Ether hydroxypolycarboxylate detergency builders
AssigneeThe Procter & Gamble Company
InventorsRodney D. Bush, Stephen W. Heinzman
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Abstract
Ether hydroxypolycarboxylates prepared from epoxysuccinates by treatment with an alkaline calcium compound are disclosed. These compounds act as sequestering agents and are useful as detergency builders. Detergent compositions incorporating the ether hydroxypolycarboxylates can be prepared without use of detergent builder components containing phosphorus or nitrogen.
Claims18
Metal sequestering agent mixtures represented by the chemical structure ##STR11## wherein M is hydrogen or a cation wherein the resultant salt is water soluble, each R is the same or different and is selected from hydrogen, C.sub.1-4 alkyl or C.sub.1-4 substituted alkyl and n is from about 2 to about 15, provided that at least about 25% by weight are compounds wherein n is from about 2 to about 4, and further provided that said mixtures have a log K.sub.Ca (35.degree. C., 0.1M ionic strength) of at least about 4.5 at pH 9.5.
A detergent composition comprising from about 0.5% to about 98% by weight of a surfactant and from about 2% to about 99.5% by weight of metal sequestering agent mixtures represented by the chemical structure ##STR12## wherein M is hydrogen, alkali metal, ammonium or substituted ammonium, R is hydrogen, C.sub.1-4 alkyl or C.sub.1-4 substituted alkyl, and n is from about 2 to about 15, provided that at least about 25% by weight are compounds wherein n is from about 2 to about 4, and further provided that said mixtures have a log K.sub.Ca (35.degree. C., 0.1M ionic strength) of at least about 4.5 at pH 9.5.
A method of making ether hydroxypolycarboxylate metal sequestering agent compounds represented by the formula:
- ##STR14## wherein M is hydrogen or a salt forming cation and n is from about 2 to about 15, which comprises:
- (1) treatment of an epoxysuccinate or an epoxysuccinate in admixture with a tartrate with at least about 5% of a molar equivalent of an alkaline calcium compound in aqueous media to form alkali metal and/or calcium salts of said ether hydroxypolycarboxylate sequestering agent compounds and (2) separation of said salts from the aqueous reaction media.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.