Rhone-Poulenc Chimie

Patrick Boittiaux

Daniel Joubert

Jerome Le Roux

Pascal Taquet

Virginie Couvret

Jean-Claude Kiefer

Pulverulent detergent compositions, particularly suitable for washing and dishwashing machines, include a surfactant and a builder therefor, such builder comprising an alkali metal silicate advantageously having a SiO.sub.2 /M.sub.2 O molar ratio ranging from about 1.6 to 3.5, at least 30% and preferably at least 50% of the silicon atoms of which being in the Q.sub.2 and Q.sub.3 configurations, or such builder comprising said alkali metal silicate sorbed onto a particulate inert support substrate. Also, detergent compositing comprising (a) an aqueous solution of an alkali metal silicate having an SiO.sub.2 /M.sub.2 O molar ratio ranging from about 1.6 to 4, wherein M is an alkali metal, and (b) an inorganic compound which is inert with respect to such silicate and miscible in the aqueous silicate solution, notably an alkali metal carbonate, sulfate, borate, perborate, metasilicate, phosphate or polyphosphate, the inorganic compound constituting from 5% to less than 55% of the total weight of the composition, expressed on a dry basis, and the weight ratio of water remaining associated with the silicate/silicate, expressed on a dry basis, being greater than or equal to 33/100.

Q.sub.2 /Q.sub.3 alkali metal silicate/inorganic compound detergent

Unique detergent compositions include a calcium precipitate-scavenging amount of an amorphous alkali metal silicoaluminate, advantageously are devoid of phosphate and zeolite values, and typically comprise at least one amorphous alkali metal silicoaluminate, an alkali metal carbonate, and at least one inhibitor of the crystal growth of calcium carbonate, such alkali metal carbonate being present in ionic calcium-removing amounts.

Growing community of inventors

Saint Mande, France

Patrick Boittiaux