Process for the production of powdery washing and cleansing agent compositions

Claim 1

In a process for the production of powdery washing and cleansing agent compositions containing compounds capable of sequestering or binding calcium, said compositions consisting of (A) from 5 to 50% by weight of at least one finely-divided, water-insoluble silicate compound having a calcium binding power of 50 to 200 mg CaO/gm of anhydrous active substance, a particle size of from 0.01 μ to 30 μ and the formula on the anhydrous basis (Na.sub.2 O).sub.x . Al.sub.2 O.sub.3 . (SiO.sub.2).sub.y wherein x is a member from 0.7 to 1.1 and y is a number from 1.3 to 3.3, (B) from 5 to 25% by weight of nonionic surface-active compounds, (C) from 2.5 to 10% by weight of at least one alkali metal soap, at least some of which are soaps of fatty acids with 20 to 24 carbon atoms, and (D) from 15 to 60% by weight of at least one conventional ingredient of washing and cleansing compositions as follows: macromolecular organic soil-suspension agents, anionic surface-active compounds of the sulfonate and sulfate type, zwitterionic surface-active compounds, wash alkalis, sodium tripolyphosphate, organic builder salts capable of binding or precipitating calcium, foam stabilizers, non-soap foam inhibitors, textile fabric softeners, antimicrobial agents, optical brighteners, bleaching components, enzymes, perfumes and water, comprising the steps of preparing an aqueous slurry of said ingredients of said composition except those compounds sensitive to heat and moisture, spray-drying said aqueous slurry and recovering said powdery washing and cleansing composition, the improvement consisting essentially of preparing a first aqueous slurry having only sufficient water content to be pumpable and containing from 75 to 100% of the total amount of component (A), from 50 to 100% of the total amount of component (B), from 0.2 to 2% of component (C), where said alkali metal soap is an alkali metal salt of a fatty acid with 12 to 18 carbon atoms, and from 10 to 60% based on the weight of the dry components of said first aqueous slurry of component (D) except for said macromolecular organic soil suspension agents, and those compounds sensitive to heat and moisture, spray-drying said first aqueous slurry and combining the spray-dried powdery product with the remainder of said ingredients in powdery form, with the proviso that at least 60% of component (C) including all of said soaps of fatty acids with 20 to 24 carbon atoms is in said remainder of said ingredients in powdery form.