CA2383287C

CA2383287C - Lubricants containing fluorine

Info

Publication number: CA2383287C
Application number: CA002383287A
Authority: CA
Inventors: Stefan Kupper; Michael Schneider; Harald Kluschanzoff; Walter Grosse Bowing; Alfred Laufenberg
Original assignee: Henkel Ecolab GmbH and Co KG
Current assignee: Ecolab GmbH and Co oHG
Priority date: 1999-09-07
Filing date: 2000-08-29
Publication date: 2009-11-17
Anticipated expiration: 2020-08-29
Also published as: WO2001018157A3; US6653263B1; DE19942534A1; WO2001018157A2; US6962897B2; AU7774100A; JP2003509535A; EP1210400A2; US20030139305A1; PL353086A1; GT200000148A; CA2383287A1; BR0013786A; AR026157A1

Abstract

The invention relates to the use of formulations containing selected fluorinated components for reducing friction between conveyor systems and the containers transported thereon.

Description

, o.

Lubricants Containing Fluorine This invention relates to the use of formulations containing at least one fluorinated component for reducing the friction between conveyors and the articles transported thereon.
In the food industry and especially in beverage factories, the containers to be filled in the bottling plants are conveyed by conveyors differing in design and constituent materials, for example by platform conveyors or chain-like arrangements which are generally referred to hereinafter as chain conveyors. The conveyors establish the connection between the various optional treatment stages of the bottling process such as, for example, the unpacker, bottle washer, filler, closer, labeller, packer, etc. The containers may assume various forms, more particulariy glass and plastic bottles, cans, glasses, casks, beverage containers (kegs), paper and paperboard containers. To guarantee uninterrupted operation, the conveyor chains have to be suitably lubricated to avoid excessive friction with the containers. Dilute aqueous solutions containing suitable friction-reducing ingredients are normally used for lubrication. The chain conveyors are contacted with the aqueous solutions by dipping or spraying, for example, the corresponding lubrication systems being known as dip lubrication or automatic belt lubrication or central chain.lubrication systems.
The chain lubricants hitherto used as lubricants are mostly based on fatty acids in the form of their water-soluble alkali metal or alkanolamine salts or on fatty amines, preferably in the form of their organic or inorganic salts.
Whereas both classes of substances can be used without difficulty in dip lubrication, they are attended by a number of disadvantages in the central chain lubrication systems typically in use today. Thus, DE-A-23 13 330 describes soap-based lubricants containing aqueous mixtures of Cjr,'18 fatty acid salts and surface-active substances. Soap-based lubricants such as these have the following disadvantages:
1. They react with the hardness ions in water, i.e. the alkaline earth metal ions, and other ingredients of water to form poorly soluble metal soaps, so-called primary alkaline earth metal soaps.

2. A reaction takes place between the soap-based lubricants and carbon dioxide dissolved in water or in the product to be bottled.

3. The in-use solution thus prepared is always germ-promoting.

4. Where hard water is used, ion exchangers have to be employed to soften the water which means an additional source of germs (and is therefore hardly encountered in practice) or, altematively, products of high complexing agent content have to be used which is ecologically unsafe.

5. Increased foaming occurs which can cause problems in particular at the bottle inspector (automatic bottle control) and results in greater wetting of the transport containers.

6. Most of these products contain solvents.

7. The cleaning effect of the products is poor so that separate cleaning is necessary.

8. Corresponding soap-based lubricant preparations show pH-dependent performance. 9. In addition, soap-based lubricant preparations are dependent on the water temperature.
10. Soap-based lubricants show poor stability in storage, particulariy at low temperatures.
11. The 'EDTA (ethylenediamine tetraacetate) present in many products is known to have poor biodegradability.
12. Soap-based lubricant preparations are not suitable for all plastic transport containers because, in many cases, they give rise to stress cracking in the transport container.
Besides soap-based lubricants, lubricants based on fatty amines are mainly used. Thus, DE-A-36 31 953 describes a process for lubricating chain-type bottle conveyors in bottling factories, more particularly in breweries, and for cleaning the conveyors with a liquid cleaning composition, characterized in that the chain-type bottle conveyors are lubricated with belt lubricants based on neutralized primary fatty amines which preferably contain 12 to 18 carbon atoms and which have an unsaturated component of more than 10%.
EP A-0 372 628 discloses fatty amine derivatives corresponding to the following formulae:

R' R' \ 1 N-A-NH2 and N-A'-CO2H
/ /

in which R' is a saturated or unsaturated, branched or linear alkyl group containing 8 to 22 carbon atoms, R2 is hydrogen, an alkyl or hydroxyalkyl group containing 1 to 4 carbon atoms or -A-NH2, A is a linear or branched alkylene group containing 1 to 8 carbon atoms and A' is a linear or branched alkylene group containing 2 to 4 carbon atoms, as lubricants.
In addition, lubricants based on N-alkylated fatty amine derivatives which contain at least one secondary and/or tertiary amine are known from DE-A-39 05 548.
DE-A-42 06 506 relates to soapless lubricants based on amphoteric compounds, primary, secondary and/or tertiary amines and/or salts of such amines corresponding to general formulae (I), (Ila), (Ilb), (Ilia), (Ilib), (Illc), (IVa) and (IVb):

R' R-[NH-(CH2),]m N - R3 COOM (I) I

R4 -NH-R5 (Ila) R4 -N+H2-R5 X (Ilb) R4-NH-(CH2)3NH2 (Illa) R4-NH-(CH2)3N+H3 X' (Illb) R4-N+H2-(CH2)3-N+H3 2X- (Ilic) R4-NR'R$ (IVa) and/or R4-N+HR7R8 X (lVb) in which R is a saturated or mono- or polyunsaturated, linear or branched alkyl group containing 6 to 22 carbon atoms which may optionally be substi-tuted by -OH, -NH2, -NH-, -CO-, -(CH2CH2O),- or -(CH2CH2CH2O)1-, R' is hydrogen, an alkyl group containing 1 to 4 carbon atoms, a hydroxy-alkyl group containing 1 to 4 carbon atoms or a group -R3COOM, R2 is hydrogen, an alkyl group containing 1 to 4 carbon atoms or a hydroxyalkyl group containing 1 to 4 carbon atoms, but only where M
represents a negative charge, R3 is a saturated or mono- or polyunsaturated, linear or branched alkyl group containing 1 to 12 carbon atoms which may optionally be substi-tuted by -OH, -NH2, -NH-, -CO-, -(CH2CH2O)1- or -(CH2CH2CH2O)1-, R4 is a substituted or unsubstituted, linear or branch6d, saturated or mono-or polyunsaturated alkyl group containing 6 to 22 carbon atoms which may contain at least one amine, imine, hydroxy, halogen and/or carboxy group as substituent, a substituted or unsubstituted phenyl group which may contain at least one amine, imine, hydroxy, halogen, carboxy and/or a linear or branched, saturated or mono- or polyunsaturated alkyl group containing 6 to 22 carbon atoms as substituent, R5 is hydrogen or - independently of R4 - has the same meaning as R4 , X7 is an anion from the group consisting of amidosulfonate, nitrate, halide, sulfate, hydrogen carbonate, carbonate, phosphate or R6-COO- where R6 is hydrogen, a substituted or unsubstituted, linear or branched alkyl group containing I to 20 carbon atoms or alkenyl group containing 2 to carbon atoms, which may contain at least one hydroxy, amine or 15 imine group as substituent, or a substituted or unsubstituted phenyl group which may contain an alkyl group with 1 to 20 carbon atoms as substituent, and R' and R8 independently of one another represent a substituted or unsub-stituted, linear or branched alkyl group containing,1 to 20 carbon atoms 20 or alkenyl group containing 2 to 20 carbon atoms which may contain at least one hydroxy, amine or imine group as substituent, or a substituted or unsubstituted phenyl group which may contain an alkyl group with 1 to 20 carbon atoms as substituent, M is hydrogen, alkali metal, ammonium, an alkyl group containing 1 to 4 carbon atoms, a benzyl group or a negative charge, n is an integer of I to 12, m is an integer of 0 to 5 and I is a number of 0 to 5, containing alkyl dimethylamine oxides and/or alkyl oligoglycosides as nonionic surfactants.

EP-B-629 234 discloses a lubricant combination consisting of a) one or more compounds corresponding to the following formula:
R' -N-(CH2)n-COOM

in which R' is a saturated or mono- or polyunsaturated, linear or branched alkyl group containing 6 to 22 carbon atoms which may optionally be substituted by -OH, -NHZ-, -NH-, -CO-, halogen or a carboxyl group, R2 is a carboxyl group containing 2 to 7 carbon atoms, M is hydrogen, alkali metal, ammonium, an alkyl group containing 1 to 4 carbon atoms or a benzyl group and n is an integer of 1 to 6, b) at least one organic carboxylic acid selected from monobasic or polybasic, saturated or mono- or polyunsaturated carboxylic acids containing 2 to 22 carbon atoms, c) optionally water and additives and/or auxiliaries.
WO 94/03562 describes a lubricant concentrate based on fatty amines and optionally typical diluents or auxiliaries and additives, charac-terized in that it contains at least one polyamine derivative of a fatty amine and/or a salt of such an amine, the percentage content of the polyamine derivatives of fatty amines in the formulation as a whole being from I to 100% by weight.
In one preferred embodiment of WO 94/03562, this lubricant concentrate contains at least one polyamine derivative of a fatty amine corresponding to the following general formula:

R-A-(CH2)k-NH-[(CH2~-NH]y-(CH2)m-NH2 - (H+)Q,,, in which R is a substituted or unsubstituted, linear or branched, saturated or mono-or polyunsaturated alkyl group containing 6 to 22 carbon atoms, the substituents being selected from amino, imino, hydroxy, halogen and carboxy, or a substituted or unsubstituted phenyl group, the substituents being selected from amino, imino, hydroxy, halogen, carboxy and a linear or branched, saturated or mono- or polyun-saturated alkyl group containing 6 to 22 carbon atoms, A represents either -NH- or -0-, X is an anion of an inorganic or organic acid, k, I and m independently of one another are integers of 1 to 6, y is 0, 1, 2or3whereA= -NH- or 1, 2,3 or4 whereA=-O- and n is an integer of 0 to 6.
Lubricants based on polytetrafluoroethylene are used in some bottling plants. They are present in the form of dispersions and are not applied to the chains in the usual way through nozzi-es, but instead by brushes. These lubricants have the advantage that they signfficantly reduce the friction between the conveyor belts and the containers transported thereon. In addition, the polytetrafluoroethylene adheres very strongly to the chains. A disadvantage encountered in practice was that the overall hygienic state in regard to germ population and soiling of the chain conveyors was adversely affected to such an extent that the performance profile of the lubricant gradually deteriorated as a result of the increase in soiling.
Another disadvantage encountered was that the dispersions of poly-tetrafluoroethylene were not stable in storage and gradually separated.
The result of this is that, over a prolonged period, varying amounts of active substance are applied to the chain conveyors.
When an attempt was made to clean the chain conveyors, it was found that the layer of lubricant was very difficult to remove from the chains.
In addition, investigation of the compatibility of polytetrafluoro-ethylene dispersions with plastics showed that they produce stress cracks in PET bottles.
The problem addressed by the present invention was to provide lubricants based on organic fluorine compounds which, on the one hand, would be stable in storage and, on the other hand, compatible with plastic containers and which at the same time would improve lubricating performance by comparison with the amines typically used as lubricants.
The present invention relates to the use of formulations containing at least one antimicrobial component and at least one fluorinated component selected from the group of:
a) perfluorinated or partly fluorinated monomeric organic compounds;
b) pure and mixed dimers and oligomers based on at least one perfluorinated or partly fluorinated organic monomer; or c) pure and mixed polymers based on at least one perfluorinated or partly fluorinated organic monomer, the polymer containing at least one monomer unit which contains either less than 70% by weight of fluorine, based on the weight of the total monomer unit, or more than 2 carbon atoms, for reducing the friction between conveyor installations and the containers transported thereon.
The present invention further relates to a method of lubricating the interface between a container and a moving conveyor surface. The method comprises forming an effective amount of a liquid lubricant composition between a container and a contact surface of the moving conveyor, where the lubricant comprises an aqueous solution including at least one antimicrobial component and a fluorinated monomeric organic compound.
The present invention also relates to an aqueous lubricantformulation to lubricate the interface between a moving conveyor and a container. The 8a lubricant comprises an aqueous medium, about 0.001 to 10 wt % of a fluorinated monomeric organic compound, and at least one antimicrobial component.
According to the invention, the definition of the boundary between oligomers and polymers is based on the generally known characterization of polymers which are made up of so many identical or similar low molecular weight units (monomers) that the physical properties of these substances, particularly their viscoelasticity, do not change significantly when the number of units is increased or reduced by one unit. This is generally the case when the average molecular weight of the "polymers" is 10,000 g/mole or more.
The term oligomers is used for the low molecular weight dimers, trimers and other lower members of the polymer-homolog series.
In one preferred embodiment, group a) comprises at least perfluo(nated and partly fluorinated surfactants, alkanes, ethers and amines, the formulations used in accordance with the invention in one particularly preferred embodiment containing ammonium perfluoroalkyl sulfonates, lithium perfluoroalkyl sulfonates, potassium perfluoroalkyl sulfonates, amine perfluoroalkyl sulfonates, sodium perfluoroalkyl sulfo-nates, potassium fluoroalkyl carboxylates, quatemary fluorinated alkyl ammonium iodides, ammonium perfluoroalkyl carboxylates, fluorinated alkyl polyoxyethylene ethanols, fluorinated alkyl alkoxylates, fluorinated alkyl esters in concentrations of 0.001 to 10%. The fluorinated components of group c) are preferably perfluorinated and/or partly fluorinated alkoxy polymers which, in one particulariy preferred embodiment, are obtainable from the copolymerization of tetrafluoroethylene and perfluoroalkoxyvinyl ethers.
In another preferred embodiment, the formulations to be used in accordance with the invention contain at least perfluorinated and/or partly fluorinated polyethers from group c).
In another preferred embodiment, the formulations to be used in accordance with the invention are present in the form of solutions, gels, emulsions, pastes, dispersions.
In one preferred embodiment, the formulations to be used in accordance with the invention additionally contain at least one antimicrobial component selected from the groups of alcohols, aidehydes, antimicrobial acids, carboxylic acid esters, acid amides, phenols, phenol derivatives, diphenyls, diphenyl alkanes, urea derivatives, oxygen and nitrogen acetals and formals, benzamidines, isothiazolines, phthalimide derivatives, pyridine derivatives, antimicrobial surface-active compounds,.guanidines, ar~timicro-bial amphoteric compounds, quinolines, 1,2-dibromo-2,4-dicyanobutane, iodo-2-propynyl butyl carbamate, iodine, iodophors, peroxides, the formulations to be used in accordance with the invention in one particularly preferred embodiment containing one or more compounds selected from ethanol, n-propanol, i-propanol, butane-1,3-diol, phenoxyethanol, 1,2-propylene glycol, glycerol, undecylenic acid, citric acid, 2-benzyl-4-chloro-phenol, 2,2'-methylene-bis-(6-bromo-4-chlorophenol), 2,4,4 =trichloro-2'-hydroxydiphenyl ether, N-(4-chlorophenyl)-N-(3,4-dichlorophenyl)-urea, N,N'-(1,10-decanediyldi-1-pyridinyl-4-ylidene)-bis-(1-octaneamine)-dihydro-chloride, N,N'-bis-(4-chlorophenyl)-3,12-diimino-2,4,11,13-tetraazatetra-decane diimidoamide, quatemary ammonium compounds or alkyl amines, guanidines, amphoteric surfactants as antimicrobial components.
Whereas stable formulations of polytetrafluoroethylene dispersions and antimicrobial components are very difficult or impossible to obtain, the formulations containing antimicrobial components to be used in accordance with the invention generally give stable formulations.
In another preferred embodiment, the formulations to be used in accordance with the invention additionally contain at least one component selected from the group of polyhydroxy compounds, more particularly from the groups of polyalcohols and carbohydrates, and - in one most particularly preferred embodiment - a component selected from polyhydric alcohols, preferably alkanediols, alkanetriols, more particularly glycerol, and the polyethers derived therefrom and glucose, arabinose, ribulose, fructose and the oligo- and/or polysaccharides derived therefrom and their esters and ethers.
In another preferred embodiment, the formuiations to be used in accordance with the invention contain other components selected from the groups of surfactants and solubilizing agents, at least one alkyl polyglycoside being present as surfactant in a particularly preferred embodiment. Other preferred constituents are fatty alkylamines and/or alkoxylates thereof, more particularly cocofatty amine ethoxylates, and/or imidazoline compounds and/or amphoteric surfactants and/or nonionic surfactants and/or ether carboxylic acids and/or ether amine compounds.
In another preferred embodiment, paraffin compounds are added to the formulations to be used in accordance with the invention. The water content of the formulations to be used in accordance with the invention is preferably below 20% by weight and more preferably below 10% by weight, based on the formulation as a whole, the formulations in particularty special embodiments containing no water which, in the context of the invention, means that water is not intentionally added to the formulation. In practice, the formulations to be used in accordance with the invention are applied to the chain conveyors. In the most favorable case, the transport of the containers on the conveyors is not accompanied by foaming. By comparison with conventional lubricants which are diluted with water by a factor of more than 100 in automatic conveyor installations, the formulations to be used in accordance with the invention reduce frictional resistance between the conveyor and the containers transported thereon by more than 20% by for the same quantities by weight of active lubricating components applied to the conveyor installation over a certain period of time. This is demonstrated by the following Examples.

Example I
A.comparison formulation I which contains 5% by weight of coconut propylenediamine and which is adjusted to pH 7 with acetic acid is applied to the chain conveyors in a concentration in water of 0.2% through a nozzle block comprising five nozzles each capable of spraying 5 liters per hour.
50 ml of the comparison formulation or ca. 2.5 g of the coconut propylenediamine are thus applied to the conveyor chains over a period of 1 hour. This test is carried out for 10 hours. According to the invention, the coefficient of friction between the bottles and the stainless steel conveyor chains is defined as the ratio of the tractive weight applied, for example, to a spring balance when an attempt is made to hold a bottle still while the conveyor is moving to the weight of that bottle.
Where the Comparison Example described above is used, the coefficient of friction p is 0.10. When spraying is stopped, the friction coefficient increases rapidly and the bottles fall over after only a few minutes.
In the Comparison Example, a total of 25 mi of lubricating coconut propylenediamine raw materials is applied to the conveyor chains over the total test duration of 10 hours. In a second test, 25 ml of a formulation to be used in accordance with the invention consisting of 5% by weight of perfluoropolyether and 95% by weight of glycerol is distributed over the chain conveyors with a cloth. The coefficient of friction between the bottles and the chain conveyor is then measured over a period of 10 hours under exactly the same conditions as in Comparison Example 1. The coefficient of friction p is between 0.04 and 0.05 over the entire test duration of 10 hours. This Example shows that the friction coefficient between the bottles and the conveyor system can be reduced by more than 20% and, in the present case, even by more than 40%.
Another preferred embodiment of the present invention is the use of the formulations to be used in accordance with the invention for the conveying of plastic containers, the plastic containers in one particularly preferred embodiment containing at least one polymer selected from the groups of polyethylene terephthalates (PET), polyethylene naphthenates (PEN), polycarbonates (PC), PVC. In one most particulariy preferred embodiment, the containers are PET bottles. In a laboratory test, the stress cracking of a Comparison Example based on 5% polytetrafluoro-ethylene dispersion is measured by comparison with a 5% perfluoropoly-ether solution in 95% glycerol.

Example 2 According to the test specification, PET bottles are filled with water and conditioned with carbon dioxide in such a way that a pressure of about 7 bar is present inside the bottles. The base cups of the bottles are then dipped in the formulation of the Comparison Example and the Example to be used in accordance with the invention and are placed in a Petri dish for 24 hours. Thereafter the bottles are opened, emptied and their base cups are rinsed with water. Visual inspection of the base cups of the bottles shows that, in the test with the Comparison Example, many stress cracks of average depth (classification C) are present whereas the test with the Example to be used in accordance with the invention produces only a few stress cracks of minimal depth (classification A). The stress cracks are classified in accordance with the reference images appearing in Chapter IV-22 of the book entitled "CODE OF PRACTICE - Guidelines for an Industrial Code of Practice for Refillable PET Bottles", Edition 1, 1993-1994.
Example 2 shows that the formulations to be used in accordance with the invention have advantages over polytetrafluoroethylene dispersions in the conveying of plastic bottles.
In another preferred embodiment, the formulations to be used in accordance with the invention are used for conveying paperboard packs.
In another preferred use, the conveying surfaces of the conveyor belts are made of plastic - in one particulariy preferred embodiment of polyacetal and polyethylene.
In another preferred embodiment, the conveying surfaces of the conveyor belt are made of metal - in one particulariy preferred embodiment stainless steel.
In another preferred embodiment, additional antimicrobial agents, more particularly organic peracids, chlorine dioxide or ozone, are addi-tionally incorporated in the formulations to be used in accordance with the invention through separate feed systems either before or after application of the formulations.

In another preferred embodiment, the formulations to be used in accordance with the invention are applied to the conveyor belts without dilution with water using an aid selected from paint brushes, sponges, rollers, cloths, brushes, wipers, rubber, spray nozzles. In another preferred embodiment, the formulations to be used in accordance with the invention are diluted with water in automatic conveyor systems and the resulting solution is applied to the conveyors through metering systems, the dilution factor being between 10,000 and 100. In another preferred embodiment, the formulations to be used in accordance with the invention are selected and applied in such a way that there is no further proliferation of microorganisms on surfaces in contact with the formulations or solution. In one most particulariy preferred embodiment, the number of microorganisms is reduced.
The formulations to be used in accordance with the invention are preferably used for the conveying of containers in the food industry. In particularly preferred cases, soil occurring is repelled by the conveyor belts conditioned with the formulation, the consumption of water is reduced by at least 80% and no lubricant drips onto the floor providing the lubricants are properly applied to the chain conveyors.

Claims

WHAT IS CLAIMED IS

1. The use of formulations containing at least one antimicrobial component and at least one fluorinated component selected from the group of a) perfluorinated or partly fluorinated monomeric organic compounds, b) pure and mixed dimers and oligomers based on at least one perfluorinated or partly fluorinated organic monomer, or c) pure and mixed polymers based on at least one perfluorinated or partly fluorinated organic monomer, the polymer containing at least one monomer unit which contains either less than 70% by weight of fluorine, based on the weight of the total monomer unit, or more than 2 carbon atoms, for reducing the friction between conveyor installations and the containers transported thereon.

2. The use claimed in claim 1, characterized in that group a) comprises at least perfluorinated and party fluorinated surfactants, alkanes, ethers and amines.

3. The use claimed in claim 1 or 2, characterized in that at least perfluorinated and/or partly fluorinated alkoxy polymers are present from group c).

4. The use claimed in claim 3, characterized in that compounds obtained by copolymerization of tetrafluoroethylene and perfluoroalkoxy vinyl ethers are present as alkoxy polymers.

5. The use claimed in claim 1 or 2, characterized in that at least perfluorinated and/or partly fluorinated polyethers are present from group c).

6. The use claimed in any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the formulations are present in the form of solutions, gels, emulsions, pastes or dispersions.

7. The use claimed in any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the at least one antimicrobial component is selected from the groups of alcohols, aldehydes, antimicrobial acids, carboxylic acid esters, acid amides, phenols, phenol derivatives, diphenyls, diphenyl alkanes, urea derivatives, oxygen and nitrogen acetals and formals, benzamidines, isothiazolines, phthalimide derivatives, pyridine derivatives, antimicrobial surface-active compounds, guanidines, antimicrobial amphoteric compounds, quinolines, 1,2-dibromo-2,4-dicyanobutane, iodo-2-propynyl butyl carbamate, iodine, iodophors, or peroxides.

8. The use claimed in claim 7, characterized in that the formulations contain one or more compounds selected from ethanol, n-propanol, i-propanol, butane-1,3-diol, phenoxyethanol, 1,2-propylene glycol, glycerol, undecylenic acid, citric acid, 2-benzyl-4-chlorophenol, 2,2'-methylene-bis-(6-bromo-4-chlorophenol), 2,4,4'-trichloro-2'-hydroxydiphenyl ether, N-(4-chlorophenyl)-N-(3,4-dichlorophenyl)-urea, N,N'-(1,10-decanediyldi-l-pyridinyl-4-ylidene)-bis-(1-octaneamine)-dihydrochloride, N,N'-bis(4-chlorophenyl)-3,12-diimino-2,4,11,13-tetraazatetradecane diimidoamide, quaternary ammonium compounds, alkyl amines, guanidines, or amphoteric surfactants as antimicrobial components.

9. The use claimed in any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that the formulations additionally contain at least one fluorinated component which is a polyhydroxy compound.

10. The use claimed in claim 9, characterized in that the polyhydroxy compound is selected from the groups of polyalcohols and carbohydrates.

11. The use claimed in any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that the formulations additionally contain at least one fluorinated component selected from polyhydric alcohols, and the polyethers derived therefrom, and glucose, arabinose, ribulose, fructose and the oligo- and/or polysaccharides derived therefrom and their esters and ethers.

12. The use claimed in any one of claims 1 to 11, characterized in that the formulations additionally contain components selected from the groups of surfactants and solubilizing agents.

13. The use claimed in claim 12, characterized in that at least one alkyl polyglycoside is present as surfactant.

14. The use claimed in any one of claims 1 to 13, characterized in that the formulations additionally have a water content of less than 20% by weight, based on the formulation as a whole.

15. The use claimed in claim 14, characterized in that the water content is below 10% by weight, based on the formulation as a whole.

16. The use claimed in any one of claims 1 to 15, characterized in that no foam is formed during the conveying of the containers on the conveyors.

17. The use claimed in any one of claims 1 to 16, characterized in that the formulations reduce the frictional resistance between the conveyor and the containers transported thereon by more than 20% in comparison to the same quantities by weight of conventional lubricants comprising 5% by weight of coconut propylenediamine and adjusted to pH7 with acetic acid, and which are diluted with water by a factor of more than 100 when applied to the conveyor installation over a certain period of time.

18. The use claimed in any one of claims 1 to 17 for the conveying of plastic containers.

19. The use claimed in claims 18, characterized in that the plastic containers contain at least one polymer selected from the groups of polyethylene terephthalates (PET), polyethylene naphthenates (PEN), polycarbonates (PC), or PVC.

20. The use claimed in claim 19, characterized in that the plastic containers are PET bottles.

21. The use claimed in any one of claims 1 to 19 for the conveying of paperboard packs.

22. The use claimed in any one of claims 1 to 21, characterized in that the conveying surfaces of the conveyor installation are made of plastic.

23. The use claimed in any one of claims 1 to 21, characterized in that the contact surfaces of the conveyor installation are made of metal.

24. The use claimed in any one of claims 1 to 23, characterized in that additional antimicrobial agents are separately added during application of the formulations.

25. The use claimed in claim 24, characterized in that the antimicrobial agents comprise an organic peracid, chlorine dioxide or ozone.

26. The use claimed in any one of claims 1 to 25, characterized in that the formulations are applied to the conveyor installations without preliminary dilution with water using an aid selected from paint brushes, sponges, rollers, cloths, wipers, rubber and spray units.

27. The use claimed in any one of claims 1 to 25, characterized in that the formulations are diluted with water in automatic conveyor systems and the resulting solution is applied to the conveyor installations through metering systems.

28. The use claimed in claim 27, characterized in that the dilution factor is between 10,000 and 100.

29. The use claimed in any one or more of claims 1 to 28, characterized in that there is no proliferation of microorganisms on surfaces in contact with the formulations.

30. The use claimed in any one of claims 1 to 29, characterized in that the number of microorganisms on surfaces in contact with the formulations is reduced.

31. The use claimed in any one of claims 1 to 30 for the conveying of containers in the food industry.

32. The use claimed in claim 11, wherein the polyhydric alcohols are alkanediols.

33. A method of lubricating the interface between a container and a moving conveyor surface, the method comprising forming an effective amount of a liquid lubricant composition between a container and a contact surface of the moving conveyor, the lubricant comprising an aqueous solution comprising at least one antimicrobial component and a fluorinated monomeric organic compound.

34. The method of claim 33 wherein the fluorinated monomeric organic compound comprises a perfluorinated monomeric organic compound.

35. The method of claim 33 wherein the fluorinated monomeric organic compound comprises a fluorinated surfactant, a fluorinated alkane; a fluorinated ether, a fluorinated amine or mixtures thereof.

36. The method of claim 33 wherein the lubricant is present in the form of a gel, emulsion, paste or dispersion of a liquid lubricant in an aqueous phase.

37. The method of claim 33 wherein the at least one antimicrobial component comprises alcohols, aldehydes, antimicrobial acids, carboxylic acid esters, acid amides, phenols, phenol derivatives, diphenyls, diphenyl alkanes, urea derivatives, oxygen and nitrogen acetals and formals, benzamidines, isothiazolines, phthalimide derivatives, pyridine derivatives, antimicrobial surface-active compounds, guanidines, antimicrobial amphoteric compounds, quinolines, 1,2-dibromo-2,4-dicyanobutane, iodo-2-propynyl butyl carbamate, iodine, iodophors, peroxides or mixtures thereof.

38. The method claimed in claim 33, wherein the at least one antimicrobial component comprises ethanol, n-propanol, i-propanol, butane-1,3-diol, phenoxyethanol, 1,2-propylene glycol, glycerol, undecylenic acid, citric acid, benzyl-4-chlorophenol, 3,3'-methylene-bis(6-bromo-4-chlorophenol), 2,4,4'-trichlor-2'-hydroxyphenyl ether, N-(4-chlorophenyl)-N-(3,4-dichlorophenyl)-urea, N, N'-(1,10-decanediydi-1-pyridinyl-4-ylidene)7-bis-(1-octaneamine)-dihydro chloride, N,N'-bis-(4-chlorophenyl)3,12-diimino-2,4,11,13-tetraazatetradecane diimidoamide, quaternary ammonium compound, alkyl amine, guanidine, or amphoteric surfactant.

39. The method of claim 33, wherein the lubricant additionally contains at least one fluorinated component selected from the group of fluorine free polyhydroxy compounds.

40. The method of claim 39 wherein the polyhydroxy compounds are selected from the groups of polyalcohols and carbohydrates.

41. The method of claim 33 wherein the composition additionally contains at least one fluorinated component comprising a polyhydroxy alcohol, or polyethers derived thereof, glucose, arabinose, ribulose, fructose, the oligo- or polysaccharides derived thereof or their esters or ethers.

42. The method of claim 33 wherein the lubricant further comprises a surfactant and a solubilizing agent.

43. The method of claim 42 wherein the lubricant further comprises at least one alkyl polyglycoside.

44. The method of claim 33 wherein the lubricant further has a water content of less than 20% by weight, based on the lubricant as a whole.

45. The method of claim 44 wherein the water content is less than 10% by weight, based on the lubricant as a whole.

46. The method of claim 33 wherein no foam is formed from the lubricant during the conveying of the containers on the conveyors.

47. The method of claim 33 wherein the frictional resistance between the conveyor and the containers transported thereon is reduced by more than 20%
in comparison to the same quantities by weight of conventional lubricants comprising 5% by weight of coconut propylenediamine and adjusted to pH7 with acetic acid, and which are diluted with water by a factor of more than 100 when applied to the conveyor.

48. The method of claim 33 for lubricating the interface between a conveyor and a plastic container.

49. The method of claim 48 wherein the plastic container comprises at least one polymer selected from the groups of polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polyethylene naphthenate (PEN), polycarbonate (PC), or polyvinyl chloride (PVC).

50. The method of claim 49 wherein the plastic containers are 2 liter beverage bottles.

51. The method of claim 33 for lubricating the interface between a conveyor and containers in paperboard packs.

52. The method of claim 33 wherein the conveyor surface is made of plastic.

53. The method of claim 33 wherein the contact surface of the conveyor is made of metal.

54. The method of claim 33 wherein antimicrobial agents are separately added to the conveyor.

55. The method of claim 54 wherein the antimicrobial agent comprises an organic peracid, chlorine dioxide or ozone.

56. The method of claim 33 wherein the lubricant is applied to the conveyor surface without preliminary dilution with water using an applicator selected from a brush, a sponge, a roller, a wiper or a spray.

57. The method of claim 33 wherein the lubricant is diluted with water in an automatic conveyor system and the resulting solution is applied to the conveyor surface through a metering system.

58. The method of claim 57 wherein the dilution factor comprises one part of lubricant per each 100 to 10,000 parts of water by volume.

59. The method of claim 33 wherein there is no further proliferation of microorganisms on surfaces in contact with the lubricant.

60. The method of claim 33 wherein the number of microorganisms on surfaces in contact with the lubricant is reduced.

61. The method of claim 33 for lubricating the interface between a conveyor and a food container.

62. An aqueous lubricant formulation to lubricate the interface between a moving conveyor and a container, the lubricant comprising an aqueous medium, about 0.001 to 10 wt % of a fluorinated monomeric organic compound, and at least one antimicrobial component.

63. The lubricant of claim 62 wherein the organic compound comprises a perfluorinated or partly fluorinated monomeric organic compound.

64. The lubricant of claim 62 wherein the organic compound comprises a perfluorinated surfactant, an alkane, an ether or an amine.

65. The lubricant of claim 62 wherein the formulation is present in the form of a liquid emulsion.

66. The lubricant of claim 62 wherein the at least one antimicrobial component is selected from the groups of an alcohol, an aldehyde, an antimicrobial acid, a carboxylic acid ester, an acid amide, a phenol or phenol derivatives, a diphenyl, a diphenyl alkane, an urea derivative, an oxygen or nitrogen acetal or formals, a benzamidine, an isothiazoline, a phthalimide derivative, a pyridine derivative, an antimicrobial surface-active compound, a guanidine, an antimicrobial amphoteric compound, a quinoline, 1,2-dibromo-2,4-dicyanobutane, iodo-2-propynyl butyl carbamate, iodine, an iodophor or a peroxide.

67. The lubricant of claim 62 wherein the at least one antimicrobial component is selected from ethanol, n-propanol, i-propanol, butane-1,3-diol, phenoxyethanol, 1,2-propylene glycol, glycerol, undecylenic acid, citric acid, 2-benzyl4-chlorophenol, 3,3'-methylene-bis(6-bromo-4-chlorophenol), 2,4,4'-trichlor-2'-hydroxydiphenyl ether, N-(4-chlorophenyl)-N-(3,4-dichlorophenyl)-urea, N,N'-(1,10-decanediyldi-1-pyridinyl-4-ylidene)-bis(1-octaneamine)-dihydrochloride, N,N'-bis(4-chlorphenyl)3,12-diimino-2,4,11,13-tetraazatetradecane diimidoamide, quaternary anmnonium compounds or an alkyl amine, a guanidine, or an amphoteric surfactant.

68. The lubricant of claim 62 wherein the formulations additionally contain at least one fluorine free polyhydroxy compound.

69. The lubricant of claim 68 wherein the polyhydroxy compound is selected from the group of polyalcohols and carbohydrates.

70. The lubricant of claim 62 wherein the formulation additionally contains at least one component selected from polyhydric alcohols, and the polyethers derived thereof, and glucose, arabinose, ribulose, fructose, the oligo- and/or polysaccharides derived thereof and their esters and ethers.

71. The lubricant of claim 67 wherein the formulation further comprises a surfactant or a solubilizing agent.

72. The lubricant of claim 67 wherein the lubricant further comprises an alkyl polyglycoside.

73. The lubricant of claim 67 wherein the formulation further has a water content of less than 20% by weight, based on the formulation as a whole.

74. The lubricant of claim 73 wherein the water content is below 10% by weight, based on the formulation as a whole.

75. The lubricant of claim 67 wherein the frictional resistance between the conveyor and the containers transported thereon is reduced by more than 20%
in comparison to the same quantities by weight of conventional lubricants comprising 5% by weight of coconut propylenediamine and adjusted to pH7 with acetic acid, and which are diluted with water by a factor of more than 100 in an automatic conveyor installation.

76. The lubricant of claim 62 further comprising an antimicrobial agent comprising organic peracid, chlorine dioxide or ozone.

77. The lubricant of claim 67 wherein each part by weight of lubricant is diluted with about 10,000 to 100 parts of diluent.

78. The use claimed in claim 11 wherein the polyhydric alcohols comprise alkanediols or alkanetriols.

79. The method of claim 41 wherein the polyhydroxy alcohol comprises an alkanediol or an alkanetriol.

80. The lubricant of claim 70 wherein the polyhydric alcohols comprise alkanediols or alkanetriols.