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EP-4306626-B1 - LAUNDRY DETERGENT COMPOSITION CONTAINING GRAFT COPOLYMER AND DYE TRANSFER INHIBITOR POLYMER

EP4306626B1EP 4306626 B1EP4306626 B1EP 4306626B1EP-4306626-B1

Inventors

  • TANG, MING
  • FOSSUM, RENAE DIANNA
  • YAN, Muyun

Dates

Publication Date
20260506
Application Date
20220727

Claims (11)

  1. A laundry detergent composition, comprising: 1) a graft copolymer comprising: a) polyalkylene oxide which has a number average molecular weight of from 1000 to 20,000 Daltons and is based on ethylene oxide, propylene oxide, butylene oxide or mixtures thereof; b) N-vinylpyrrolidone; and c) vinyl ester derived from a saturated monocarboxylic acid containing from 1 to 6 carbon atoms and/or a methyl or ethyl ester of acrylic or methacrylic acid; wherein the weight ratio of (a):(b) is from 1:0.1 to 1:2, and wherein the amount, by weight, of (a) is greater than the amount of (c); 2) a dye transfer inhibitor (DTI) polymer which is selected from the group consisting of: polyvinylimidazoles (PVI) polymers, copolymers of N-vinylpyrrolidone and N-vinylimidazole (PVP/PVI), and any mixtures thereof.
  2. The laundry detergent composition according to Claim 1, wherein in the graft polymer a) the polyalkylene oxide comprises and preferably consists of ethylene oxide units, and c) the vinyl ester comprises and preferably consists of vinyl acetate.
  3. The laundry detergent composition according to Claim 1, wherein in the graft polymer a) the polyalkylene oxide comprises and preferably consists of ethylene oxide units and propylene oxide units, and c) the vinyl ester comprises and preferably consists of vinyl acetate.
  4. The laundry detergent composition according to any preceding claim, wherein the polyalkylene oxide has a number average molecular weight of from 2000 to 15,000 Daltons.
  5. The laundry detergent composition according to any preceding claim, wherein in the graft polymer, the weight ratio of (a):(c) is from 1.0:0.1 to 1.0:0.99, preferably from 1.0:0.3 to 1.0:0.9.
  6. The laundry detergent composition according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the graft polymer has a weight average molecular weight of from 4,000 Da to 100,000 Da, preferably 5,000 Da to 100,000 Da, more preferably from 5,000 Da to 50,000 Da, most preferably from 8,000 Da to 20,000 Da.
  7. The laundry detergent composition according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the composition comprises: from about 0.01% to about 15%, preferably from about 0.05% to about 10%, more preferably from about 0.1% to about 5%, and most preferably from about 0.2% to about 3%, by weight of the composition, of the graft copolymer, and/or from about 0.001% to about 1%, preferably from about 0.005% to about 0.5%, more preferably from about 0.008% to about 0.2%, and most preferably from about 0.01% to about 0.1%, by weight of the composition, of the DTI polymer.
  8. The laundry detergent composition according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the weight ratio of the graft copolymer to the DTI polymer is from about 100:1 to about 1:1, preferably from about 70:1 to about 3:1, more preferably from about 50:1 to about 7:1, and most preferably from about 30:1 to about 10:1.
  9. The laundry detergent composition according to any of preceding claims, wherein the composition further comprises a treatment adjunct which is preferably selected from the group consisting of a surfactant system, fatty acids and/or salts thereof, enzymes, encapsulated benefit agents, soil release polymers, hueing agents, builders, chelating agents, dye transfer inhibiting agents, dispersants, enzyme stabilizers, anti-oxidants, catalytic materials, bleaching agents, bleach catalysts, bleach activators, polymeric dispersing agents, soil removal/anti-redeposition agents, polymeric grease cleaning agents, amphiphilic copolymers, brighteners, suds suppressors, dyes, hueing agents, perfume, structure elasticizing agents, fabric softeners, carriers, fillers, hydrotropes, solvents, anti-microbial agents and/or preservatives, neutralizers and/or pH adjusting agents, processing aids, rheology modifiers and/or structurants, opacifiers, pearlescent agents, pigments, anti-corrosion and/or anti-tarnishing agents, and mixtures thereof.
  10. The laundry detergent composition according to any of preceding claims, wherein said composition is in the form of a liquid composition, a granular composition, a single-compartment pouch, a multi-compartment pouch, a sheet, a pastille or bead, a fibrous article, a tablet, a bar, flake, or a mixture thereof.
  11. The use of a laundry detergent composition for improving the color protection, preferably reducing dye fading and/or dye transfer to co-washed fabrics during laundering, wherein the laundry detergent composition comprises: 1) a graft copolymer comprising: a) polyalkylene oxide which has a number average molecular weight of from 1000 to 20,000 Daltons and is based on ethylene oxide, propylene oxide, butylene oxide or mixtures thereof; b) N-vinylpyrrolidone; and c) vinyl ester derived from a saturated monocarboxylic acid containing from 1 to 6 carbon atoms and/or a methyl or ethyl ester of acrylic or methacrylic acid; wherein the weight ratio of (a):(b) is from 1:0.1 to 1:2, and wherein the amount, by weight, of (a) is greater than the amount of (c); 2) a dye transfer inhibitor (DTI) polymer which is selected from the group consisting of: polyvinylimidazoles (PVI) polymers, copolymers of N-vinylpyrrolidone and N-vinylimidazole (PVP/PVI) and any mixtures thereof.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a laundry detergent composition containing a graft copolymer and a dye transfer inhibitor (DTI) polymer. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION As detergent products are evolving, consumer needs in the term of cleaning have been well met. However, there are still some other unmet consumer needs in the field of laundry. Particularly, one of the unmet needs is to prevent dye transfer among colored textiles during the wash cycles. When laundering fabrics, dye transfer can cause challenges. For example, dye from one portion of a fabric may become suspended in a wash liquor and may then deposit on a different portion of the fabric, or on a different fabric altogether. Transfer of such dyes (known as "fugitive dyes") can cause graying of fabrics, especially of those of a light or white color. Certain polymers, generally known as dye transfer inhibitor ("DTI") polymers, have traditionally been used in laundry compositions to address the dye transfer problem. Such polymers include polyvinyl pyrrolidone (PVP), poly(vinylpyridine-N-oxide) (PVNO), polyvinylpyrrolidone-co-polyvinylimidazole (PVP/PVI), poly(vinylpyrrolidone)co-poly(vinylpyridine-N-oxide) (PVP/PVNO) polymers. Some various graft copolymers including polyalkylene oxide, N-vinylpyrrolidone, and vinyl ester have also been described that deliver less dye transfer. The traditional DTI polymers are effective at inhibiting the transfer of dyes. WO 2020/005476 A1 discloses a laundry composition comprising a graft copolymer as dye transfer inhibitor. However, the dye transfer inhibition achieved by detergent compositions containing these actives are not sufficient to meet consumers' expectation. Therefore, there are still needs for providing a laundry detergent composition which is capable of more effectively inhibiting dye transfer. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is a surprising and unexpected discovery of the present invention that the combination of a graft copolymer and a DTI polymer in a detergent formulation can deliver a significantly improved inhibition of dye transfer than when a graft copolymer or DTI polymer are used alone. Correspondingly, the present invention in one aspect relates to a laundry detergent composition, comprising: 1) a graft copolymer comprising: a) polyalkylene oxide which has a number average molecular weight of from 1000 to 20,000 Daltons and is based on ethylene oxide, propylene oxide, butylene oxide or mixtures thereof;b) N-vinylpyrrolidone; andc) vinyl ester derived from a saturated monocarboxylic acid containing from 1 to 6 carbon atoms and/or a methyl or ethyl ester of acrylic or methacrylic acid; wherein the weight ratio of (a):(b) is from 1:0.1 to 1:2, andwherein the amount, by weight, of (a) is greater than the amount of (c);2) a dye transfer inhibitor (DTI) polymer which is selected from the group consisting of: polyvinylimidazoles (PVI) polymers, copolymers of N-vinylpyrrolidone and N-vinylimidazole (PVP/PVI), polyvinyloxazolidones polymers, and any mixtures thereof. In one embodiment according to the present application, in the graft polymer, a) the polyalkylene oxide comprises and preferably consists of ethylene oxide units, and c) the vinyl ester comprises and preferably consists of vinyl acetate. In another embodiment according to the present application, in the graft polymer, a) the polyalkylene oxide comprises and preferably consists of ethylene oxide units and propylene oxide units, and c) the vinyl ester comprises and preferably consists of vinyl acetate. In one embodiment according to the present application, the polyalkylene oxide has a number average molecular weight of from 1000 to 20,000 Daltons. In one embodiment according to the present application, in the graft polymer, the weight ratio of (a):(c) is from 1.0:0.1 to 1.0:0.99, preferably from 1.0:0.3 to 1.0:0.9. In one embodiment according to the present application, in the graft polymer, from 1.0 mol% to 60 mol%, preferably from 20 mol% to 60 mol%, more preferably from 30 mol% to 50mol% of the grafted-on monomers of component (c) are hydrolyzed. In one embodiment according to the present application, the graft polymer has a weight average molecular weight of from 4,000 Da to 100,000 Da, preferably from 5,000 Da to 100,000 Da, more preferably from 5,000 Da to 50,000 Da, most preferably from 8,000 Da to 20,000 Da. In one embodiment according to the present application, the composition comprises: from about 0.01% to about 15%, preferably from about 0.05% to about 10%, more preferably from about 0.1% to about 5%, and most preferably from about 0.2% to about 3%, by weight of the composition, of the graft copolymer, and/orfrom about 0.001% to about 1%, preferably from about 0.005% to about 0.5%, more preferably from about 0.008% to about 0.2%, and most preferably from about 0.01% to about 0.1%, by weight of the composition, of the DTI polymer. In one embodiment according to the present application, the weight ratio of the