MXPA06008569A - Sanitizing and cleaning composition and its use for sanitizing and/or cleaning hard surfaces - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to acidic sanitizing and/or cleaning compositions comprising a specific quaternary antimicrobial system consisting of C1-C4 hydroxyalkyl carboxylic acids, C5-C18 alkyl monocarboxylic acids, unsubstituted or substituted, saturated or unsaturated C4-dicarboxylic acids and additional inorganic or organic acids. The compositions of the present invention can be present in the form of concentrates and in the form of diluted use solutions. They can be used in a process for sanitizing and/or cleaning hard surfaces, preferably in a cleaning-in-place (CIP) and/or sanitize-in-place (SIP) process for cleaning and/or sanitizing plants in the food, dairy, beverage, brewery and soft drink industries.

Description

COMPOSITION OF LIM PIECE AND STERILIZATION AND ITS USE TO STERILIZE AND / OR CLEAN DU RAS SURFACES Field of the Invention The present invention relates to acidic disinfecting and / or cleaning compositions comprising a specific antimicrobial quaternary system, consisting of C 1 -C 4 hydroxyalkyl carboxylic acids, C 5 -C 8 monocarboxylic acids, C 4 dicarboxylic acids , saturated or unsaturated, substituted or unsubstituted, and additional organic or inorganic acids. The compositions of the present invention can be presented in the form of concentrates and in the form of diluted use solutions. They can be used in a process for sterilizing and / or cleaning hard surfaces, preferably in an on-site cleaning process (CIP) and / or on-site disinfection (SI P) for cleaning and / or disinfecting plants in food industries, dairy, drinks, brewery and soft drinks.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Periodic cleaning and disinfection in the dairy, food and beverage industries, in food preparation and service businesses, is a necessary practice for product quality and public health. Waste left on equipment surfaces or contaminants found in the process or service environment can promote the development of microorganisms. The protection of the consumer against potential health damages, associated with pathogens or toxins and the maintenance of the quality of the product or service requires the routine removal of residues from surfaces and effective disinfection in order to reduce microbial populations. The visual inspection of the equipment can not ensure that the surfaces are clean or free of microorganisms. Antimicrobial treatments, as well as cleaning treatments, are therefore required for all critical surfaces in order to reduce the population of microbes in order to ensure levels established by public health standards. This process is generally referred to as sterilization. The practice of disinfection is of particular interest in food processing facilities where the cleaning treatment is followed by an antimicrobial treatment applied to all critical surfaces and environmental surfaces in order to reduce the microbial population to safe levels, established by law . A sterilized surface, as defined by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), is a consequence of a process or program that contains both an initial cleaning treatment and a subsequent disinfection treatment that must be separated by a potable water rinse. A disinfection treatment applied to a cleaned food contact surface should result in a population reduction of at least 99.999% (5 log) over specified microorganisms, as defined by the "Germicidal and Detergent Sanitizing Actino of Disinfectants", Official Methods of Analysis of the Association of Official Analytical Chemists, paragraph 960.09 and applicable sections, 15th Edition, 1990 (EPA Guideline 91 -2). The antimicrobial efficacy of disinfectant treatments is significantly reduced if the surface is not absolutely free of dirt and other contaminants before the disinfection stage. The presence of residual food dirt and / or mineral deposits inhibits disinfectant treatments by acting as physical barriers that protect microorganisms that lie within the organic or inorganic layer from the microbicide. In addition, chemical interactions between the microbicide and certain contaminants can disrupt the mechanism of microbicide elimination. With the arrival of automated cleaning systems on site (CIP) and on site disinfection (SIP), the need for disassembly has been reduced and cleaning and disinfection have become much more effective. Nevertheless, modern food industries still rely on disinfectants to compensate for design deficiencies or operational limitations in their cleaning programs and the likelihood of very small residual amounts of organic and inorganic dirt and the remaining biofilms on food contact surfaces after cleaning. In cooperation with these process changes and higher performance expectations, disinfectant treatments must also meet the growing demand for more environmentally friendly, less corrosive, safer compositions. Accordingly, there is a need to improve disinfectant treatments to destroy pathogens and food waste microorganisms resistant to conventional treatments within the food offering, food processing and food service industries. In the disinfection operations have been used various chemicals that exhibit varying degrees of antimicrobial activity. Among these are short chain monocarboxylic acids having less than 20 carbon atoms, quaternary ammonium compounds and hexachlorophene compounds. These compounds have been mixed with various surfactants and water to produce aqueous disinfectant solutions. Halogen-containing disinfectants can be corrosive to metal surfaces of food plants and the quaternary ammonia compounds that have also been used adhere strongly to disinfected surfaces even after copious rinsing and can interfere with desired microbial growth during food processing. , for example, fermentation. On the other hand, a problem associated with the use of short chain monocarboxylic acid disinfectants is the poor dilution phase stability in use, particularly at lower water temperatures, of 0 to 10 ° C. The fatty monocarboxylic acids having alkyl chains containing 5 or more carbon atoms are typically characterized as insoluble in water and can be separated or precipitated from the solution as a gelatinous flocculant. The solubility tends to decrease with the decreasing temperature of the water and to increase with the ionic concentration. In addition, the oil or precipitate can be attached to almost all surfaces to which it is intended to sterilize the disinfectant solution, such as equipment surfaces, leading to the formation of a film on these surfaces over time. The deposited fatty acid film that remains on the surface of the equipment tends to have a higher pH than the disinfectant solution from which it comes, resulting in a significantly decreased biocidal efficacy and, if mixed with food dirt, may result in resulting in a film matrix that has the potential to harbor bacteria, an effect opposite to that desired. In addition, antimicrobial solutions containing these antimicrobial agents are undesirable for use in food equipment cleaning applications. The residual amounts of the acidic disinfectant solutions that remain in the equipment after cleaning can impart unpleasant odors and flavors to the food. Cleaning compositions are difficult to rinse from cleaned surfaces. Greater quantities of water are required to completely remove conventional disinfectant solutions. It has been found that the antimicrobial activity of acidic disinfectant solutions, as defined above, can be increased by acidifying the disinfectant solution to a pH below 5, so that acidic disinfectant solutions of this type are generally used in food, beverages, brewery and other industries such as an on-site cleaning solution (CIP) and / or on-site disinfection (SIP) for processing equipment. Although the currently available acidic disinfectant solutions are effective against gram-negative and gram-positive bacteria, such as Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus, are not as effective on any yeast or mold contamination that may also occur. In many applications, yeast infection control requires a separate solution that can be expensive and time consuming.

Such antimicrobiogenic solutions are generally produced by mixing water and an aqueous concentrate containing antimicrobiological agents, water or other diluents and acids capable of producing a pH below about 5 after dilutions. However, it is clear that such antimicrobial compositions should also exhibit homogeneity and stability of the solution during periods of prolonged storage, in particular, at low temperatures. In order to achieve this, solubilizers or coupling agents are added to the compositions in order to maintain the stability of the solution at elevated acid concentrations at prolonged low temperatures or during repeated freeze / thaw cycles. Such solubilizers are generally surfactant hydrothogens capable of solubilizing the antimicrobial agent in the acidic concentrate which maintains it both in the concentrate and in the diluted antimicrobial solution, suitable for conventional use. For this purpose, various anionic, amphoteric and nonionic ionic surfactants or mixtures thereof have previously been employed in such solutions. However, these solubilizers, when used in antimicrobial compositions, tend to cause undesirable foaming, thus requiring the addition of foam suppressors for the CIP application and the SIP application. Additionally, these solubilizers do not provide stability over a wide range of storage temperatures. Accordingly, there is a need to provide a stable antimicrobial composition that can provide an antimicrobial solution that is equally effective in gram-negative and gram-positive microorganisms and in mold, and the microbial activity of which is neutralized by the hardness of the water and which also provides a low foaming antimicrobial use solution capable of removing intense flavor, for example, of soft drinks and which is less corrosive and more environmentally friendly. It has now surprisingly been found that this need can be met by a specific antimicrobial disinfectant and / or cleaning composition capable of being diluted with a significant amount of a food grade diluent to form a solution of antimicrobial use.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The subject matter of the present invention is, according to its first aspect, an acidic disinfectant and / or cleansing composition, capable of being diluted to form a solution of use, acidic, disinfectant and / or cleansing, comprising the composition: a) a quaternary antimicrobial system, comprising at least one C?-C hidro hydroxy alkyl carboxylic acid or salt thereof, at least one C5-C18 alquilo alkyl monocarboxylic acid having the general formula: R '"- COOH where R "" is an alkyl, saturated or unsaturated, straight or branched, having from about 5 to about 18, preferably from about 6 to about 12 carbon atoms; or a salt thereof, at least one dicarboxylic acid having the formula, general: O (R ') n'O II I II HO- -C-R- C- OH (R ") n- wherein R is a hydrocarbon element, saturated or unsaturated, having 2 carbon atoms, R 'is hydrogen, hydroxyl, an n-alkyl or n-substituted or unsubstituted alkenyl having from about 1 to about 12, preferably from about 6 to about 12, carbon atoms, where suitable substitutes of R 'comprise thiol, methane thiol, amine, methoxy and aryl substitutes and n' and n " they are each an integer from 0 to 4; and R "represents hydrogen or hydroxyl, or salt or anhydride thereof, at least one acid capable of producing a pH of about < 5.0 after dilution of the composition to a solution of use, b) at least one solubilizer; ) at least one diluent, preferably water, and d) optionally at least one detergent., disinfectant and / or cleanser, above, can be diluted to form a solution of use, acidic, disinfectant and / or cleanser, which is equally effective on gram-negative and gram-positive microorganisms and on yeast and on mold, and antimicrobial activity of which it is neutralized by the hardness of the water. The composition of the present invention also provides a low foaming antimicrobial use solution, capable of removing the intense flavor, for example, of soft drinks, and being less corrosive and more environmentally friendly than the antimicrobial use solutions of the prior art. Preferred embodiments of the disinfectant and / or cleansing composition of the present invention are, individually or in any combination, those wherein: said at least one hydroxy carboxylic acid C1-C () is a hydroxy carboxylic acid selected from of the group consisting of glycolic acid, lactic acid, hydroxy propanoic acid, dihydroxy propanoic acid, hydroxy butyric acid, and mixtures thereof; said at least one C5-C18 alkyl monocarboxylic acid (ß) is selected from the group consisting of pentanoic acid, hexanoic acid, heptanoic acid, octanoic acid, nonanoic acid, decanoic acid, undecanoic acid, dodecanoic acid, tridecanoic acid, tetradecarioic acid, pentadecanoic acid, hexadecanoic acid, heptadecanoic acid, octadecanoic acid, neodecanoic acid, 2,2-dimethyloctanoic acid and mixtures thereof; said dicarboxylic acid (?) is selected from the group consisting of tartaric acid, maleic acid, fumaric acid, succinic acid, n-octyl succinic acid, n-octenyl succinic acid, n-nonyl succinic acid, succinic acid n-nonenyl, n-decyl succinic acid, n-decenyl succinic acid, n-hexyl succinic acid, n-hexenyl succinic acid, diisobutenyl succinic acid, methyl heptenyl succinic acid and mixtures thereof; preferably it is (are) succinic acid (s) of n-octenyl and / or n-nonenyl; said acid (d) is an organic acid, preferably an organic acid selected from the group consisting of formic acid, acetic acid, citric acid, and alkyl sulphonic acid, preferably methyl sulfonic acid and mixtures thereof; or an inorganic acid, preferably an inorganic acid selected from the group consisting of phosphoric acid, sulfuric acid, nitric acid (preferably in combination with a small amount (preferably about 1% by weight) of urea to prevent NOx formation) , hydrochloric acid, sulfamic acid and mixtures thereof, more preferably, said acid (d) is selected from the group consisting of phosphoric acid, nitric acid, sulfuric acid, methyl sulfonic acid and mixtures thereof; the mono- and dicarboxylic acids (β, β) are present in a weight ratio of between about 1: 1 and about 1: 20, preferably between about 1: 2 and about 1: 10; said at least one solubilizer (b) is a surfactant-hydrotrope selected from the group consisting of anionic surfactants, non-ionic surfactants, amphoteric ionic surfactants and mixtures thereof; the anionic surfactant is selected from the group consisting of alkyl sulfonates and alkylaryl sulfonates having from about 8 to about 22, preferably about 8 to about 18 carbon atoms in the alkyl, ammonia, alkali metal or metal salts of alkaline earth or mixtures thereof, preferably sodium or potassium alkyl benzene sulfonate, sodium or potassium xylene sulfonate, sodium or potassium eulium sulfonate or sodium or potassium toluene sulfonate; the amphoteric ionic surfactant is selected from the group consisting of alkylimidazolines, alkylamines and mixtures thereof; the non-ionic surfactant is selected from the group consisting of ethylene oxide adducts of C8 to C22, preferably C8 to C and, more preferably C8 to C12 alcohols, ethylene oxide / propylene oxide adducts of ethylene glycol, glycols of alkylene or mixtures thereof; said at least one diluent is selected from any food grade diluent, preferably water and short chain alcohols having 2 to 5 carbon atoms, more preferably it is potable water; said C 1 -C 4 -hydroxyalkyl carboxylic acid (a) is present in an amount of from about 0.25 to 15, preferably from about 1 to 10, more preferably from about 2 to 8, more preferably from about 3 to 5% by weight, in base to the total amount of the composition; said C5-C18 alkyl monocarboxylic acid (ß) is present in an amount of from about 0.5 to 5, preferably from about 0.3 to 4, more preferably from about 0.5 to 2.0% by weight, based on the total amount of the composition; said dicarboxylic acid (?) is present in an amount of from about 0.1 to 8, preferably from about 0.5 to 6, more preferably from about 1 to 4.5% by wei based on the total amount of the composition; said acid (d) is present in an amount of from about 4.0 to about 60.0, preferably from about 1.0 to 40% by wei based on the total amount of the composition; said diluent (c) is present in an amount of from about 10 to about 95.5, preferably from about 15 to 90% by wei based on the total amount of the composition; said detergent (d) is present in an amount of from about 5 to 30, preferably from about 10 to 25% by wei based on the total weiof the concentrate; said composition is diluted with water in a proportion of from about 1: 1 to about 1: 500, preferably from about "1: 30 to about 1: 400 and more preferably from about 1: 50 to about 1: 100 parts of composition with respect to diluent (c).

The subject matter of the present invention is, according to a second aspect, also a solution for acidic use, low foaming, disinfectant and / or cleaning, comprising: a) a quaternary antimicrobial system comprising at least one carboxylic acid of hydroxy C1-C alkyl or salt thereof, at least one C5-C8 alkyl monocarboxylic acid having the general formula: R '"-COOH where R'" is an alkyl, saturated or unsaturated, straight or branched, having from about 5 to about 18, preferably from about 6 to about 12 carbon atoms; or a salt thereof, at least one dicarboxylic acid having the general formula: O (R ') n-O II I II HO- C - R- C- OH (R ") n" wherein R is a hydrocarbon element, saturated or unsaturated, having 2 carbon atoms; R 'is hydrogen, hydroxyl, a substituted or unsubstituted n-alkyl or n-alkenyl element having from about 1 to about 12, preferably from about 6 to about 12 carbon atoms, where suitable substitutes of R' comprise thiol, methane thiol, amine, methoxy and aryl substitutes and n 'and n "are each an integer from 0 to 4, and R" represents hydrogen or hydroxyl; or salt or anhydride thereof; at least one acid capable of producing a pH of about < . 5.0 after dilution of the composition towards a solution of use, b) at least one solubilizer; c) at least one diluent, preferably water; and d) optionally at least one detergent. The solution of disinfectant and / or cleansing use, as defined above, can be prepared by diluting the disinfectant and / or cleansing composition, according to the present invention, with a food grade diluent, preferably potable water, in a proportion of from about 1: 10 to about 1: 500, preferably from about 1: 30 to about 1: 400 and more preferably from about 1:50 to about 1: 100 parts of composition versus diluent. A preferred embodiment of the use solution of the present invention is an antimicrobial, acidic, low foaming, use, disinfectant and / or cleansing solution, prepared by dilution of the composition, as defined above, with potable water in such proportion , comprising: a) between about 1 and about 5000 ppm, preferably from about 5 to about 3000, more preferably from about 10 to about 1500 ppm of the antimicrobial system (a -?); b) from about 5 to about 1000, preferably from about 10 to about 5000 ppm of the solubilizer (b) and c) a sufficient amount of the acid (d) to produce a pH below about 5.0, preferably from 4.5 to 1.0. , d) optionally, a sufficient amount of the detergent (d) in order to induce surface wetting and removal of dirt and e) water as the rest of the composition. A further subject matter of the present invention is, according to a third aspect, a process for sterilizing and / or cleaning a hard surface, preferably an on-site cleaning process (CI P) and / or on-site disinfection (SIP) for cleaning and / or sterilizing plants in the food, dairy, beverage, brewery and soft drink industries, the process being carried out by contacting an antimicrobial, aqueous, acidic, low foaming solution, as defined above, to a temperature from 0 to 80 ° C, preferably from 5 to 60 ° C, with the hard surface being cleaned and / or sterilized, for about 30 s to about 20 min, preferably for about 1 to about 5 min, draining the solution from Use with or without recycling and finally rinsing the hard surface with potable water. The additional details of the present invention are the following, where it should be considered that the type and quantity of the established components of the composition and of the use solution of the present invention can vary such that the disinfectant and / or cleaning compositions are obtained having the desired characteristics and lead to the desired effects. 1) The quaternary antimicrobial system being one of the essential components of the disinfectant and / or cleaning composition of the present invention comprises: a C1-C hydroxyalkyl carboxylic acid, preferably a hydroxyalkyl carboxylic acid a-Ci to C. Examples of suitable hydroxyalkyl carboxylic acids include, but are not limited to, hydroxypropanoic acid, dihydroxy propanoic acid, citric acid hydroxy, hydroxy butyric acid, tartaric acid, glycolic acid, lactic acid and mixtures thereof; a C5 to C18 alkyl monocarboxylic acid, preferably a C6 to C2 alkyl monocarboxylic acid. Its alkyl residue can be straight or branched, saturated or unsaturated; the dicarboxylic acids usable in the present invention are those having the carbon structure C ^ C ^ saturated or unsaturated. Specifically, the substituted dicarboxylic acids, employed herein, are selected from the group consisting of maleic acid and fumaric acid and, preferably, succinic acid. Particularly preferred succinic acids used in the present invention are selected from the group consisting of n-octyl succinic acid, n-octenyl succinic acid, n-nonyl succinic acid, n-nonnyl succinic acid, n-decyl succinic, n-decenyl succinic acid, methyl heptenyl succinic acid and mixtures thereof. More preferably, n-octenyl succinic acid and / or n-nonyl succinic acid (s) are used; the antimicrobial system of the present invention also contains an acid capable of providing a pH of solution at or below about 5.0 when the composition is diluted to its use solution strength. The acid used must be compatible with the other components of the disinfectant solution, that is, it must not include instability or cause undue degradation of a surfactant or organic acids. This acid can be either a weak organic acid, such as formic acid, acetic acid, citric acid, tartaric acid, maleic acid, fumaric acid or mixtures thereof or a stronger organic acid, such as alkylsulfonic acid, preferably methylsulfonic acid or an inorganic acid such as phosphoric acid, sulfuric acid, nitric acid (preferably in combination with a small amount (about 1% by weight) of urea to prevent the formation of NOx), hydrochloric acid, sulfamic acid or mixtures thereof. Preferably, phosphoric acid, nitric acid, sulfuric acid and methylsulfonic acid are used. 2) The solubilizer used in the present invention is a surfactant hydrotrope capable of solubilizing the alkyl monocarboxylic acid and the dicarboxylic acid in an acidic diluent while maintaining the monocarboxylic acid and the dicarboxylic acid in solubilized form both in the composition and in the solution of Diluted use of the product under conditions of use. Various anionic, amphoteric and non-ionic ionic surfactants or mixtures thereof can be used in the present invention. Examples of the anionic surfactants that can be used in the present invention are alkyl sulfonates and alkylaryl sulfonates having from about 8 to about 22 carbon atoms in the alkyl portion, as well as the alkali metal salts thereof. Sodium and potassium salts of linear alkylsulfonates, such as sodium laurylsulfonate and potassium alkylbenzene sulfonates, such as sodium xylene sulfonate, sodium cumene sulphonate, sodium toluene sulfonate are commercially important. Amphoteric ionic surfactants are the alkyl imidazolines and alkylamines marketed under the trademark MI RAPON by Miranol. Examples of nonionic surfactants that can be used in the compositions of this invention are the ethylene oxide adducts and propylene oxide adducts of C8 to C22 primary alkanols, sold commercially under the Berol trademarks by Akzo Nobel or Lutensol by BASF, and the ethoxylated and propoxylated types sold under the Plurafac trademarks by BASF. The diluent that can be used is preferably potable water. However, other compatible food grade diluents, such as C2 to C5 alkanols, can also be used.

Additionally, the composition of the present invention may optionally include at least one anionic and / or nonionic surfactant. In some embodiments, a non-ionic surfactant is suitably used to improve surface wetting, removal of dirt, etc. It can also work to improve the solubility of the fatty acids used in dilutions of use.

The composition of the present invention is, as already mentioned, capable of forming a use solution by mixing the composition with a diluent, such as water. The use solution obtained generally comprises: a) from about 1 to about 1 000 parts per million (ppm) of the defined hydroxyalkyl carboxylic acid, b) from about 1 to about 1000 ppm of the C5-C alkyl monocarboxylic acid? 8 defined, c) from about 1 to about 1000 ppm of the defined dicarboxylic acid, d) an organic or inorganic acid, as defined above, in an amount sufficient to produce a pH of the use solution of about < 5.0, preferably 4.5 to 1.0, e) from about 10 to about 1000 ppm of a solubilizer, as defined above, f) water as the remainder, of the composition and g) optionally at least one anionic or non-ionic detergent to improve the wetting of the surface, removal of dirt, etc. The antimicrobial disinfectant composition of the present invention can be successfully employed to disinfect and / or sterilize fixed food processing facilities at a location, such as those of dairy plants, breweries and beverages. The composition of the present invention exhibits an antimicrobial activity at a temperature of from about 0 ° C to 80 ° C. To carry out the disinfection, the diluted use solution having a temperature from 0 to 80 ° C, preferably from 5 to 60 ° C, is recycled through the system for a sufficient period of time to contact and eliminate the undesirable microorganisms . This time can be any from less than 30 seconds to approximately 10 or 20 minutes, depending on the type and amount of contamination present. Preferably, the contact time will be in the range of from about 1 to about 5 minutes. After disinfection, the composition is drained from the system and the system is rinsed with potable water. In most on-site cleaning applications, the system can be returned to operation immediately after removal of the disinfectant solution. However, the system can also be rinsed with potable water or any other suitable material after disinfection.

The disinfectant composition can be mixed with a detergent composition to impart the additional disinfectant properties of this invention to a detergent when in use. For example, detergents are routinely used in European countries to clean various facilities in food, dairy, brewery and beverage plants, in order to avoid the need for a subsequent disinfecting rinse of the facility. The disinfectant composition of the invention can also be used in other ways, such as in lane lubricants, nipple chemical solutions and washing machine rinse aids. When the disinfectant composition is used in a detergent composition, suitable surfactants are used which are preferably those of the low foaming, anionic or non-ionic type. It is clear that such a surfactant has to be compatible with the disinfectant composition in order to avoid degradation or separation in the final product. For a more complete understanding of the present invention, reference should be made to the following examples. The examples should only be considered illustrative and not limiting to the present invention. All percentages are in "% by weight".

EXAMPLES Preparation of the compositions Each of the following compositions was prepared by mixing the ingredients listed in the following table 1 in sequential order, mixing thoroughly by stirring and allowing each ingredient to disperse or dissolve completely in the liquid mixture before mixing. addition of the next ingredient. The resulting compositions were clear and homogeneously uniform after mixing all the listed ingredients. Compositions A1 to A4 contained the quaternary antimicrobial system of the present invention. Composition B1 is a comparative acidic composition, corresponding to a prior art, represented by compositions currently commercially available for standard CCI P applications. Table 1 Test Methods 1. Biocidal Efficacy Test The quantitative suspension examination for the evaluation of bactericidal and fungicidal activity of chemical disinfectants and antiseptics used in food, industrial, domestic and institutional areas was conducted in accordance with EN 1276: 1997 (bacteria) and EN 1650: 1997 (mushrooms), (C EN - European Committee for Standardization). The tests were conducted with 0.25, 0.50, 1.00 and 4.00% of use solutions prepared from the compositions of Table 1 by diluting them with water in an amount sufficient to obtain each of the solutions for use, for example, by mixture of 4 g of composition A1 with 96 g of water to obtain 4% by weight of the solution of use A1. For dilution, sterile hard water, standardized, with 300 mg / kg CaCO3 was used. The samples were exposed at 20 ° C to the bacteria by eliminating Lactobacillus brevis, the yeast Saccharomyces diastaticus and the mold Aspergillus niger. The resulting data are presented in Table 2. As can be seen from the data in Table 2, compositions A1 to A4 of the present invention containing the quaternary microbiocidal system show a higher, significant microbiocidal activity than the comparative composition. B1, which corresponds to the currently commercially available compositions for CIP standard in the industry. Even with half the amount of octanoic acid (A3 and A4) or one third of the amount of N-octenyl succinic acid (A2, A3 and A4), compositions A1 to A4 of the present invention provide the same or better rates of reduction of microorganisms compared to the comparative composition B1 under identical test conditions. It is notable, in particular, that compositions A1 to A4 provided a 99% reduction for A. Niger with 4% use solutions, which is the upper economic limit for a use solution while comparative composition B 1 failure. Table 2 2. Foaming Evaluation 2 liters of a 1% use solution were recycled with a flow rate of 1.8 liters per second through a tempered 5.5 I glass cylinder for 30 min in order to establish a foam / liquid balance . The formation of the foam layer in cm was determined immediately at the end of a pumping period of 30 min ("0") and 15 sec after the pump was switched off ("1 5").

Table 3 The above data clearly shows that the quaternary system of the invention leads to less or no foam, which is necessary for a CIP and / or SIP application compared to the composition B 1 representing the compositions currently commercially available for CI P applications and SIP standards. 3. Phase Separation Test (Stability) Using the compositions in Table 1, use solutions were prepared at 0.5%, 1%, 2% and 3%, as explained above and after conditioning at 20 ° C during 3 days were visually inspected for physical instability. "+" means stability (without phase separation); "-" means instability (discernible phase separation).

Due to the possibility of reducing the amounts of microbiocidal agents (octanoic acid and N-octenyl succinic acid), the risk of phase separation according to the present invention is clearly lower. Therefore, the major concentrated use solutions for CIP and SIP applications are usable without risk of leaving residues in the treated plant.

Claims (21)

1. CLAIMS 1. A disinfectant and / or cleansing, acidic composition, capable of being diluted to form a solution of disinfectant and / or acidic cleansing use, characterized in that the composition comprises: a) a quaternary antimicrobial system, comprising at least one carboxylic acid hydroxy alkyl C -C or salt thereof, at least one C5-C8 alkyl monocarboxylic acid having the general formula: R '"- COOH where R'" is an alkyl, saturated or unsaturated, straight or branched, having from about 5 to about 18, preferably from about 6 to about 12 carbon atoms; or a salt thereof, at least one dicarboxylic acid having the general formula: O (R ') n O II- I II HO- C-R- C- OH (R ") n" wherein R is a hydrocarbon element, saturated or unsaturated, having 2 carbon atoms; R 'is hydrogen, hydroxyl, a substituted or unsubstituted n-alkyl or n-alkenyl element having from about 1 to about 12, preferably from about 6 to about 12 carbon atoms, where suitable substitutes of R' comprise thiol, methane thiol, amine, methoxy and aryl substitutes and n 'and n "are each an integer from 0 to 4, and R" represents hydrogen or hydroxyl; or salt or anhydride thereof; at least one acid capable of producing a pH of about < . 5.0 after dilution of the composition towards a solution of use, b) at least one solubilizer; c) at least one diluent; and d) optionally at least one detergent.
2. 2. The disinfectant and / or cleaning composition according to claim 1, characterized in that said at least one hydroxy alkyl carboxylic acid C? -C is an alkyl α-hydroxy carboxylic acid selected from the group consisting of glycolic acid, lactic acid, hydroxy propanoic acid, dihydroxy propanoic acid, hydroxy butyric acid, and mixtures thereof.
3. 3. The disinfectant and / or cleaning composition according to claim 1, characterized in that said at least one C5-C18 alkyl monocarboxylic acid (ß) is selected from the group consisting of pentanoic acid, hexanoic acid, heptanoic acid, octanoic acid , nonanoic acid, decanoic acid, undecanoic acid, dodecanoic acid, tridecaoic acid, tetradecanoic acid, pentadecanoic acid, hexadecanoic acid, heptadecanoic acid, octadecanoic acid, neodecanoic acid, 2,2-dimethyloctanoic acid and mixtures thereof. The disinfectant and / or cleansing composition according to claim 1, characterized in that dicarboxylic acid is selected from the group consisting of tartaric acid, maleic acid, fumaric acid, succinic acid, n-octyl succinic acid, succinic acid of n-octyl, -octenyl, n-nonyl succinic acid, n-nonenyl succinic acid, n-decyl succinic acid, n-decenyl succinic acid, n-hexyl succinic acid, n-hexenyl succinic acid, diisobutenyl succinic acid, methyl heptenyl succinic acid and mixtures thereof; preferably it is (are) succinic acid (s) of n-octenyl and / or n-nonenyl. The disinfectant and / or cleaning composition according to claim 1, characterized in that said acid is an organic acid, preferably an organic acid selected from the group consisting of formic acid, acetic acid, citric acid, and alkyl sulphonic acid, preferably methyl sulfonic acid and mixtures thereof; or an inorganic acid, preferably an inorganic acid selected from the group consisting of phosphoric acid, sulfuric acid, nitric acid (preferably in combination with a small amount (preferably about 1% by weight) of urea to prevent NOx formation) , hydrochloric acid, sulfamic acid and mixtures thereof, more preferably, said acid (d) is selected from the group consisting of phosphoric acid, nitric acid, sulfuric acid, methyl sulfonic acid and mixtures thereof. The disinfectant and / or cleaning composition according to claim 1, characterized in that the mono- and dicarboxylic acids are present in a weight ratio of between approximately 1: 1 and approximately 1: 20, preferably between approximately 1: 2 and approximately 1. 10. The disinfectant and / or cleaning composition according to claim 1, characterized in that said at least one solubilizer is a surfactant-hydrotrope selected from the group consisting of anionic surfactants, non-ionic surfactants, amphoteric ionic surfactants and mixtures of the same. The disinfectant and / or cleansing acid composition according to claim 7, characterized in that the anionic surfactant is selected from the group consisting of alkyl sulfonates and alkylaryl sulfonates having from about 8 to about 22, preferably about 8 to about 18 carbon atoms in the alkyl, ammonia, alkali metal or alkaline earth metal salts or mixtures thereof, preferably is sodium or potassium alkyl benzene sulfonate, sodium or potassium xylene sulfonate, sodium or potassium eumeno sulfonate or sodium or potassium toluene sulfonate. The disinfectant and / or cleaning composition according to claim 7, characterized in that the amphoteric ionic surfactant is selected from the group consisting of alkylimidazolines, alkylamines and mixtures thereof. The disinfectant and / or cleaning composition according to claim 7, characterized in that the non-ionic surfactant is selected from the group consisting of ethylene oxide adducts of C8 to C22, preferably C8 to C16, more preferably C8 to C12 alcohols. , ethylene oxide / propylene oxide ethylene glycol adducts, alkylene glycols or mixtures thereof. The disinfectant and / or cleansing composition according to claim 1, characterized in that said at least one diluent is selected from any food-grade diluent, preferably water and short-chain alcohols having 2 to 5 carbon atoms, more it is preferably drinking water. The disinfectant and / or cleaning composition according to claim 1, characterized in that said C 1 -C 4 -hydroxyalkyl carboxylic acid is present in an amount of from about 0.25 to 15, preferably from about 1 to 10, more preferably from about 2 to 8. , more preferably from about 3 to 8% by weight, based on the total amount of the composition. The disinfectant and / or cleansing composition according to claim 1, characterized in that said C5-C8 alkyl monocarboxylic acid is present in an amount of from about 0.1 to 5, preferably from about 0.3 to 4, more preferably from about 0.5 to 2.0% in weight, based on the total amount of the composition. The disinfectant and / or cleaning composition according to claim 1, characterized in that said dicarboxylic acid is present in an amount of from about 0.1 to 8, preferably from about 0.5 to 6, more preferably from about 1 to 4.5% by weight, in based on the total amount of the composition. The disinfectant and / or cleaning composition according to claim 1, characterized in that said acid is present in an amount of from about 4.0 to about 60.0, preferably from about 10 to 40% by weight, based on the total amount of the composition . The disinfectant and / or cleaning composition according to claim 1, characterized in that said diluent is present in an amount of from about 10 to about 95.5, preferably from about 15 to 90% by weight, based on the total amount of the composition . 17. The disinfectant and / or cleaning composition according to claim 1, characterized in that said detergent is present in an amount of from about 5 to 30, preferably from about 10 to 25% by weight, based on the total weight of the concentrate. The disinfectant and / or cleaning composition according to claim 1, characterized in that the composition is diluted with water in a ratio of from about 1: 10 to about 1: 500, preferably from about 1: 30 to about 1: 400 and more preferably from about 1:50 to about 1: 100 parts of composition relative to water. 19. A use, disinfectant and / or cleansing, acidic, low foaming solution, characterized in that it comprises: a) a quaternary antimicrobial system, comprising at least one carboxylic acid of C 1 -C 4 hydroxy alkyl or salt thereof, at least one C5-C18 alkyl monocarboxylic acid having the general formula: R '"--COOH where R'" is an alkyl, saturated or unsaturated, straight or branched, having from about 5 to about 18, preferably from about 6 to about about 12 carbon atoms; or a salt thereof, at least one dicarboxylic acid having the general formula: O (R ') p.O l l I II HO- C-R- C- OH I (R ") n" wherein R is a hydrocarbon element, saturated or unsaturated, having 2 carbon atoms; R 'is hydrogen, hydroxyl, a substituted or unsubstituted n-alkyl or n-alkenyl element having from about 1 to about 12, preferably from about 6 to about 12 carbon atoms, where suitable substitutes of R' comprise thiol, methane thiol, amine, methoxy and aryl substitutes and n 'and n "are each an integer from 0 to 4, and R" represents hydrogen or hydroxyl; or salt or anhydride thereof; at least one acid capable of producing a pH of about < 5.0 after dilution of the composition towards a solution of use, b) at least one solubilizer; c) at least one diluent; and d) optionally at least one detergent. 20. An antimicrobial, aqueous, acidic, low foaming, disinfectant and / or cleaning solution for use, characterized in that said composition, according to claim 1, is diluted with sufficient water to provide: a) from about 1 to about 5000 ppm, preferably from about 5 to about 3000, more preferably from about 10 to about 1500 ppm of the antimicrobial system; b) from about 5 to about 10000, preferably from about 10 to about 5000 ppm of the solubilizer, and c) a sufficient amount of the acid to produce a pH below about 5.0, preferably from 4.5 to 1.0, d) optionally, a sufficient amount of the detergent in order to induce surface wetting and removal of dirt and e) water as the rest of the composition. twenty-one . A process for disinfecting and / or cleaning a hard surface, preferably a cleaning process on site and / or disinfection on site to clean and / or sterilize plants in the food, dairy, beverage, brewery and soft drink industries, taking place the process by contacting an aqueous, acidic, low foaming antimicrobial use solution according to any of claims 18 to 20, at a temperature of from 0 to 8 ° C, preferably from 5 to 60 ° C, with the surface lasts to be cleaned and / or sterilized for about 30 s to about 20 min, preferably for about 1 to about 5 min, draining the use solution with or without recycling, and finally rinsing the hard surface with potable water.