Patent ID: 7387991

Claim:
A microemulsion comprising a. a surfactant consisting essentially of a combination of i. one or more alkoxylated amines or alkoxylated quaternay ammonium salts or mixtures thereof, chosen from the group consisting of wherein R is straight or branched alkyl or alkenyl containing from about 6 to 18 carbon atoms or is R 2 —O—R 3 — wherein R 2 is straight or branched alkyl or alkenyl containing from about 6 to 18 carbon atoms and R 3 is alkylene containing about 2 to 6 carbon atoms or is polyyalkyleneoxy containing about 1 to 3 ethyleneoxy or propyleneoxy groups, R 1 is H or —CH 3 , n and m are from about 1 to 19 and n+m is from about 2 to 20; and wherein R, R 1 , n, and m are defined as above, R 4 is ethyl or methyl, and X − is chloride, bromide, iodide, methosulfate, ethosulfate, sulfate, nitrate, or acetate; and ii. one or more carboxylic acids or salts thereof, or mixtures thereof, chosen from the group consisting of R 5 —COOM wherein R 5 is an aliphatic or olefinic branched or cyclic hydrocarbyl group with from about 4 to about 17 carbon atoms, or is a straight chain aliphatic or olefinic hydrocarbyl group with from about 5 to about 9 carbon atoms, and M is H + , alkali metal cation, ammonium, or mono, di, or trialkanolammonium; wherein the molar ratio of alkoxylated amine or alkoxylated quaternary ammonium salt or mixtures thereof to organic acid is from about 0.5 to 1 to about 2 to 1; and b. at least one solvent or oil that is liquid at 25° C. and is essentially insoluble in water, or a mixture of said solvents or oils, chosen from the group consisting of terpenes, terpene alcohols, terpene esters, hydrocarbon solvents, and ester solvents; and c. water.