alkyl sulfates, alkyl sulfonates, alkyl benzenesulfonates, xylene sulfonates, sarcosinates, taurides, isethionates, sulfosuccinates, betaines, sugar esters, fatty alcohol polyglycol ethers and Alkyl oligoglycosides. The sum of these additional surfactants preferably makes up at most 10% by weight of the total amount of surfactants in the formulation. The use of alkyl sulfates in amounts of 0.5 to 3% by weight is particularly preferred. In addition, the agents can contain active chlorine-stable fragrances, optical brighteners, dyes and pigments in a total amount of 0.01 to 0.5% by weight, based on the agents. The fragrances known to be active chlorine-resistant include, for example, monocyclic and bicyclic monoterpene alcohols and their esters with acetic or propionic acid (for example isobomeal, dihydroterpene oil, isobornyl acetate, dihydroterpenyl acetate). The optical brighteners can be, for example, the potassium salt of 4,4'-bis (1, 2,3-triazolyl) - (2 -) - stilbin-2,2-sulfonic acid, which is sold under the Phorwite® BHC brand 766 is distributed. Possible color pigments include green chlorophthalocyanines (Pigmosol® Green, Hostaphine® Green) or yellow Solar Yellow® BG 300 (Sandoz). The sequestering agent can furthermore contain electrolyte salts in amounts of 0.1 to 2 and preferably 0.5 to 1% by weight, which can be polyacrylates, carbonates, silicates, phosphates, amine oxide phosphonic acids and lignin sulfonates and mixtures thereof. The agents according to the invention are produced by stirring. If necessary, the product obtained can be decanted or filtered to remove foreign bodies and / or agglomerates. Examples

The viscosity was determined at 20 ° C. using a Brookfield viscometer (model RVT, spindle No. 1 or No. 2, 200 rpm). To determine the chlorine stability, the test mixtures were stored in a colorless plastic bottle under the influence of daylight and the active chlorine content was determined. The cleaning ability on hard surfaces was examined in the Gardner test on beef tallow soiling; the comparison recipe V1 was set as the reference standard (= 100% cleaning power). Formulations 1 to 8 are according to the invention, formulations V1 to V3 are used for comparison. The results are summarized in Table 1 (quantitative data as% by weight)

Table 1

Viscosity, storage stability, chlorine consumption and cleaning ability

Claims

claims 1. Bleaching and disinfecting agents containing - based on the agents - (a) 1 to 6% by weight of alkali metal hypochlorites, (b) 0.5 to 5% by weight of alkylene glycol ether of the formula (I),

in which R ¹ and R ³ independently of one another represent linear or branched alkyl radicals having 1 to 8 carbon atoms, R ^{2 represents} hydrogen or methyl and n represents numbers from 1 to 4, (c) 0.5 to 5% by weight of alkyl ether sulfates and / or amine oxides, (d) 0 to 4% by weight of fatty acid salts and (e) 0 to 2% by weight of alkali metal hydroxides, with the proviso that the amounts given with water and, if appropriate, other auxiliaries and additives are 100% by weight. 2. Composition according to claim 1, characterized in that they contain sodium hypochlorite. 3. Composition according to claims 1 and 2, characterized in that they contain alkyl ether sulfates of the formula (II), R ⁴ 0- (CH ₂ CH2θ) nS0 ₃ X (II) in which R ^{4 represents} an alkyl radical having 12 to 18 carbon atoms, n represents numbers 2 to 5 and X represents sodium or potassium. 4. Composition according to claims 1 to 3, characterized in that they contain amine oxides of the formula (III),

in which R ^{5 is} a linear or branched alkyl radical having 12 to 18 carbon atoms, and R ⁶ and R ^{7 are,} independently of one another, R ⁵ or an optionally hydroxy-substituted alkyl radical have 1 to 4 carbon atoms. 5. Composition according to claims 1 to 4, characterized in that they contain dipropylene glycol dimethyl ether as alkylene glycol ether. 6. Composition according to claims 1 to 5, characterized in that they contain fatty acid salts of the formula (IV), R ⁸ CO-OX (IV) in which R ⁸ CO represents an acyl radical having 12 to 22 carbon atoms and X represents an alkali metal. 7. Composition according to claims 1 to 6, characterized in that they contain sodium hydroxide. 8. Composition according to claims 1 to 7, characterized in that they contain sequestering agents which are selected from the group consisting of polyacrylates, carbonates, silicates, phosphates, amine oxide phosphonic acids and lignin sulfonates. 9. Composition according to claims 1 to 8, characterized in that they have a viscosity immediately above the production above 1000 mPas - measured at 20 ° C in a Brookfield viscometer. 10. Use of alkylene glycol ethers according to claim 1 as a cleaning booster for the production of hypochlorite-containing bleaching and disinfecting agents.