Performance of alpha olefin sulfonates derived from ziegler olefins in light duty liquid detergents

Abstract

Single carbon number olefins derived from Ziegler technology were sulfonated in a continuous fallingfilm SO3 reactor. The resulting alpha olefin sulfonate (AOS) was evaluated in a dishwashing test at several water hardnesses. Statistical analysis of the data led to the selection of compositions suitable for hand dishwash applications. AOS, prepared by sulfonating a blend of C14 and C16 olefins, was evaluated for hand dishwashing efficiency in a ternary mixture consisting of AOS, an alcohol ether sulfate and monoethanolamide. Regression equations calculated from the data permit the prediction of performance levels for all practical combinations of the three ingredients. The effect of unreacted olefin on AOS dishwash performance was also determined. With a binary blend of AOS and monoethanolamide it was shown that up to 5% free oil (based on AOS active) could be tolerated without significant deleterious effect.

AOS — An anionic surfactant system: Its manufacture, composition, properties, and potential application

“…The surface activity of such a blend is found to be slightly above that for a paraffin sulfonate blend used in some dishwash liquid detergents. Similarly, a 1/1 blend of Cl 6/C18 AOS with surface acitivity slightly below that for the C 13 LAS has been suggested as an effective laundry detergent active (20,24).…”

“…Much about the potential functionality of a surfactant may be inferred from an inspection of the surface active properties in aqueous solutions (38). Performance evaluations in hand dishwashing and cotton laundering testing have resulted in selection of optimum average molecular weights for AOS (20,24) under specific laboratory conditions. As an aid to better understanding the utility of AOS, the surface activity for C14, C16, C18, and C20 AOS was measured as a function of concentration ( Fig.…”

“…Optimum performance in hand dishwashing is reported to be achieved with a 2/1 combination of C14]C16 (20,24). The surface activity of such a blend is found to be slightly above that for a paraffin sulfonate blend used in some dishwash liquid detergents.…”

“…The direct sulfonation of c~-olefins with dilute SO3, both complexed and free, has been extensively investigated (2)(3)(4)(5)(6)(7)(8)(9)(10)(11)(12)(13)(14)(15)(16). Much is reported in the literature concerning the mechanism of the reactions, intermediates formed, and the composition of the complex final product referred to simply as AOS (17)(18)(19)(20)(21)(22). Numerous references (22)(23)(24)(25) are also available demonstrating the usefulness of AOS in laundry products, dishwash liquids, and personal care products (26)(27)(28)(29).…”