Patent GB-996677-A (GB)
Title: Improvements in and relating to surface-active substances
IPC: C11D1/72
Filed: 1963-05-15
Abstract: Washing, wetting or emulsifying agents comprise (a) a salt of an ester of a surface-active sulpho fatty acid, said acid containing 10 to 24 carbon atoms in the molecule and having the sulphonic acid group in the a  position and said ester being formed with a monohydric alcohol containing 1 to 18 carbon atoms in the molecule or a polyhydric alcohol containing 2 to 4 carbon atoms per molecule, and (b) a salt of a sulpho fatty acid containing 10 to 24 carbon atoms in the molecule and having the sulphonic acid group in the a  position. Both components (a) and (b) may be present as the sodium, potassium or magnesium salts or as salts of organic bases containing up to 6 carbon atoms.  The sulpho-fatty acids are preferably derived from straight chain fatty acids.  The monohydric alcohols are preferably straight chain C1-C4 alcohols and the polyhydric alcohols have 2 to 4 carbon atoms, e.g. glycerol.  The sulpho-fatty acid salts are present in amounts of 5% to 65% by weight referred to the mixture of the components.  The sulpho-fatty acids may be present as disalts and the average chain length of the fatty acid residues in the disalts may correspond approximately with the chain length of the fatty acid residues present in the ester salts.  The compositions may also contain other anionic and non-ionic surface-active agents in amounts of up to 65% by weight of the total amount of surface-active agents present and the disalts are preferably used in amounts of at least 5% by weight of the total surface-active agents present.  When non-ionic detergents are present, these may constitute 10 to 90% by weight of the additional surface-active agents present.  The components (a) and (b) may constitute 10 to 75% by weight of the total composition. When component (a) contains a polyhydric alcohol and a sulpho-fatty acid residue of 10 to 24 carbon atoms, there may also be present in the molecule a fatty acid residue containing 2 to 6 carbon atoms and the sulphonate group may be present in either fatty acid residue.  The C10-C24 fatty acid residues may be derived from coconut fat, palm oil and palm kernel oil. The additional surface-active agents specified are alkali metal soaps derived from saturated or unsaturated C10-C24 fatty acids; alkyl benzene sulphonates; alkyl sulphonates; alkyl sulphates; acyl monoglyceride sulphates; sulphated alkanolamides; sulphated condensation products of ethylene oxide with alkylphenols, alkylthiophenols, fatty acid amides or fatty acid alkanolamides, fatty amines and mercaptans; ethylene oxide condensation products with fatty alcohols, alkyl phenols, fatty acids, fatty acid amides, fatty acid alkylolamides, alkylsulphonic and alkylbenzenesulphonic acid amides and alkylolamides, partial ethers or esters of polyhydric alcohols with fatty alcohols and fatty acids, amine oxides and products of ethylene, propylene and butylene mixed condensates with compounds containing a hydrophobic group and reactive hydrogen. Other additives specified are sodium sulphate and bisulphate, non-surface-active benzene toluene and naphthalene sulphonates, alkali metal carbonates and bicarbonates, silicates, phosphates and polyphosphates; inorganic and organic acids; percarbonates; persulphates; perortho, perpyro and perpolyphosphates; glue, gelatine, polymeric carboxylic acids, salts of ethercarboxylic acids or ethersulphonic acids of starch or cellulose; salts of acid sulphuric acid esters of cellulose or starch; and substituted or unsubstituted fatty acid amides.  Many specific examples are given.