Patent ID: 6379394
Filing Date: 2002-04-30
Classification: C11D

Abstract:
A process for the soil-release treatment of an article based on woven cotton in an aqueous treatment medium, said cotton having a surface and a cotton/water interface, said process comprising the step of depositing, in the course of one or more washing, rinsing, softening, or drying operations, an amphiphilic soil-release agent on said article, said soil-release agent being soluble or dispersible in the treatment medium and comprising:at least one unit carrying a functional group having a cationic character and its counter-ion, and at least one unit having a hydrophobic character, being a linear, branched or cyclic alkyl or alkenyl group containing at least 4 carbon atoms, or an aryl group, configuring said agent at the cotton/water interface, said unit having a hydrophobic character being chemically bonded to the unit carrying a functional group having a cationic character via a hydrophilic chain, consisting of similar or different hydrophilic hydrocarbon oligomer or polymer units selected from the group consisting of polysaccharides, polyalkylene glycols, polyvinyl alcohols, polyvinyl alcohols copolymers, acrylic polymers and acrylic copolymers, optionally carrying sulphonate, carboxylate or phosphate functional groups, the soil-release agent being employed during washing by means of a washing formulation, during rinsing by means of a rinsing formulation, during softening by means of a softening formulation, or during drying by means of an absorbent support.