Lever Brothers Company

Pauline Farnworth

Jelles Vincent Boskamp

Peter C Knight

Mark P Houghton

Peter F Garner-Gray

Michael W Parslow

Christophe Michel Joyeux

Leandre Naddeo

Alistair Richard Sanderson

Timothy Richard Bundy

Marilena Coruzzi

Particulate high bulk density non-spray-dried detergent compositions containing organic non-soap surfactant, zeolite builder and fatty acid soap as powder structurant, prepared by non-tower mixing and granulation processes involving in-situ neutralization of fatty acid to soap with aqueous sodium hydroxide, can suffer from localized particle yellowing on storage when perfume and/or fluorescer are present, due to the presence of areas of high alkalinity. Yellowing is reduced without loss of powder structuring if a defined, less than stoichiometric amount of sodium hydroxide is used for the fatty acid neutralization. Surprisingly, in bleaching powders improved bleach stability is also observed. The resulting powder can be defined in terms of a low 'basic sodium' content.

Detergent compositions and process for preparing them

Improved detergent powder compositions containing at least a detergent-active material, a detergency builder and sodium perborate monohydrate, and method of making such compositions are disclosed, the improvement being that a sodium perborate monohydrate is used which has physical characteristics of specific surface area (SA in m.sup.2 /g) and pore volume (PV in cm.sup.3 /g) such that the formula (SA+31.25 PV-16.25) is greater than zero. The detergent powder compositions comprising said specific perborate monohydrate have less tendency to caking during storage under high humidity climatic conditions and have the further advantage of maintaining their quick bleach delivery in solution owing to said perborate monohydrate which retains its rapid rate of dissolution despite water-uptake during storage.

Free-flowing detergent powder compositions containing sodium perborate

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Merseyside, United Kingdom

Pauline Farnworth