Liquid detergent composition

Claim 1

A liquid, enzyme stable, phosphate free, detergent composition of matter consisting essentially of: (a) about 15 to 20 percent only of a liquid anionic or nonionic material selected from the class consisting of sodium linear alkylate sulfonate, dimethylamine sulfonate, sodium xylene sulfonate, coconut fatty acid diethanolamide, coconut fatty acid monoethanolamide and mixtures thereof; (b) about 30 to 65 percent of a reaction product of citric acid and a water soluble or water dispersible amine selected from the class consisting of monoethanolamine, diethanolamine and triethanolamine with a citric acid/amine mole ratio of 1:1 to 1:3 obtained by reacting the citric acid with the amine at a temperature from about 40 to 110° C for a time from about 5 to 60 minutes or until the citric acid is dissolved; (c) about 15 to 50 percent of a solvent selected from the class consisting of water and water-glycol mixtures wherein said glycol is selected from the class consisting of ethylene glycol, diethylene glycol, propylene glycol and glycerin; and (d) about 0.5 percent of an enzyme selected from the class consisting of protease, amylase and mixtures thereof, said percentages being by weight based on the total weight of the composition.

Claim 3

A method of providing a liquid, enzyme stable, phosphate free, detergent composition of matter, which comprises the step of combining about 0.5 percent of an enzyme selected from the class consisting of protease, amylase and mixtures thereof with the ingredients consisting essentially of: (a) about 15 to 20 percent only of a liquid anionic or nonionic material selected from the class consisting of sodium linear alkylate sulfonate, dimethylamine sulfonate, sodium xylene sulfonate, coconut fatty acid diethanolamide, coconut fatty acid monoethanolamide and mixtures thereof; (b) about 30 to 65 percent of a reaction product of citric acid and a water soluble or water dispersible amine selected from the class consisting of aliphatic, fatty acid and heterocyclic amines with a citric acid/amine mole ratio of 1:1 to 1:3 obtained by reacting the citric acid with the amine at a temperature from about 40° to 110° C for a time from about 5 to 60 minutes or until the citric acid is dissolved; and (c) about 15 to 50 percent of a solvent selected from the class consisting of water and water-glycol mixtures, wherein said glycol is selected from the class consisting of ethylene glycol, diethylene glycol, propylene glycol and glycerin, said percents being by weight based on the total weight of the composition.

Claim 4

A method of providing a liquid, enzyme stable, phosphate free, detergent composition of matter, which comprises the step of combining about 0.5 percent of an enzyme selected from the class consisting of protease, amylase and mixtures thereof with the ingredients consisting essentially of: (a) about 15 to 20 percent only of a liquid anionic or nonionic material selected from the class consisting of sodium linear alkylate sulfonate, dimethylamine sulfonate, sodium xylene sulfonate, coconut fatty acid diethanolamide, coconut fatty acid monoethanolamide and mixtures thereof; (b) about 30 to 65 percent of a reaction product of citric acid and a water soluble or water dispersible amine selected from the class consisting of aliphatic, fatty acid and heterocyclic amines with a citric acid/amine mole ratio of 1:1 to 1:3 obtained by reacting the citric acid with the amine at a temperature from about 40° to 110° C for a time from about 5 to 60 minutes or until the citric acid is dissolved; and (c) about 15 to 50 percent of a solvent selected from the class consisting of water and water-glycol mixtures, wherein said glycol is selected from the class consisting of ethylene glycol, diethylene glycol, propylene glycol and glycerin, said percents being by weight based on the total weight of the composition.