Concentrated heavy duty particulate laundry detergent

Claim 1

A method of making a free-flowing, particulate heavy duty laundry detergent having a bulk density of at least about 0.6 gm/cc. and comprising substantially globular sodium tripolyphosphate particles, zeolite particles, and nonionic detergent; wherein said tripolyphosphate particles include 5-15% water and about 10-20% of sodium silicate having an Na 2 O:SiO 2 ratio in the range of about 1:1.6 to about 1:3.0; and wherein said zeolite is a crystalline, amorphous or mixed crystalline and amorphous zeolite wherein the exchange rate and capacity of said zeolite particles is such that when about 375 ppm of said zeolite on an anhydrous basis is placed in water at 45° C. containing 40 ppm of dissolved calcium ion while vigorously stirring the dissolved calcium ion content of the water is reduced to below about 8 ppm in about 5 minutes, said zeolite particles having ultimate particle diameters in the range of from about 0.01 to 20 microns; and wherein said nonionic detergent is selected from the group consisting of fatty alcohol polyethylene oxide condensates wherein the higher fatty alcohol is of about 10 to 18 carbon atoms and the polyethylene oxide is of about 3-15 moles of ethylene oxide per mole of higher fatty alcohol; said method comprising mixing together about 30 to 50% of said tripolyphosphate particles with from about 5-30% of said nonionic detergent, said nonionic detergent being in liquid form so that the detergent is absorbed by and coats the particles, and admixing with said nonionic detergent coated particles from about 30-50% of zeolite particles, which zeolite particles adhere to the detergent on the surfaces of the particles to make them free flowing and to provide a first formed particle; and applying a second coating of nonionic detergent to said first formed particle and then applying to said second nonionic detergent coating a coating of zeolite particles; wherein the ratio of said second nonionic detergent coating to zeolite post-applied to said first formed free-flowing particle is in the range of from about 1:1 to 1:.1 and wherein the total weight percentage of said second nonionic detergent coating and zeolite post-applied to said first formed free-flowing particle is no more than about one-half the weight percentage of said nonionic detergent and zeolite in said first formed particle.

Claim 2

A method of making a free-flowing, particulate heavy duty laundry detergent having a bulk density of at least about 0.6 gm/cc. and comprising substantially globular sodium tripolyphosphate particles, zeolite particles, and nonionic detergent; wherein said tripolyphosphate particles include 5-15% water and about 10-20% of sodium silicate having an Na 2 O:SiO 2 ratio in the range of about 1:1.6 to about 1:3.0; and wherein said zeolite is a crystalline, amorphous or mixed crystalline and amorphous zeolite wherein the exchange rate and capacity of said zeolite particles is such that when about 375 ppm of said zeolite on an anhydrous basis is placed in water at 45° C. containing 40 ppm of dissolved calcium ion while vigorously stirring the dissolved calcium ion content of the water is reduced to below about 8 ppm in about 5 minutes, said zeolite particles having ultimate particle diameters in the range of from about 0.01 to 20 microns; and wherein said nonionic detergent is selected from the group consisting of fatty alcohol polyethylene oxide condensates wherein the higher fatty alcohol is of about 10 to 18 carbon atoms and the polyethylene oxide is of about 3-15 moles of ethylene oxide per mole of higher fatty alcohol; said method comprising mixing together about 30 to 50% of said tripolyphosphate particles with from about 5-30% of said nonionic detergent, said nonionic detergent being in liquid form so that the detergent is absorbed by and coats the particles, and admixing with said nonionic detergent coated particles from about 30-50% of zeolite particles, which zeolite particles adhere to the detergent on the surfaces of the particles to make them free flowing and to provide a first formed particle; and applying a second coating of nonionic detergent to said first formed particle and then applying to said second nonionic detergent coating a coating of zeolite particles; wherein the ratio of said second nonionic detergent coating to zeolite post-applied to said first formed free-flowing particle is in the range of from about 1:1 to 1:.1 and wherein the total weight percentage of said second nonionic detergent coating and zeolite post-applied to said first formed free-flowing particle is no more than about one-half the weight percentage of said nonionic detergent and zeolite in said first formed particle.

Claim 7

The method according to claims 1 or 2 wherein the total weight percentage of said nonionic detergent and zeolite post-applied to said first formed particle is less than about 30% of weight percentage of said nonionic detergent and zeolite in aid first formed particle.