WO2009071296A1 - Agent for avoiding discoloration during the washing of textiles - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to an agent for avoiding discoloration and graying during the washing of textiles, wherein a colorant-binding substrate based on cationized cellulose is used in the form of cationized staple fibers and/or cationized cord thread sections. The agent may contain detergent-active and textile-maintaining ingredients, and may be placed in reusable containers or in disposable containers. The method is particularly cost-effective because waste materials such as inferior quality fibers may be used and, moreover, no decoloration of the dyed textile material occurs, as no direct contact occurs between the substrate and the laundry due to the use of containers. The agent is particularly cost-effective because waste materials and inferior quality fibers and textiles may be used as the substrate.

Description

 Agent for preventing discoloration when washing textiles

description

The invention relates to means for preventing discoloration and graying in the washing of textiles, which contains a substrate, namely a substrate that receives free-flowing dyes from the wash baths and a method for producing such substrates. The composition may further contain detergent and / or textile care ingredients, such as are present in heavy duty detergents.

The problem of the discoloration of textiles during washing, be it in the household for hand washing or in washing machines or in larger washing machines in commercial enterprises or in the industry, has long been known.

When washing textiles, discoloration is caused by the fact that dyed textiles release dyestuffs into the washing water, washing bath or wash liquor during washing and then the free dyes which are freely available in the wash liquor settle on other textiles and thus not only on white undyed textiles dreaded discoloration but also change shades of lighter-colored textiles, either by turning a delicate hue into a more colored hue or even changing the hue as such.

This phenomenon, which is not only the scare for every housewife but is also perceived as a great disadvantage when washing on a commercial and industrial scale, occurs particularly when dyed laundry is not dyed colorfast and the colors tend to bleed. But even with more valuable textiles, it can not always be avoided that the dye separates from the dyed textile and roams freely around in the wash water.

Often one tries to avoid this unpleasant phenomenon by sorting the laundry by color and washing white laundry for itself and if possible Wash laundry with the same color separately. Of course, such a procedure is cumbersome, labor-intensive and in many cases not feasible. On the other hand, efforts have been made to develop agents that are added to the laundry and which should absorb the stray dyes before they can settle on the textiles to be washed and thus cause damage.

Thus, US Pat. No. 4,380,453 describes an agent intended to function as a dye scavenger consisting of a cellulosic substrate which has been cationized by treatment with a quaternary ammonium compound such as glycidyltrimethylammonium chloride or corresponding halohydroxy compounds and which removes the free-roaming dyes from the wash water should. The substrate is added to the wash liquor and can be in various forms, for. As fabrics, nonwovens, braided ropes or balls, etc.

A disadvantage of this method is u. a. that it is often difficult to remove these substrates after washing from the laundry. In addition, such additives often lead to matting or tangling of laundry. It has also been found that z. B. the tissues specified there are not particularly suitable for repeated use.

That's why there have been quite a few advancements. Thus, DE 69 710 724 T2 describes processes with which an improved substrate is to be obtained. The process described therein consists of a whole series of process steps such as ammonification of the cellulosic substrate, treating it under a pressure of 0.6 to 1.37 MPa, heating the substrate to a temperature between 30 ° C and 40 ° C, wrapping the substrate in a water-impermeable material and rotating the material at temperatures between 15 and 100 ° C for a period of between 1 and 12 hours, removing the coating, passing the substrate through an acid bath, further pressure treatment and drying of the substrate. These process steps are very labor intensive and ultimately do not lead to a significant improvement.

In the US patent applications US 2002/0119721 Al and US 2006/0019564 Al further substrates for the removal of dyes from the wash liquor are described, which consist of two or more layers and are added to the laundry. In this case, the dye-absorbing compounds may be applied to individual surfaces of the layers or on multiple surfaces. But even these embodiments do not bring any significant reductions in the disadvantages described above.

Another attempt to remove the free-flowing dyes in the wash bath is described in WO99 / 63142. It is primarily the goal of the development described there to reduce the entanglement of the substrates with the laundry. In this case, the means described there have floating bodies or additionally also edge reinforcements. For example, the dye-receiving bodies may be in the form of a continuous ring placed on top of the stirrer, or they may be floated or they may be in the form of a hollow ball having some larger openings for the free passage of wash liquor and attached to the washing machine via a rope and a clamp.

Apart from the fact that the procedures described there are cumbersome, complicated and expensive, these devices can be used only one or a few times and then have to be discarded.

Although many means are already known for absorbing and removing free-flowing dyes during the washing process, there is still a need for improved agents that are capable of removing the free-floating dye during the washing process and preventing any during washing Discoloration of laundry takes place. The object of the invention is to provide a means for disposal, which does not have the disadvantages mentioned above, which is easy to manufacture and their production is not as labor intensive as many of the known means that is simple in its application, the largely arbitrarily often again can be used, which does not lead to entanglement and entanglement during the washing process and which can be easily separated from the washed laundry after the washing process and in whose manufacture you can access low-priced, namely raw materials namely waste and minority back, in the production of textile products such as fibers, filaments, yarns, fabrics and the like, and incidentally can be used without difficulty in the household in hand washing and washing machines, commercial laundries and industrial scale.

This object is achieved by a means for preventing discolorations and graying during washing of textiles by means of a dyestuff-binding substrate based on cationized cellulose, which is characterized in that the composition is a cationized substrate in the form of cationized staple fibers and / or cationized cord filament sections made of cellulose and optionally contains washing-active and / or textile-care ingredients.

Surfactants, water softeners, builders, cobuilders, bleaches, bleach activators, enzymes, optical brighteners, softeners, fragrances, alkality dispensers, soil absorbents, zeolites, phyllosilicates, bentonites, polycarboxylates, PVP, phosphonates, ultramarine blue are particularly suitable as washing-active and / or textile-care ingredients , Pigments and the like, alone or in admixture.

By PVP is meant polyvinylpyrolidone; Bleach activators also called bleach activators are, in particular, reactive acyl compounds which are reacted with bleaching agents, such as sodium perborate mono- and tetrahydrate, or sodium percarbonate or the hydrogen peroxide released therefrom in the wash liquor at pH> 7 Form peracid anions as bleaching-active species. Further details can be found in the Römp Lexikon Chemie, 10th edition, page 468.

The substrate and optionally the ingredients are advantageously present in a reusable container which has a closure serving for opening and closing and has passages for the passage of washing liquid.

In an advantageous embodiment, the substrate and optionally the ingredients are present in a container which can no longer be filled and closed, such as sachets, sachets, bags, hollow spheres and the like, wherein the container has passages for the passage of washing liquid.

Preferably, the passages have a diameter of 0.01 to 2 mm, preferably 0.02 to 1 mm, in particular 0.05 to 0.5 mm. Incidentally, the diameter can be matched to the substrate.

The closure is preferably a zipper, a velcro, a zipper or a snap fastener. It is also possible, in particular in flexible containers such as bags, bags and the like made of fabrics, knitted fabrics, braids, etc. to effect the closure by simply binding, z. B. with a string, a rope, etc.

It is advantageous if the container has a bag-shaped, bag-shaped or bag-shaped or spherical shape. It is advantageous for the container to be filled with substrate and / or ingredients in a maximum of at most half, preferably at most, up to a quarter of its filling volume.

For containers in the form of hollow bodies, such as spheres, egg shapes, cubes, etc., hemispheres, egg halves, for example, provided with appropriate threads that are screwed together after filling with substrate and / or ingredients or you run the edges so that the two Hemispheres, etc. can be put together. The substrate is preferably based on a polymer obtained by cationizing a hydroxyl group-containing polymer, namely cellulose.

In a particularly advantageous embodiment of the invention, the substrate is formed in tablet form. It is also possible that the substrate, optionally mixed with ingredients, is present in the form of granules, cubes or spheres.

The substrate may be constructed based on staple fibers or cord sections. The Cordabschnitte preferably have a length of 0.5 to 5 cm, preferably 0.7 to 2 cm.

It is advantageous if the substrate contains, in addition to the cationized polymer, from 0.2 to 2% by weight of a binder. The binder may, for. As carboxymethylcellulose, starch or the like.

The substrate may advantageously also be constructed from a mixture of cationized pulp and cationized staple fibers or cord filament sections.

The substrate can be constructed on the basis of native cellulose or regenerated cellulose, in a particularly advantageous embodiment of the invention, the substrate is constructed on the basis of fibrous waste and minor varieties, but also waste pieces, reclamation parts of textile surface products.

The substrate may also comprise cotton fibers, also in admixture with cellulosic fibers, ie regenerated cellulose fibers. Fibers of regenerated cellulose are in particular fibers to be understood, which are prepared in a known manner by the viscose process. However, fibers are also suitable which are produced by the cupramine process. Another object of the invention is a method for producing a cationized substrate, which is characterized in that cationized cellulose staple fibers and / or Cordabschnitte of cellulose optionally in admixture with pulp and optionally compressed with the addition of a binder to plates, the plates dries and punched out after drying to tablet-shaped moldings.

In a modification of this method, the mushy cationic mixture of cellulose staple fibers, pulp and optionally binder is painted on a perforated sheet, in which the holes have a round, square or other shape. The mushy mixture is still dewatered and dried in the perforated plate, and taken from the sheet, the tablets in tablet form.

In general terms, the invention can be carried out in the following way.

Staple fibers or cord filament sections of cellulosic material are first cationized.

The cationization of substrates is known per se. In this connection, reference is made in particular to US Pat. No. 4,380,453, US Pat. No. 2,020,119,721 A1 and US Pat. No. 2,006,009,564 A1, WO9 / 63142, where numerous examples for cationizing corresponding substrates are described. The relevant disclosure in these documents is hereby incorporated by reference.

The cationized staple fibers or sections of cord can e.g. be placed in opened containers, which are then closed by means of a closure. The container can z. B. made of woven or knitted fabric and are provided with a corresponding closure, or can also be easily tied.

When not again, ie for the second time to be filled containers, the substrate, optionally together with ingredients in the container such as a bag, a bag or the like. Bottled, the container is then closed, eg by punching, welding, gluing, sewing etc.. The size and volume of the containers can be varied widely and adapted to the local washing conditions. Thus, containers having the size of a washcloth, a bag or a handkerchief, very suitable because they behave during the washing process like a laundry, but structurally not prone to entanglement.

It is generally sufficient that the container is filled to a quarter to half with the cationized substrate and possibly ingredients.

If the substrate to be filled in the container consists of mixtures consisting of cellulosic staple fibers and pulp and possibly a binder, then the container should have a maximum of up to 50% of its capacity, preferably only one quarter of its capacity with the substrate be filled, as the substrate swells during the washing and thereby expands. As a result, the substrate reaches a particularly large active surface area.

The containers preferably have passages with a diameter between 0.02 and 1 mm. This Öffhungsgröße can be achieved very easily, for. Example, if the container is made of a fabric material, for example, by adjusting the warp and weft density. Correspondingly, the mesh density can be adjusted accordingly for knitted fabrics, so that these values for the openings are achieved.

In these openings, the wash water can still flow very well through the container and come into contact with the substrate. On the other hand, the substrate is prevented from coming out of the container and polluting the laundry.

An essential advantage of the invention is that when using containers, the direct contact between the substrate and the laundry is avoided. It has been found that in work according to the prior art, where the laundry and substrate come into direct contact, ie during the washing process to touch intensively, the Substrate the laundry directly due to the direct contact dye can remove and thereby lead to fading color shades.

The material from which the containers may be made, in particular when in the form of a bag, bag or sack, may also have a paper or nonwoven structure, e.g. a structure with a certain porosity, for example, the pores may have a mean diameter up to a few microns, as e.g. given in the known teabags ..

In a particular embodiment of the invention, the containers are made of perforated plastic films, in which two flat film sections are processed into sealing wall bags after filling with substrate and possibly ingredients.

The perforation of the flat film sections may e.g. done by means of laser technology.

Instead of plastic films, thin fleece sections, e.g. Of viscose, but especially spunbonded nonwoven polyethylene, polypropylene, polyester and other polymers are used.

After washing, the container can be easily separated from the laundry, since it is very easy to see and does not tangled in the laundry.

Depending on the intensity of the free-floating in the wash bath dye molecules, the container can be used with a filling several times.

Otherwise, it is extremely easy to open the reusable container and remove the spent substrate from the container or empty by everting, the container can then be refilled immediately.

The invention is particularly advantageous in that it can be used with it so-called minor varieties of threads and fibers, but also of textile surface products. Such minor varieties always occur in the production of fibers and threads, yarns and cords and also in the production of textile surface products.

In the context of the invention, the term "minor varieties" refers to cellulosic staple fibers or cord fiber segments made of cellulosic material which, for example, occur during production as so-called defective batches, i. Production sections which do not meet the required standards, e.g. Insufficient dissimilar strength, irregular titers, poor physical and other properties due to inferior starting material.

Minor grades of staple fibers may be used directly or, eventually, subjected to a comminution process. Threads and yarns may be cut or torn, cord yarns and other plied yarns are desirably cut to shorter lengths, preferably to lengths of about 0.5 to 5 cm.

Since according to the invention cheap waste materials can be used, the invention has a great cost and price advantage over the known methods or means. The containers are very easy to manufacture and require no additional reinforcements. It is also possible to use textile waste products in the form of textile fabrics for the substrates. These need only be cut to an appropriate size and shredded so that they are present in appropriate fiber form.

A further advantage of the composition according to the invention using containers is that the active substrates have no direct direct contact with the laundry and thus there is no danger that direct contact also causes interactions with the material to be washed. This avoids a direct direct dye transfer, be it from the material to be washed to the substrate or vice versa. The agent according to the invention thus absorbs only the dye molecules which freely roam in the wash liquor. The invention is explained in more detail by the following examples.

example 1

In a beaker, 50 g of pulp and 50 g of viscose fibers cut to 1.5 cm in length are mixed with a freshly prepared cationizing solution. The cationization solution was prepared from 27.55 g of 33% sodium hydroxide solution, 190.85 g of water and 31.60 g of a 65% solution of 3-chloro-2-hydroxypropyltrimethylammonium chloride. The mixture of pulp, viscose fibers and cationizing solution is then vigorously kneaded for a few minutes and then sealed in a vessel and allowed to stand at room temperature for 24 hours. It is then washed 4 times with 2.5 liters of water. After drying, 100 g of a 1% carboxymethylcellulose solution (CMC solution) and another 100 g of water are added.

The mashy, dripping mass is now placed in a rectangular mold and evenly distributed. Subsequently, the mass is compressed in a hand press to a layer thickness of about 1 cm, the water content is then still about 50%. After drying, tablets of a diameter of 3.5 cm are punched out of the plate. These tablet-like shaped bodies weigh about 3 g and can be used immediately.

The composition according to the invention absorbs the free-flowing dye very well from a wash liquor and is superior in many respects to the commercially available dye and dirt scraper wipers.

Example 2

In a beaker, 50 g of pulp and 50 g of about 5 mm short viscose fibers are mixed with a freshly prepared cationizing solution. The cationization solution was prepared from 27.55 g of 33% sodium hydroxide solution, 190.85 g of water and 31.60 g of a 65% solution of 3-chloro-2-hydroxypropyltrimethylammonium chloride. The mixture of pulp, viscose fibers and cationizing solution is vigorously kneaded for a few minutes at room temperature and then sealed in a vessel and allowed to stand at room temperature for 24 hours. Then wash 4x with 2 liters of water thoroughly and then briefly squeeze off excess water.

Now a mixture of 140g sodium carbonate and 60g ultramarine blue (laundry blue) and 100g of a 2% starch solution are added and then vigorously mixed.

This mixture is then processed in a compactor to granules with about 3 -6mm grain diameter and finally dried in a warm air stream. The product is now free-flowing and can be filled in the desired amounts in the container according to the invention and added as a dye-absorbing agent (effect of the cationized substrate) with good whitening of textiles (effect of the ultramarine blue component) of the washing drum before beginning washing process. After completion of the washing process, the container is taken out of the washing drum and either emptied, if it was a refillable, reversibly sealable container or disposed of as household waste, if an irreversibly sealed container (teabag principle) has been used.

Since the containers are preferably designed so that the degree of discoloration of the substrate can be easily recognized, the agent according to the invention can be used again until a clear discoloration is recognizable, since then the saturation limit of the dirt or dye absorption capacity has been reached.

Example 3

In a beaker, 100 g of pulp are cationized as in Example 2, washed and briefly pressed. Add 120 g of sodium carbonate and 80 g of DEQUEST 4066 (phosphonate with good complexing effect for polyvalent metal ions) and 100 g of a 2% starch solution and then mix thoroughly. After compaction and drying, the product is used analogously to Example 1. In this case, a dye-absorbing agent having an additional water-softening effect is obtained.

The composition according to the invention also readily permits a combination of examples 2 and 3 or else a combination of any desired number of detergent ingredients with the cationized substrate up to complete full-wash detergent formulation with additional dye-absorbing action.

Incidentally, the subject of the invention are the teachings that are given in the following claims.

Claims

claims: 1. A means for preventing discoloration and graying when washing textiles by means of a dye-binding substrate based on cationized cellulose, characterized in that the agent is a cationized substrate in the form of cationized staple fibers and / or cationized cords and optionally wash-active and / or textile-care ingredients contains. 2. Composition according to claim 1, characterized in that the washing-active and / or textile-care ingredients such as surfactants, water softening agents, builders, co-builders, bleaching agents, bleach activators, enzymes, optical brighteners, plasticizers, fragrances, Alkalitätsspender, dirt absorbent, zeolites, phyllosilicates, Bentonites, polycarboxylates, PVP, phosphonates, ultramarine blue, pigments and the like are alone or in admixture. 3. Composition according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the substrate and optionally the ingredients are present in a reusable container having a shutter and serving for opening and closing the passages for the passage of washing liquid. 4. Composition according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the substrate and optionally the ingredients in a non-refillable and sealed container such as bags, sachets, bags, hollow spheres and the like. Present and has passages for the passage of washing liquid. 5. Composition according to claim 3 or 4, characterized in that the passages have a diameter of 0.01 -2mm, preferably 0.02-1 mm, in particular 0.05-0.5mm. 6. Means according to claim 3, characterized in that the closure is a zipper, a hook-and-loop fastener, a push-button closure or a zipper or the container is tied up. 7. Composition according to at least one of claims 1-5, characterized in that the container is filled at most half, preferably at most up to a quarter of its filling volume with substrate. 8. Composition according to claim 1, characterized in that the substrate is formed in tablet form. 9. Composition according to at least one of claims 1-8, characterized in that the Cordabschnitte have a length of 0.5 - 5 cm, preferably 0.7 - 2 cm. 10. Composition according to at least one of claims 1-9, characterized in that the substrate contains 0.5 to 2 wt .-% of a binder. 11. Composition according to at least one of claims 1-10, characterized in that the substrate is composed of a mixture of cationized pulp and cationized cellulose staple fibers or cord filament sections. 12. Composition according to at least one of claims 1-11, characterized in that the substrate is based on native cellulose or regenerated cellulose. 13. Composition according to at least one of claims 1-12, characterized in that the substrate is constructed of fiber waste and minor varieties. 14. Composition according to at least one of claims 1-13, characterized in that the substrate is composed of a mixture of cationized staple fibers of regenerated cellulose and cationized cotton fibers. 15. Composition according to at least one of claims 1 to 14, characterized in that the staple fibers and the cord sections are made by the viscose process. 16. Composition according to at least one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the containers are made of perforated plastic films. 17. Composition according to claim 16, characterized in that the plastic films are perforated by laser technology. 18. Composition according to one of claims 1 to 15, characterized in that the containers are made of nonwoven sections, in particular viscose or spunbonded nonwovens. 19. A method for producing a cationized substrate, characterized in that cationized cellulosic staple fibers, optionally in admixture with pulp, and optionally compressed with the addition of a binder to plates, the plates are dried and punched out after drying to tablet-shaped moldings. 20. A process for the preparation of a cationized substrate, characterized in that cationized cellulosic staple fibers, possibly in admixture with pulp, and optionally with the addition of a binder as a slurry on a perforated plate sweeps, wherein the holes a round, square or other shape have, the mushy mixture is still dewatered and dried in the perforated plate, and the sheet takes the tablets in tablet form. 21. Composition according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the substrate is in the form of granules, cubes, spheres, in particular in the form of tablets. 22. Composition according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the substrate mixed in free-flowing form with ingredients or in admixture with ingredients and optionally binders in the form of free-flowing, compact, solid moldings is present. 23. A process for preparing a composition according to claim 1, characterized in that cationized staple fibers and / or Cordfädenabschnitte of cellulose and optionally mixed with detergent-active and / or textile-care ingredients.