Lever Brothers Company

Lever Brothers Company, Division of Conopco, Inc.

Peter J Russell

Peter C Knight

Thomas Taylor

Donald Peter

Ian R Kenyon

William J Iley

David Paul Bishop

Andrew T Hight

Michael J Heybourne

David P Jones

Michael W Hollingsworth

Colin Atkinson

Gordon G McLeod

Robert Donaldson

Jeffrey H Connor

A soap powder having a bulk density of at least 600 g/liter contains 35-80 wt % of organic detergent-active material, of which 70-100 wt % is fatty acid soap of low (.ltoreq.20.degree. C.) Krafft temperature, and 20-65 wt % of inorganic and/or builder salts, and may be prepared by granulation and densification in a high-speed mixer/granulator. The high bulk density soap powder shows improved powder properties and better wetting and dispersion behavior in the wash than corresponding undensified powder.

Soap powder compositions

Powders prepared by drying a slurry and suitable for use as detergent powders or components thereof contain (or consist of) sodium carbonate and/or the sodium carbonate/sodium sulphate double salt Burkeite the crystal forms of which have been modified by means of a low level of an organic polycarboxylate. The powders are able to absorb and retain very high levels of liquid components such as nonionic surfactants.

Process for preparing needle-shaped crystal growth modified burkeite

A particulate composition for softening textile fabrics in the wash comprises: (a) from 5 to 30% by weight of a primary, secondary or tertiary amine capable of softening fabrics, sorbed onto (b) from 70 to 95% by weight of a particulate carrier comprising a porous crystal-growth-modified carbonate-based salt. The preferred particulate carrier is the sodium carbonate/sodium sulphate double salt Burkeite modified by means of a polymeric polycarboxylate. The softening composition may be incorporated in a detergent powder, suitably in an amount providing from 0.5 to 15% by weight of amine in the total powder.

Wash-softener containing amine on a crystal-growth-modified carbonate

Low or zero-phosphate spray-dried detergent powders containing less than 10% sodium silicate are structured with a combination of a succinic acid salt and a film-forming polymeric polycarboxylate. The preferred detergency builder is alkali metal aluminosilicate.

Zero-phosphorous detergent powders containing aluminosilicate, succinate

A spray-dried detergent powder contains from 15 to 40% by weight of anionic surfactant, from 20 to 70% by weight of sodium carbonate, from 5 to 20% by weight of sodium silicate and from 1 to 7.5% by weight of sodium bicarbonate, the weight ratio of sodium bicarbonate to sodium silicate being within the range of from 0.20:1 to 0.45:1. Optionally further sodium bicarbonate (up to 15% by weight) is postdosed to the spray-dried powder. The benefits of the invention are improved powder properties and, when further sodium bicarbonate is postdosed, mildness to hands.

Detergent powder and process for its preparation

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Eastham, United Kingdom

Peter J Russell