Note : Les descriptions sont présentées dans la langue officielle dans laquelle elles ont été soumises.
WO 95/13346 i-PCTlEP94/03388
7
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Fabric conditioning coimosition
Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a fabric conditioning
composition, in particular the invention relates to aqueous
dispersions of fabric conditioning compositions comprising a
water insoluble quaternary ammonium material and a
zwitterionic compound suitable for a rinse-added fabric
softener compositions.
Backaround of the Invention
Rinse added fabric conditioning composition are known.
Typically such compositions contain a water insoluble
quaternary ammonium fabric softening agent dispersed in water
at a level of softening agent up to a:bout 7 wt%, in which
case the compositions are considered dilute, or at levels
from 7 wto to 50 wt%, in which case the compositions are
known as concentrates.
In US 4 137 180 (Lever Brothers Company) discloses cationic
di-esters of the formula
R4COOCHI
CH-CH .-NRiR,R3 X
/
R5COO
wherein R1, R, and R3are each an alkyl or hydroxyalkyl group
containing from 1 to 4 carbon atoms, or a benzyl group, R9
and Rsare each alkyl chains containing from 11 to 23 carbon
atoms and X- is a water soluble anion.
C3563
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2172395'
One of the problems associated with many fabric conditioning
compositions including those containing cationic di-esters as
disclosed in US 4 137 180 is the physical instability of these
compounds, the problem is aggravated at high and low
temperatures and by the addition of perfume. When a fabric
conditioner is in concentrated form the stability issue is
further exacerbated and for this reason concentrated
conditioners with high levels of perfume are rarely marketed.
Even when_,the perfume is encapsulated in a solid matrix,
stability problems can occur due to leakage of the capsules.
A further problem that arises in colder climates is when a
fabric conditioner is transported or stored in a cold place the
product gels to form a solid. In some cases.the product does
not recover and in others the time taken to thaw back to a
liquid product frequently takes a couple<.of days. This~poses
a problem to supermarkets whom can not place the frozen product
directly onto supermarket shelves.
EP 280 550 and EP 507 478 (Unilever) disclose the use of
selected nonionic stabilising agents to overcome the poor
stability. However no mention is made of the instability o~,,xthe
formulation when perfume is added.
US 3 984 335 (Ciko et al) discloses compositions containing a
quaternised fatty amine and a fatty acid zwitterionic compound
as a softening agent.
-
Zwitterionic softening agents such as amine oxides are
disclosed in EP 0 332 270 . (Unilever) in combination with
cationic softening agents and an amine, and in EP - 326 213 in
combination with a co-active material.
The problem of forming a concentrated fabric conditioner with
relatively high levels of perfume is mitigated by the present
invention.
E DED E
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Furthermore the present invention aids recovery of a liquid
fabric conditioner from a frozen state to a homogeneous
liquid.
Description of the Invention
The present invention claims an aqueous dispersion of a
fabric conditioning composition comprising greater than 7
wt% of a water insoluble biodegradable quaternary ammonium
with at least one ester link, fabric softening agent, and
between 0.5 wt% and 3.0 wt% of a perfume characterized in
that the composition further comprises from 0.1 to 8 wt% of
a zwitterionic compound of the formula:
R (COZ)a(CHz)y - N (CHz)c~X
R
wherein R is an C7_27 alkyl or alkenyl group; R' and R2 are
independently selected from Cz_4 alkyl groups; a is an
integer from 0 to 1; b and c are independently selected
from integers from 1 to 4; Z is oxygen or nitrogen and X is
a compatible anion.
At low pH's the anion may be protonated.
The invention also discloses the use of an alkyl amido
propyl dimethyl amino acetic acid betaine of the formula:
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CH3
R CONH ( CHZ ) 3 N* ( CH,) 3 COO Na~
1
CH3
wherein R is a C11_17 alkyl chain or mixtures thereof, to
stabilize an aqueous dispersion of a perfumed fabric
conditioner or to form an aqueous dispersion of a
concentrated fabric conditioner, both comprising greater
than 7 wt% of a fabric softening agent which is a water
insoluble biodegradable quaternary ammonium with at least
one ester link and between 0.5 wt% and 3.0 wt% of a
perfume.
The cationic active used in the present invention comprises
a water insoluble cationic fabric softening agent
comprising a biodegradable quaternary ammonium material
with at least one ester link. Preferred materials are
water insoluble cationic fabric softening agents comprising
a compound having two C12-28 alkyl or alkenyl groups
connected to a quaternary nitrogen via an ester link.
Of particular interest with the present invention are
softening compouhds having the formula:
Rl ( CHZ ) n-T-R3
~
~
x"
Rl ( CHz ) n-T-R~
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in which R1 is a C1-C4 alkyl groups, R 2 and R3 are the same
or different C12-C22 alkyl or alkenyl groups and T is the
same or different
II -0 or -0-II- or -0-1-0
O 0 0
groups and X- is a water soluble anion.
It is especially preferred if the quaternary ammonium
material is of the formula:
RaCOOCHz
\CH-CH2-NRRZ R3 X
R,COO
wherein R1, R2 and R3 are each an alkyl or hydroxyalkyl
group containing from 1 to 4 carbon atoms, or an alkenyl
with 2 to 4 carbon atoms, or a benzyl group, R4 and R5 are
each alkyl chains containing from 8 to 28 carbon atoms and
X- is a water soluble anion.
It is further preferred if the water insoluble cationic
active is N,N-dihardened(tallowoyl-oxy)N,N-trimethyl
ammoniopropane chloride.
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Preferred materials and their method of preparation are
described in US 4 137 180 (Lever Brothers) . Preferably
these materials comprise small amounts of the corresponding
monoester as described in US 4 137 180 for example 1-
tallow, 2-hydroxytrimethyl ammonium propane chloride.
The level of ester linked ammonium compound is above 7% by
weight of the composition; more preferably above 15% by
weight of the composition; most preferably from 15% to 40%
by weight of the composition.
It is advantageous if the zwitterionic material used in the
present invention is an alkyl amido propyl dimethyl amino
acetic acid betaine of the formula:
CH,
R CONH (CH2) a N' (CH2) , COO' Na'
CH~
wherein R is a C11-17 alkyl chain or mixtures thereof.
The level of zwitterionic material is preferably from 0.1
wt% to B wt% of the composition; more preferably from 0.4
wt% to 5 wt% of the total composition.
The fabric conditioning composition may be formed from any
base but it is especially preferred if the base is aqueous.
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The composition may also contain long chain fatty acid
material for example C8-C24 alkyl or alkenyl monocarboxylic
acids or polymers thereof. Preferably saturated fatty
acids are used, in particular hardened tallow C16-C18 fatty
acids. Preferably the fatty acid is non-saponified, more
preferably the fatty acid is free for example oleic acid,
lauric acid or tallow fatty acid.
The level of fatty acid material is preferably more than
0.1%, more preferably more than 0.2% by weight. Especially
preferred are dilutes in which the fatty acid material is
present from 0.25 wt% to 20 wt%. The weight ratio of
quaternary ammonium compound to fatty acid material is
preferably from 1:10 to 10:1.
The composition can also contain one or more optional
ingredients, selected from the group consisting of
nonaqueous solvents, pH buffering agents, perfume carriers,
inorganic salts, fluorescers, colorants, hydrotopes,
antifoaming agents, antiredeposition agents, enzymes,
optical brighteners, opacifiers, antishrinking agents,
drape imparting agents, antistatic agents and ironing aids
and concentrating agents such as glycerol monostearate.
It is also preferable if ethoxylated fatty alcohols are
present in the composition. It is especially advantageous
if they are present from 0.5 wt% to 2 wt% of the total
composition.
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The perfume may be encapsulated or free. The level of
perfume in the product is between 0.5 wt% and 3.0 wt%.
The composition may also contain nonionic fabric softening
agents such as lanolin and derivatives thereof.
It is desirable if the viscosities of these fabric
compositions lie in the range from 15 mPa.s to 120 mPa.s at
a shear rate of 110s-1.
The compositions of the invention preferably have a pH of
more than 2, more preferably between 2 and 5.
The invention will now be illustrated by the following
nonlimiting examples.
EXAMPLES
In the examples all percentages are expressed by weight.
Comparative examples are represented by a letter while
examples of the invention are represented by a number.
Preparation of Fabric Conditioning Composition
Liquid fabric softening agents were made up as follows:
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The cationic fabric softening agent and nonionic
stabilizing agent were premixed and heated together to form
a clear melt. The molten mixture thus formed was added
over a period of at least one minute to water at ambient
temperature with constant stirring to form a dispersion.
Perfume was added to the aqueous mixture. Addition of the
zwitterionic material occurred either
a) to the molten melt
b) to the aqueous mixture prior to or with the additon of
the perfume.
Examples 1,2,3,A,B,C,D,E and F
O O N
0
G4 N I -I .-1 1 O
tn
N O O
W N I 0 .-i I N
0 ~+
N O O N
tr
A N ! O .-t O
O !f1
N o N
y U N 1 O .-1 IO
~ O dP
3 ~ IA o N 4j
LI1 N l o i -1 0
O '{
d 'n O N 0
R,' N I O rl I O ~
N 0 O N
m O
N fn r{ 'i I
1
O
1
t0 1l1 O N I
N N O O I e-I q
O
lI! !A O N
.
ry N O O -1 1 p
O7 fA ~
ri y t
aa +~ a
Ea~ U ~
X~ ~ GE 3 0 O 5~
Wu o~ w oo 000 0o a~'i
tJ1 01 u k -4 U W U U W ~1 r1 a.i
~0+ x E A a E~ r~i U t~6 nOi U u 3
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HT TMAPC is 1,2 dihardened tallowyloxy trimethyl
ammoniopropane chloride ex Hoescht.
Tego betaine L is Alkyl amido propyl dimethyl amino acetic
acid betaine ex Shell.
The Examples were prepared according to method a) or b)
above.
Examples A, B, E and F flocculated within 12 hours at
ambient temperature Examples 1,2, and 3 remained stable for
several months at ambient temperature.
Storage results for Examples C and D were as follows:
Table 2
Example Time taken for flocculation to occur.
37 C 45 C 20 C
C 4 weeks 1 day 3 months
D 4 weeks 1 day 3 months
Examples 4 and G
Table 3
Example wt%
Composition 4 G
HT TMPAC 24 24
Tego betaine 0.6 -
Perfume 0.8 0.4
Tallow alcohol 1.0 1.0
Calcium chloride 0.2 0.2
Water --- to 100 wt% ---
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Both Example 4 and Example G flocculated on addition of
perfume. However, Example 4 needed twice as much perfume
to flocculate as Example G.
Example H
Table 4
Composition % wt
Example H
Dihardened tallow dimethyl ammonium chloride 10.8
Dihardened tallow fatty acid 2.7
Ethylene glycol 9.0
Tallow alcohol 35 EO 1.0
Tego betaine -
Water -- to 100 --
Examples 1,2,4, A to D, G and H were frozen.
Examples 1,2, and example 4 recovered from freezing within
1 to 2 hours.
Examples A to D and example G recovered from freezing
within 2 to 4 days.
Example H recovered from freezing within 4 hours.
It is thus demonstrated that the presence of a zwitterionic
material aids recovery from freezing. The recovery from
freezing is most enhanced with materials containing an
ester link.
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Example I
Table 5
Composition % wt
Example I
HTTMPAC 24
lauryldimethyl amine oxide 1
Perfume 0.5
Tallow alcohol 35E0 1.0
Calcium chloride 0.2
Water --- to 100 wt% ---
Example I was prepared according to method a or b.
Flocculation occurred within 1 week at room temperature no
matter what method or preparation was used. It is thus
shown that not all amphoteric compounds are suitable for
use with this invention.
