Lever Brothers Company, Division of Conopco, Inc.

Unilever Home and Personal Care Usa, Division of Conopco, Inc.

Cornelis Paulus Montanus

Andreas Theodorus Groot

Johannes Hendrikus Akkermans

Korkut Ahmet Yuregir

Roland Wilhelmus Pomeren

Michael Frederick Edwards

A low shear mechanical granulation process for the production of detergent granules, the process comprising contacting an acid precursor of an anionic surfactant, a non-surfactant acid and a solid carbonated neutralising agent wherein the solid carbonated neutralizing agent has a daverage particle size no more than 90 &#x3bc;m, preferably no more than 80 &#x3bc;m, more preferably no more than 70 &#x3bc;m, still more preferably no more than 60 &#x3bc;m, yet more preferably no more than 50 &#x3bc;m and especially no more than 40 &#x3bc;m.

Process for the production of detergent granules

A granular detergent product is made by spraying a liquid binder to contact a particulate solid starting material in a low shear granulator such as a fluidized bed apparatus. The d average droplet diameter of the liquid binder is not greater than ten times the d average particle diameter of that fraction of the solid starting material which has a d particle diameter of from 20 &mgr;m to 200 &mgr;m provided that if more than 90% by weight of the solid starting material has a d average particle diameter less than 20 &mgr;m then the d average particle diameter of the total solid starting materials shall be taken to be 20 &mgr;m. If more than 90% by weight of the solid starting material has a d average particle diameter greater than 200 &mgr;m than the d average particle diameter of the total starting solid material shall be taken to be 200 &mgr;m.

Production of detergent granulates

A granular detergent product is made by spraying a liquid binder to contact a particulate solid starting material in a low shear granulator such as a fluidised bed apparatus. The d,average droplet diameter is not greater than ten times the d,average particle diameter of that fraction of the solid starting material which has a d,particle diameter of from 20 &mgr;m to 200 &mgr;m provided that if more than 90% by weight of the solid starting material has a d,average particle diameter less than 20 &mgr;m then the d,average particle diameter of the total solid starting materials shall be taken to be 20 &mgr;m. If more than 90% by weight of the solid starting material has a d,average particle diameter greater than 200 &mgr;m then the d,average particle diameter of the total starting solid material shall be taken to be 200 &mgr;m.

A process of forming a granular detergent products, is effected in a gas fluidisation granulator. A fluidised particulate solid material is contacted with a spray of liquid binder. The excess velocity (U.sub.e) of fluidisation gas relative to the mass or volume flux of the spray (q.sub.mliq or q.sub.vliq) when determined at the normalised nozzle-to-bed distance (D.sub.0) is set so that the flux number (FN.sub.m or FN.sub.v) as determined by ##EQU1## (where .rho..sub.p is the particle density) is at a critical value of at least 2 for at least 30% of the process.

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Vlaardingen, Netherlands

Cornelis Paulus Montanus