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EP-4256017-B1 - A HARD SURFACE CLEANING COMPOSITION

EP4256017B1EP 4256017 B1EP4256017 B1EP 4256017B1EP-4256017-B1

Inventors

  • TROMBETTA, IVANA
  • PEZZIA, SERENA
  • PRETALI, Luca
  • GALLUZZI, Lorena

Dates

Publication Date
20260513
Application Date
20211202

Claims (14)

  1. A liquid aqueous detergent composition comprising, a. 8 to 30 wt% of a surfactant system comprising, i. primary surfactant being anionic surfactant comprising a surfactant A of formula I: (R 1 -(OR') n -O-SO 3 - ) x M x+ , wherein: R 1 is saturated or unsaturated C 8 -C 16 alkyl chain; R' is ethylene; n is from 1 to 15; x is equal to 1 or 2; M x+ is a suitable cation which provides charge neutrality selected from sodium, calcium, potassium and magnesium; and a surfactant B of formula II: (R 1 -O-SO 3 - ) x M x+ , wherein: R 1 is saturated or unsaturated C 8 -C 16 alkyl chain; x is equal to 1 or 2; M x+ is a suitable cation which provides charge neutrality selected from sodium, calcium, potassium and magnesium; and ii. secondary surfactant being amphoteric surfactant comprising betaine; b. 0.001 to 0.2 wt% of polyethylene oxide having a molecular weight higher than 200,000 g/mol; c. 0.1 to 5 wt% of an inorganic salt selected from the group consisting of sodium chloride, magnesium sulphate, sodium sulphate and combinations thereof; wherein: • the weight ratio of surfactant A to surfactant B is smaller than or equal to 1.5; • the ratio of average EO of surfactant A and surfactant B combined to total amount of surfactant B is smaller than or equal to 0.45; • the weight ratio of primary surfactant to secondary surfactant is in the range from 4:1 to 8:1; and • the surfactant system is free of alkylbenzene sulphonates and derivatives thereof; and wherein the average EO is defined as the weighted mean of the percentages of each EO adduct, with EO number comprised between 0 and 15 (i.e. n=0 and i=15), present in surfactants A and B, ∑ n = 0 i Xnm ∗ EOn ∑ n = 0 i EOn wherein Xnm is the % of the n th ethoxylation adduct into anionic surfactant m, where m may be either A or B and EOn is the ethoxylation degree of the n th ethoxylation adduct.
  2. The composition according to claim 1 wherein the primary surfactant comprises sodium lauryl ether sulphate having 1 to 2 ethylene oxide units per molecule.
  3. The composition according to claim 1 or claim 2 wherein the weight ratio of surfactant A to surfactant B is smaller than or equal to 1.45, preferably smaller than or equal to1.4.
  4. The composition of any one of claims 1 to 3 wherein the ratio of (average EO of surfactant A and surfactant B combined) to (total amount of surfactant B) is smaller than or equal to 0.43, preferably smaller than or equal to 0.4.
  5. The composition according to any one of claims 1 to 4 wherein the secondary surfactant comprises betaine selected from alkyl betaine, alkyl amido betaine, alkyl amidopropyl betaine, alkyl sulphobetaine, alkyl phosphobetaine and combinations thereof.
  6. The composition according to claim 5 wherein the betaine is cocamidopropyl betaine (CAPB).
  7. The composition according to any one of claim 1 to 6 wherein the weight ratio of primary surfactant to secondary surfactant is in the range from 4:1 to 7:1, preferably 5:1 to 7:1.
  8. The composition according to any one of claims 1 to 7 wherein the amount of surfactant system is from 8 to 25, preferably 8 to 20 and more preferably from 8 to 15 wt%.
  9. The composition according to any one of claims 1 to 8 wherein the polyethylene oxide has a molecular weight of 500,000 g/mol to 3,000,000 g/mol.
  10. The composition according to any one of claims 1 to 9 wherein the composition has a pH in the range of 4 to 8.
  11. The composition according to any one of claims 1 to 10 wherein the composition has a viscosity in the range of 1000 to 2700 cps at 21sec -1 measured on a Haake Viscometer (Models include VT181, VT501, VT550 or equivalent) with "cup" and "bob" geometry, equipped with a MV cup and a MV2 bob at a controlled temperature of 25 °C, preferably 1500 to 2500 and more preferably 1700 to 2300.
  12. A method of cleaning a hard surface comprising the steps: a. contacting the hard surface, optionally in diluted form, with the liquid detergent composition according to any one of claims 1 to 11, and b. removing the detergent composition from the hard surface, optionally by rinsing with water.
  13. The method of cleaning according to claim 12, wherein the hard surface is dishware.
  14. Use of a liquid detergent composition according to any one of claims 1 to 11 for handwashing hard surfaces, preferably dishware.

Description

Field of the invention The present invention relates to hard surface cleaning compositions, in particular liquid aqueous detergent compositions comprising polyethylene oxide and amphoteric surfactant, and a method and use comprising the same. Background of the invention Household cleaning activities involve the use of a detergent product and water to rinse off the detergent product and finish the cleaning process. These activities are typically performed daily, often more than once a day, such as dish washing. That is, hard surface cleaning, dishwashing and other household cleaning activities are time consuming activities and, ideally, can be optimized when using products with excellent detergency and soil removal capacity. A cleaning product often comprises a surfactant system containing different types of surfactant to provide for cleaning efficacy. Therefore, some cleaning products contain a main surfactant, sometimes referred to as primary surfactant, and co-surfactant, sometimes referred to as secondary surfactant. Consumers are sensitive to visual cues when using a cleaning product like for example a hand dish wash product. One of the more prominent visual cues is foam formation when cleaning as the amount of foam is seen as an indicator of cleaning performance. More foam is interpretated as more cleaning power. In addition to such 'in-use' visual cues, consumers are also sensitive to product appearance. Some consumers prefer clear and transparent product formulations. Over time, e.g. upon storage, product appearance may change and a clear and transparent product may for example develop sediment and/or become cloudy. The same may happen as a result of temperature changes. Nowadays, some consumers prefer cleaning products with a good environmental profile. That is, they prefer products that are 'eco-friendly' and have less or no impact on the environment when the product is used but also when the product is manufactured. There are many cleaning products on the market that claim to be 'eco-friendly' or 'natural', but it is not always easy for consumers to understand what those positive terms really stand for. In addition, some consumers still associate 'eco-friendly' cleaning products with less efficacious cleaning products. To address these developing consumer preferences, use of certain surfactants can be reduced or avoided altogether, like e.g. sulphonated surfactants like alkylbenzene sulphonates. Another way of addressing these consumer preferences is by lowering the total amount of surfactant in a product. However, these changes may require other ingredients to maintain cleaning efficacy. One such ingredient is polyethylene oxide. Liquid detergent compositions comprising polyethylene oxide are known from EP 3 670 639 A1, for instance. In view of the above, there remains a need for a hard surface cleaning composition with a good environmental profile providing good emulsification and oily soil removal properties without compromising consumer satisfaction in terms of cleaning performance and/or product appeal. Summary of the invention We have found that liquid detergent formulations comprising polyethylene oxide and betaine may not be temperature stable but that a specific combination of anionic surfactants provides temperature stability. Accordingly, in a first aspect the invention relates to a liquid aqueous detergent composition comprising, a. 8 to 30 wt% of a surfactant system comprising, i. primary surfactant being anionic surfactant comprising a surfactant A of formula I: (R1-(OR')n-O-SO3-)xMx+, wherein: R1 is saturated or unsaturated C8-C16 alkyl chain;R' is ethylene;n is from 1 to 15;x is equal to 1 or 2;Mx+ is a suitable cation which provides charge neutrality selected from sodium, calcium, potassium and magnesium; anda surfactant B of formula II: (R1-O-SO3-)xMx+,wherein: R1 is saturated or unsaturated C8-C16 alkyl chain;x is equal to 1 or 2;Mx+ is a suitable cation which provides charge neutrality selected from sodium, calcium, potassium and magnesium; andii. secondary surfactant being amphoteric surfactant comprising betaine;b. 0.001 to 0.2 wt% of polyethylene oxide having a molecular weight higher than 200,000 g/mol;c. 0.1 to 5 wt% of an inorganic salt selected from the group consisting of sodium chloride, magnesium sulphate, sodium sulphate and combinations thereof; wherein: the weight ratio of surfactant A to surfactant B is smaller than or equal to 1.5;the ratio of average EO of surfactant A and surfactant B combined to total amount of surfactant B is smaller than or equal to 0.45, wherein the average EO is calculated as defined in the description;the weight ratio of primary surfactant to secondary surfactant is in the range from 4:1 to 8:1; andthe surfactant system is free of alkylbenzene sulphonates and derivatives thereof. The invention further relates to a method of cleaning a hard surface using the composition of the invention, as well as the use thereof. Detailed description of