Sulfonated poly-ethoxy/propoxy end-capped ester oligomers suitable as soil release agents in detergent compositions

Claim 2

A water-soluble or water-dispersible soil release agent comprising: A) at least about 10% by weight of a substantially linear sulfonated poly-ethoxy/propoxy end-capped ester having molecular weight ranging from about 500 to about 8,000; said ester consisting essentially of on a molar basis: i) from about 1 to about 2 moles of sulfonated poly-ethoxy/propoxy end-capping units of the formula: (MO.sub.3 S)(CH.sub.2 (.sub.m (CH.sub.2 CH.sub.2 O)(RO).sub.n -- wherein M is a salt-forming cation such as sodium or tetraalkylammonium, m is 0 or 1, R is ethylene, propylene or a mixture thereof, and n is from 0 to 2; and mixtures thereof; ii) from about 0.5 to about 66 moles of units selected from the group consisting of: a) oxyethyleneoxy units; b ) a mixture of oxyethyl eneoxy and oxy- 1,2- propleneoxy units wherein said oxyethyleneoxy units are present in an oxyethyleneoxy to oxy-1,2-propleneoxy mole ratio ranging from 0.5:1 to about 10:1; and c) a mixture of a) or b) with poly(oxyethylene)oxy units wherein said poly(oxyethylene)oxy units have a degree of polymerization of from 2 to 4; provided that when said poly(oxyethylene)oxy units have a degree of polymerization of 2, the mole ratio of poly(oxyethylene)oxy units to total group ii) units ranges from 0:1 to about 0.33:1; and when said poly(oxyethylene)oxy units have a degree of polymerization of 3, the mole ratio of poly(oxyethylene)oxy units to total group ii) units ranges from 0:1 to about 0.22:1; and when said poly(oxyethylene)oxy units have a degree of polymerization of 4, the mole ratio of poly(oxyethylene)oxy units to total group ii) units ranges from 0:1 to about 0.14:1; iii) from about 1.5 to about 40 moles of terephthaloyl units; and iv) from 0 to about 26 moles of 5-sulfoisophthaloyl units of the formula --(O)C(C.sub.6 H.sub.3)(SO.sub.3 M)C(O)-- wherein H is a salt forming cation; and B) from about 0.5%. to about 20% by weight of ester of one or more crystallization-reducing stabilizers.

Claim 3

A soil release-agent according to claim 1, wherein the crystallization-reducing stabilizer is selected from the group consisting of: i) alkali metal and tetraalkylammonium salts of aromatic sulfonic acids or substituted aromatic sulfonic acids selected from the group consisting of: a) (R 1 ) n Ar-SO 3 M; b) (R 2 )Ar(SO 3 M)-O-(R 2 )Ar(SO 3 M); and c) mixtures thereof, wherein Ar is an aromatic hydrocarbon group, each R 1 is a hydrogen radical or a C 1 -C 4 alkyl group, each R 2 is a C 1 -C 18 alkyl group, n is from 0 to 3, and M is an alkali metal or tetraalkylammonium ion; ii) alkali metal and tetraalkylammonium salts of linear or branched alkylbenzenesulfonates wherein the alkyl group is from about C 5 to about C 16 , preferably from about C 11 to about C 13 ; iii) thermally-stable alkyl chain sulfonates wherein the alkyl chain contains from about 4 to about 20 carbon atoms; and iv) mixtures thereof.

Claim 4

The soil release agent of claim 1 wherein said ester consists essentially of said units i) and ii) and iii), and has a linear backbone formed from ester-bond-connected units ii) and iii).

Claim 5

The soil release agent of claim 3, wherein said ester is essentially in the doubly end-capped form.

Claim 6

The soil release agent of claim 3 which comprises from about 25% to about 100% by weight of ester having the empirical formula (CAP).sub.x (EG/PG).sub.y (T).sub.z ; wherein (CAP) represents the sodium salt form of said sulfonated end-capping units i); (EG/PG) represents said oxyethyl eneoxy, oxy-1,2-propyleneoxy and poly(oxyethylene)oxy units ii); (T) represents said terephthaloyl units iii); x is from about-1 to 2; y is from about 0.5 to about 7; z is from about 1.5 to about 7; wherein x, y and z represent the average number of moles of the corresponding units per mole of said ester.

Claim 7

The soil release agent of claim 5, further characterized in that the oxyethyleneoxy:oxy-1,2-propyleneoxy mole ratio ranges from about 1:1 to about 10:1; x is about 2, y is from about 1 to about 6, and z is from about 2 to about 6.

Claim 8

The soil release agent of claim 6 which is comprised of at least 50% by weight of said ester having molecular weight ranging from about 500 to about 5,000 and of at least 3% of said crystallization-reducing stabilizer.

Claim 9

A water-soluble or dispersible soil release agent according to claim 5, derived by a process which comprises at least one step of reacting: A) dimethyl terephthalate; B) one or more glycol reactants selected from the group consisting of: a) ethylene glycol; b) a mixture of ethylene glycol and propylene glycol; and c) a mixture of a) or b) with diethylene glycol, triethylene glycol, tetraethylene glycol or a mixture thereof; and C) a compound selected from the group consisting of monovalent cation salts of said sulfonated polyethoxy/propoxy end-caps, in the presence of at least one conventional transestertification catalyst and one or more crystallization-reducing stabilizer.

Claim 10

The soil release agent of claim 8, wherein said glycol reactant is ethylene glycol.

Claim 11

The soil release agent of claim 1 wherein said ester consists essentially of said units i), ii), iii) and iv); said ester further being characterized in that it has a linear backbone formed from ester-bond connected units ii), iii) and iv).

Claim 12

The soil release agent of claim 10 which comprises from about 25% to about 100% by weight of ester having the empirical formula (CAP).sub.x (EG/PG).sub.y (T).sub.z (SIP).sub.q ; wherein (CAP) represents the sodium salt form of said sulfonated end-capping units i ); (EG/PG) represents said oxyethyleneoxy, oxy-1,2-propyleneoxy and poly(oxyethylene)oxy units ii); (T) represents said terephthaloyl units iii); (SIP) represents the sodium salt form of said 5-sulfoisophthaloyl units iv); x is from about 1 to 2; y is from about 0.5 to about 66; z is from about 1.5 to about 40; q is from about 0.05 to about 26; wherein x, y, z and q represent the average number of moles of the corresponding units per mole of said ester.

Claim 13

The soil release agent of claim 11 further characterized in that the oxyethyleneoxy:oxy-1,2-propyleneoxy mole ratio ranges from about 0.5:1 to about 1:0; x is about 2, y is from about 3 to about 18, and z is from about 3 to about 15, and q i s from about 0.5 to about 4.

Claim 14

The soil release agent of claim 12 wherein x is about 2, y is about 5, z is about 5, and q is about 1.

Claim 15

The soil release agent of claim 12 which is comprised of at least about 50% by weight of said ester having molecular weight ranging from about 500 to about 5,000 and at least about 3% of said stabilizer.

Claim 16

A water-soluble or dispersible soil release agent according to claim 11, derived by a process which comprises at least one step of reacting: A) dimethyl terephthalate; B) one or more glycol reactants selected from the group consisting of: a) ethylene glycol; b) a mixture of ethylene glycol and propylene glycol; and c) a mixture of a) or b) with diethylene glycol, triethylene glycol, tetraethylene glycol or a mixture thereof; C) dimethyl sulfoisophthalate: and D) a compound selected from the group consisting of monovalent cation salts of said sulfonated polyethoxy/propoxy end-caps, in the presence of at least one conventional transesterification catalyst and one or more crystallization-reducing stabilizer.

Claim 19

A method according to claim 16, wherein said conventional detersive ingredients comprise one or more conventional anionic surfactants; said soil release agent is present at a level of from about 2.5 to about 30 ppm in said aqueous laundry liquor and is further characterized in that it consists essentially of a water-soluble or water-dispersible composition comprising: A) at least about 10% by weight of a substantially linear sulfonated poly-ethoxy/propoxy end-capped ester having molecular weight ranging from about 500 to about 8,000; said ester consisting essentially of, on a molar basis: i) from about 1 to about 2 moles of sulfonated poly-ethoxy/propoxy end-capping units of the formula (MO.sub.3 S)(CH.sub.2)m(CH.sub.2 CH.sub.2 O)(RO).sub.n -- wherein M is a salt-forming cation such as sodium or tetraalkylammonium, m is 0 or 1, R is ethylene, propylene or a mixture thereof, and n is from 0 to 2; and mixtures thereof; ii) from about 0.5 to about 66 moles of units selected from the group consisting of: a) oxyethyleneoxy units; b) a mixture of oxyethyleneoxy and oxy-1,2-propyleneoxy units wherein said oxyethyleneoxy units are present in an oxyethyleneoxy to oxy-1,2-propleneoxy mole ratio ranging from 0.5:1 to about 10:1; and c) a mixture of a) or b) with poly(oxyethylene)oxy units wherein said poly(oxyethylene)oxy units have a degree of polymerization of from 2 to 4; provided that when said poly(oxyethylene)oxy units have a degree of polymerization of 2, the mole ratio of poly(oxyethylene)oxy units to total group ii) units ranges from 0:1 to about 0.33:1; and when said poly(oxyethylene)oxy units have a degree of polymerization of 3, the mole ratio of poly(oxyethylene)oxy units to total group ii) units ranges from 0:1 to about 0.22:1; and when said poly(oxyethylene)oxy units have a degree of polymerization of 4, the mole ratio of poly(oxyethylene)oxy units to total group ii) units ranges from 0:1 to about 0.14:1; iii) from about 1.5 to about 40 moles of terephthaloyl units; and iv) from 0 to about 26 moles of 5-sulfoisophthaloyl units of the formula --(O)C(C.sub.6 H.sub.3)(SO.sub.3 N)C(O)-- wherein M is a salt-forming cation; and B) from about 0.5% to about 20% by weight of ester of one or more crystallization-reducing stabilizers.

Claim 20

A method according to claim 16, wherein said fabrics are subjected to two or more cycles each comprising the ordered sequence of steps: a) contacting said fabrics with said aqueous laundry liquor in a conventional automatic washing-machine or by hand-wash for periods ranging from about 5 minutes to about 1 hour; b) rinsing said fabrics with water; c) line- or tumble-drying said fabrics; and d) exposing said fabrics to soiling through normal wear or domestic use.

Claim 21

A detergent composition comprising from about 5% to about 80% of a detersive surfactant and at least about 0.1% by weight of a soil release agent according to claim 1.

Claim 22

A composition according to claim 19 wherein the soil release agent comprises at least about 10% by weight of an ester of the formula (CAP).sub.x (EG/PG).sub.y (T).sub.z ; wherein (CAP) represents the sodium salt form of said sulfonated end-capping units i); (EG/PG) represents said oxyethyleneoxy, oxy-1,2-propyleneoxy, and poly(oxyethylene)oxy units ii); (T) represents said terephthaloyl units iii); x is about 2; y is from about 6; z is about 6; wherein x, y and z represent the average number of moles of the corresponding units per mole of said ester; and from about 0.5% to about 20% by weight of ester of one or more crystallization-reducing stabilizers.

Claim 23

A composition according to claim 19 wherein the soil release agent comprises at least about 10% by weight of an ester of the formula (CAP).sub.x (EG/PG).sub.y (T).sub.z (SIP).sub.q ; wherein (CAP) represents the sodium salt form of said sulfonated end-capping units i); (EG/PG) represents said oxyethyleneoxy, oxy-1,2-propyleneoxy and poly(oxyethylene)oxy units ii); (T) represents said terephthaloyl units iii); (SIP) represents the sodium salt form of said 5-sulfoisophthaloyl units iv); x is about 2; y is about 5; z is about 5; q is 1; wherein x, y, z and q represent the average number of moles of the corresponding units per mole of said ester; and from about 0.5% to about 20% by weight of ester of one or more crystallization-reducing stabilizer.

Claim 24

A composition according to claim 19 further comprising a preformed peroxyacid bleach.

Claim 25

A composition according to claim 19 further comprising from about 1% to about 20% of a peroxygen bleach and from about 0.5% to about 20% of a bleach activator.

Claim 26

A composition according to claim 23 wherein said surfactant is a nonionic primary alcohol ethoxylate; said peroxygen bleach is sodium percarbonate; and wherein said composition further comprises at least about 0.001% of a cellulase enzyme and from about 0.5% to about 10% of a dye transfer inhibiting agent.

Claim 29

A method according to claim 25 wherein the crystallization-reducing stabilizer is selected from the group consisting of: i) alkali metal and tetraalkylammonium salts of aromatic sulfonic acids or substituted aromatic sulfonic acids selected from the group consisting of: a) (R 1 ) n Ar-SO 3 M; b) (R 2 )Ar(SO 3 M)-O-(R 2 )Ar(SO 3 M); and c) mixtures thereof, wherein Ar is an aromatic hydrocarbon group, each R 1 is a hydrogen radical or a C 1 -C 4 alkyl group, each R 2 is a C 1 -C 18 alkyl group, n is from 0 to 3, and M is an alkali metal or tetraalkytammonium ion; ii) alkali metal and tetraalkylammonium salts of linear or branched alkylbenzenesulfonates wherein the alkyl group is from about C 5 to about C 16 , preferably from about C 11 to about C 13 ; iii) thermally-stable alkyl chain sulfonates wherein the alkyl chain contains from about 4 to about 20 carbon atoms; and iv) mixtures thereof.

Claim 30

A method according to claim 25 wherein the sulfonated end-capped ester comprises from about 25 to about 100% by weight of ester having the "empirical formula (CAP).sub.x (EG/PG).sub.y (T).sub.z ; wherein (CAP) represents the sodium salt form of said sulfonated end-capping units i ); (EG/PG) represents said oxyethyleneoxy, oxy-1,2-propyleneoxy and poly(oxyethylene)oxy units ii); (T) represents said terephthaloyl units iii); x is from about 1 to 2; y is from about 0.5 to about 7; z is from about 1.5 to about 7; wherein x, y and z represent the average number of moles of the corresponding units per mole of said ester.

Claim 31

A method according to claim 25 wherein the sulfonated end-capped ester comprises from about 25 to about 100% by weight of ester having the empirical formula (CAP).sub.x (EG/PG).sub.y (T).sub.z (SIP).sub.q ; wherein (CAP) represents the sodium salt form of said sulfonated end-capping units i); (EG/PG) represents said oxyethyleneoxy, oxy-1,2-propyleneoxy and poly(oxyethylene)oxy units ii); (T) represents said terephthaloyl units iii); (SIP) represents the sodium salt form of said 5-sulfoisophthaloyl units iv); x is from about 1 to 2; y is from about 0.5 to about 66; z is from about 1.5 to about 40; q is from about 0.05 to about 26; wherein x, y, z and q represent the average number of moles of the corresponding units per mole of said ester.