Lever Brothers Company, Division of Conopco, Inc.

Lever Brothers Company

Ian E Niven

Peter F Garner-Gray

Timothy David Finch

Derek Guy Savill

Geoffrey Newbold

Mohamad Sami Falou

Andrew T Hight

Peter C Knight

Martin J Murphy

Andrew W Travill

Martin M Murphy

There is provided a particulate bleaching detergent composition having improved stability, said composition comprising a zeolite built base powder and alkalimetal percarbonate particles having a morphology index of less than 0.06. The morphology index is defined as:

Particulate bleaching detergent composition

A laundry treatment product, in the form of a sachet containing a particulate bleaching detergent composition containing sodium percarbonate, has at least two compartments to enable the sodium percarbonate to be segregated from certain other ingredients, particularly zeolites. The sachet product exhibits improved bleach stability on storage. Sachets of water-soluble polyvinyl alcohol film are not insolubilized in the wash liquor since no sodium perborate is present to generate insolubilizing borate ions.

Laundry treatment product

A laundry treatment product, in the form of a single-compartment of multicompartment sachet capable of releasing its contents into the wash liquor during the laundry process, contains a particulate laundry treatment composition including a quaternary ammonium- or phosphonium-substituted bleach precursor, for example, cholyl-4-sulphophenyl carbonate, optionally together with a peroxy bleach compound and optionally together with one or more detergent ingredients. The sachet may be a self-contained whole wash product, or a bleach adjunct for use in conjunction with a separate detergent composition.

Particulate detergent compositions containing a detergent active system, sodium carbonate and a calcite seed crystal exhibit improved dispensibility from automatic washing machines when the mean particle size is at least 500 microns, such as above 700 microns and the level of particles with a size below 50 microns is less than 2% by weight of the overall composition. The Rosin-Rammler distribution n value should be at least 4 when the means particle size is 700 microns but may be as low as 2 when the mean is 1200 microns. When the sodium carbonate and calcite are in separate particles, the sizes thereof should be similar.

Detergent composition

The formation of poorly-dispersible material by interaction between sodium silicate and sodium aluminosilicate in a detergent powder can be reduced by acidification of the slurry prior to spray-drying. An acid in an amount equivalent to from 1.5 to 3 parts by weight of hydrogen chloride per 6 parts of sodium silicate of sodium oxide to silica ratio 1 to 1.6 is added to precipitate at least part of the silicate. Optionally, a powder-structurant is present.

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Liverpool, United Kingdom

Ian E Niven