US3791977A - Heavy duty exothermic all-purpose cleaning compositions - Google Patents

Abstract

HEAVY DUTY, EXOTHERMIC, ALL-PURPOSE CLEANING COMPOSITIONS HAVING UTILITY AS GENERAL CLEANING AGENTS, AS HAIR REMOVAL AND DRAIN CLEANING AGENTS, AND AS RUST REMOVAL AGENTS, WHICH COMPRISE, IN ADMIXTURE AND AS ESSENTIAL ACTIVE INGREDIENTS, AN ACIDIC AGENT AND A CAUSTIC ALKALI, WHICH, WHEN CONTANTED WITH WATER, ACT TO GENERATE A HOT SOLUTION CAPABLE, AMONG OTHER THINGS, OF FLUIDIZING, SOLUBILIZING AND/OR DIGESTING GREASE, OIL, GRIME, HAIR AND RUST. SMALL PROPORTIONS OF OTHER INGREDIENTS SUCH AS COMPARTIBLE SURFACTANTS, BLEACHING AGENTS GERMICIDES, AND THE LIKE, DESIRABLY ARE INCORPORATED IN THE COMPOSITIONS.

Description

United, States Patent 3,791,977 HEAVY DUTY EXOTHERMIC ALL-PURPOSE CLEANING COMPOSITIONS Selwyn J. Ancel, River Forest, and James O. Gladish,

Glenview, Ill., assignors to Chemtrust Industries Corporation, Maywood, Ill. N0 Drawing. Filed June 14, 1971, Ser. No. 153,102 Int. Cl. Clld 7/06, 7/16, 7/26 US. Cl. 252-156 1 Claim ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Heavy duty, exothermic, all-purpose cleaning compositions having utility as general cleaning agents, as hair removal and drain cleaning agents, and as rust removal agents, which comprise, in admixture and as essential active ingredients, an acidic agent and a caustic alkali, which, when contacted with water, act to generate a hot solution capable, among other things, of fluidizing, solubilizing and/or digesting grease, oil, grime, hair and rust. Small proportions of other ingredients such as compatible surfactants, bleaching agents, germicides, and the like, desirably are incorporated in the compositions.

This invention relates to heavy duty, exothermic, allpurpose cleaning compositions, generally in the form of powdered or granular compositions, which, in the presence of water, generate substantial heat and provide hot cleaning solutions which are highly effective for, among other things, cleaning hard-to-clean surfaces, for digesting hair and cleaning drains, and for removing rust.

The superiority of heated or hot solutions over cool, or cold, solutions for general cleaning, as well as other purposes, is well known. In many instances, however, due, for instance, to the nature and size of the surface to be cleaned, to the environment in which the solution is to be used, or to the absence, or the inconvenient location, of an external source of heat, or a combination of these factors, the superior action of heated or hot solutions cannot be realized or taken advantage of. Typical of situations in which one, or more, of the foregoing factors is encountered is in the cleaning of concrete floors and cold room areas such as coolers and walk-in refrigerations, construction sites, meat and seafood processing plants, and the like.

In accordance with the present invention, compositions are provided which are capable, in the presence of water, of quickly generating hot, point-of-use, solutions capable of performing a number of functions, irrespective of ambient temperature conditions, or the environment in which they are used. The compositions advantageously are manufactured in dry powder, granular or pulverulent form, and can be applied, in a dry state, directly to a surface, and then contacted with water to generate an onthe-spot, hot solution, or they can be. mixed with water in a suitable container to provide such a solution at the point of use. Apart from their ability to quickly and efficiently provide hot solutions for general cleaning and sanitizing purposes, the compositions of this invention are highly effective for removing hair, melting and removing solidified grease and other debris from slow-draining or clogged sink, shower and bathtub or other tub drains, and the like. In addition, they can be used to remove rust and other corrosion from metal surfaces.

In brief, the compositions of the present invention comprise, in admixture and as essential active ingredients, an acidic agent and a caustic alkali capable of reacting with the acidic agent in the presence of water. As used in the description to follow and in the claims, the term acidic agent is intended to include normally solid acids and acid-forming salts, and compatible mixtures thereof. The term acid-forming salt as used herein is intended to encompass normally solid compounds which, in the presence of water, are acid reacting or are capable of forming an acid reacting compound. The compositions can be formulated to provide hot solutions which are either acid or alkaline in character, depending upon the nature of the materials or substances to be removed from a surface, or to be digested. Small proportions of other ingredients advantageously are incorporated into the compositions to enhance, augment and complement the action of the essential components thereof.

The acidic agents which are useful in the production of the compositions of this invention include normally solid acids such as sulfamic acid, oxalic acid, fumaric acid, citric acid, gluconic acid, and the like; and acidformng salts such as hemi-sodium phosphate, monosodium phosphate, sodium bisulfate, and the like. Of the aforementioned acidic agents, sulfamic acid and oxalic acids are the preferred acids, and hemi-sodium phosphate and sodium bisulfate are the preferred acid-forming salts. Hemi-sodium phosphate is a compound formed of monosodium dihydrogen phosphate and phosphoric acid, available commercially as a high potency solid acid.

Specific examples of the caustic alkali ingredient of the compositions are sodium hydroxide, sodium oxide potassium hydroxide, calcium oxide, calcium hydroxide, and the like, and compatible mixtures thereof. As in the case of the acidic agents, the caustic alkalies having utility in the practice of the present invention are employed in their normally solid form.

The proportions of acidic agent and caustic alkali used in formulating the compositions are variable. The gen erally optimum results, both from the standpoint of heat generation and cleansing, or other, action, are, however, attained with compositions containing from about 25% to about by weight, of the acidic agent and from about 75% to about 25%, by weight, of caustic alkali. As indicated hereina-bove, a hot solution which is alkaline acting, or acid acting, can be obtained by employing more of one of the essential ingredients in relation to the other. In those instances where an essentially neutral, hot solution is desired, substantially equal, or stoichiometric, proportions of the acidic agent and the caustic alkali can be used.

As stated, various supplemental ingredients can be and desirably are incorporated into the compositions of this invention. These include compatible surfactants as, for example, certain anionic surfactants such as sodium dodecyl diphenylether disulfonate (Dowfax 2 A 1); as well as nonionic surfactants, especially of the polyoxyethylene types, which are exemplified by ethylene oxide adducts of long chain (e.g. C C aliphatic alcohols or of C -C monoalkyl and dialkyl phenols. Such surfactants, which are advantageously in the form of powders, are shown in numerous patents, illustrative of which are US. Pats. Nos. 2,855,367; 2,867,585; 2,914,482; 3,022,250; 3,029,205 and 3,156,655. The proportions of said surfactants, when employed, are utilized in amounts of approximately 0.75 up to about 2%, by weight, of the composition.

Additional supplemental ingredients are, among others, the trisodium salt of nitriloacetic acid, sequestrants for hard water, bleaching agents such as chlorineor oxygengenerating compounds, alcohols, ethers, glycols such as propylene glycol, ammonium chloride, dyes, colors, perfumes, antiseptics, germicides, bacteriostats, and the like. All such supplemental ingredients, when utilized, are employed in distinctly small proportions, each generally in the range of about 0.1 to about 1%, by weight, and without disturbing the solid form of the finished compositions.

In use, the compositions may be distributed in a dry state on a floor, or other surface, to be cleaned, for example, and then contacted with water by dipping a brush, broom, or the like, in a container of water, and thereafter applying it to the composition. Heat is immediately generated, and this, coupled with the cleansing properties of the composition and the scrubbing action of the cleaning instrument, enables the removal of substantially all dirt, grease, soil, grime, and the like, from the surface. The compositions can also be used by mixing them with predetermined quantities of water to develop an optimum amount of heat. Thus, for instance, about 1 pound of certain of the compositions of this invention, when added with stirring to about 1 gallon of Water at room temperature, will provide a solution having a temperature of the order of 160 to 180 F. Such a solution can be used for general cleaning purposes as well as to remove rust from steel. In using the compositions to free slow draining or clogged drains of hair and other debris, a trickle of warm or hot water is allowed to flow into the drain, at which time approximately a tablespoonful of the composition is introduced into the drain. Preferably the flow of water is then interrupted for 30 to 90 seconds to allow the composition to develop sufiicient heat, and to digest and disintegrate the hair and debris present in the drain. Temperatures developed by the compositions when used in this manner, depending upon the particular compositions employed, are of the order of 180 to about 210 F. The process is repeated as necessary to remove the hair.

The following examples are illustrative but in no way limitative of compositions mad-e in accordance with the present invention. It will be understood that many other compositions can readily be evolved in the light of the guiding principles and teachings contained herein. All parts recited are by weight which also represent the weight percent or approximate weight percent.

The compositions of Examples I, H and III are especially effective for removing hair from drains.

EXAMPLE IV A vessel containing 20 grams of hair in 200 grams of water was treated with grams of the compositions listed below. The hair was digested and degraded so that it could be easily flushed away by a water stream.

Sodium hydroxide 69.5 Sulfamic acid 30.0 Sodium dodecyl benzene sulfonate 0.5

Sodium hydroxide 60 Sulfamic acid 40 Sodium hydroxide 70 Sodium acid sulfate 20 Citric acid 10 Sodium hydroxide 50 Monosodium acid phosphate 50 Sodium hydroxide 50 Oxalic acid 50 Sodium hydroxide 50 Fumaric acid 50 Sodium hydroxide 50 Citric acid 50 EXAMPLE. V

Ingredients Sodium hydroxide 49.60 Sodium bisulfate 47.44 Sodium dodecyl benzene sulfonate 1.70 Dye r 0.01 Sodium dichloroisocyanurate 1.00 Dedusting oil 0.25

This composition was used to clean concrete floors under a variety of conditions and demonstrated superlor performance over various conventional cleaners.

EXAMPLE VI Ingredients:

Sodium hydroxide 49.76 Hemi-sodium phosphate 48.74 Nitriloacetic acid (tri-sodium salt) 0.50 DOWfaX 2 A 1 1.00

This composition was used as a cleaner in refrigerators and coolers with excellent results.

EXAMPLE VII Ingredients:

Sodium bisulfate 70 Sodium hydroxide 20 Citric acid 10 about 25% to about 75% of hemi-sodium phosphate in the form of a solid, and from about 75 to about 25 of a solid caustic alkali selected from the group consisting of sodium hydroxide and potassium hydroxide, an excess of the hemi-sodium phosphate being employed when an acid condition is required, and an excess of the caustic alkali being employed when an alkaline condition is required, the composition in either case being adapted for use with a sufficient quantity of water to essentially completely dissolve said ingredients and to serve as a vehicle therefor to accelerate the distribution thereof in the work area to enhance, augment and promote cleaning, hair removal and rust removal action of the said active ingredients.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS US. Cl. X.R.