CA2152466A1 - Neutral self-shine emulsion for the care of floors (iv) - Google Patents

Abstract

An aqueous, floor care, self-shine emulsion composition having a pH
of 5 to 9 containing a natural or synthetic wax and a monoalkyl diethylene glycol ether having 1 to 4 carbon atoms in the alkyl moiety and mixtures thereof. Also described is a process of providing a shine to a floor using such a composition.

Description

~- ~ (,/;

- ~O 94/14910 PCT/EP93/034~8 A neutral self-shine emulsion for the care of floors (IV) This invention relates to a floor-care formulation in the form of a dispersion which dries leaving a shine on the floor. Formulations such as these are also known as self-shine emulsions.
Nowadays, new previously untreated floors and floors which have been subjected to thorough cleaning are mainly treated with self-shine emulsions to protect them against soiling and damage. These emulsions, which contain wax and/or film-forming polymers in varying amounts, form continuous, glossy and soil-repellent films on the floors after drying. Films with a high percentage wax content can easily be polished and, when necessary, are also easy to remove from the surfaces whereas films consisting pre-dominantly or completely of film-forming polymers are particularly resistant to mechanical stressing. A prob-lem affecting all self-shine emulsions, which has not yet been completely solved, is that the emulsions or disper-sions have to dry extremely uniformly on the surfaces if a completely continuous protective film is to be formed.
It is very often found that the initially continuous film of the aqueous dispersion breaks up on drying and, in some cases, even contracts to form individual droplets so that the floor-care film formed is patchy in appearance.
This effect is particularly noticeable in the case of the dispersions with a substantially neutral pH value which are preferred today. One of the problems addressed by the present invention was to provide an improvement in this regard. Another problem addressed by the invention was to improve the stability of the dispersions, above all during storage at low temperatures.
The present invention relates to an aqueous self-shine emulsion for the care of floors which, in undiluted _ Wo 94/14910 2 PCT/EP93/03488 form, has a pH value of 5 to 9 and which contains a natu-ral or synthetic wax and a monoalkyl diethylene glycol ether containing 1 to 4 carbon atoms in the alkyl moiety or a mixture of such ethers. Self-shine emulsions with a pH value in undiluted form of 6 to 8 are particularly preferred.
The new self-shine emulsions are distinguished by high stability in storage, particularly at low tempera-tures. A particularly noteworthy feature is their extremely uniform drying behavior characterized by the virtual absence of cracks in the film, so that uniform floor-care films of satisfactory appearance are obtained.
Another surprising feature of the formulations according to the invention is that they are resistant to microbial contamination so that there is no need for typical pre-servatives to be added.
Suitable waxes for the self-shine emulsions accord-ing to the invention are both natural waxes and synthetic waxes which may be of natural origin or even fully synthetic. Examples are polyethylene waxes, oxidized polyethylene waxes, montan ester waxes, paraffin waxes, candellila wax and carnauba wax. Of these waxes, montan ester wax, paraffin wax, carnauba wax and polyethylene wax are preferred in the formulations according to the invention. Wax mixtures of montan ester wax and polyeth-ylene wax and of montan ester wax and carnauba wax are particularly preferred. The wax content in the formula-tions according to the invention may be from 2 to 50% by weight and is preferably from 2 and 15% by weight.
Unless predo~ ntly self-emulsifying waxes are used, the emulsions according to the invention contain typical wax emulsifiers in quantities of 0.1 to 10% by weight and preferably in quantities of 0.5 to 3% by weight. Examples of such emulsifiers are oleyl cetyl alcohol ethoxylated with 20 moles of ethylene oxide (E0) - Wo 94/14910 3 PCT/EP93/03488 and sorbitan monooleate.
The second characteristic component of the self-shine emulsion according to the invention are monoalkyl diethylene glycol ethers containing 1 to 4 carbon atoms in the alkyl moiety which may of course also be used in admixture with one another. Methyl diglycol, ethyl diglycol and n-butyl diglycol are preferably used. In conjunction with the waxes in the aqueous neutral emul-sion, the ethers appear to be responsible for the unex-pected properties of the new formulations mentionedabove. Small quantities of the ethers are generally sufficient. Their percentage content in the formulations according to the invention is from 0.05 to 11% by weight and preferably from 3 to 8% by weight.
In addition to the waxes mentioned above, which make up the predominant part of the solids in the formulations according to the invention, the formulations may contain film-forming polymers in dispersed form. The polymer component is intended to make the floor-care films more resistant to mechAn;cal damage. The polymer compounds present in the self-shine emulsions are those which are at least partly insoluble in water at a neutral pH value and which have a minimum film forming temperature in the range from about 0 to about 70C. The polymer compounds in question are preferably polymers prepared from ethy-lenically unsaturated monomers. Examples of such mono-mers are styrene, acrylates or methacrylates of aliphatic alcohols containing 1 to 8 carbon atoms, acrylonitrile, vinyl acetate, acrylic acid and methacrylic acid.
Particularly preferred polymers are poly(meth)acrylates of two or more of these monomers which may even contain other monomers in small quantities. Most particularly preferred polymers contain 1 to 30 parts by weight of monomers contAining carboxylic acid groups, 30 to 70 parts by weight of monomers which form homopolymers with 2I 52~66 -- WO 9~./14910 4 PCT/EP93/03488 glass temperatures below 20 C, preferably esters of acrylic acid with Cl8 alcohols and/or methacrylic acid with C~-8 alcohols, and 30 to 70 parts by weight of monomers which form homopolymers having glass tempera-tures above room temperature, preferably methacrylates of Cl3 alcohols or styrene. Where several different polymer compounds of the type mentioned above are used in the form of a mixture, the film forming temperature deter-mined for the mixture should be in the range from 0 to 70C. The film forming temperatures mentioned apply to the plasticizer-free system, i.e. to the polymers with no further additives.
The polymers may be present in the formulations according to the invention in quantities of up to 30% by weight and, more particularly, in quantities of 2 to 10%
by weight. These figures apply to the pure polymers.
If the suspensions according to the invention are pro-ducedd from dispersed polymers of the type often avail-able on the market, the dispersions in question have to be used in correspondingly larger quantities in the production of the formulations according to the inven-tion.
In addition to the ingredients mentioned above, the self-shine emulsions according to the invention may con-tain other active substances and auxiliaries in relative-ly small quantities providing they do not adversely affect the positive properties of the formulations.
Examples include plasticizers, wetting agents and flow control agents, wetting resins, preservatives and perfume oils.
Plasticizers are intended to modify the consistency of the film, a distinction being drawn between temporary plasticizers and permanent plasticizers. Temporary plasticizers are volatile hydrophilic solvents which promote the coalescence of the polymer particles during Wo 9~/14910 5 PCT/EP93/0~488 film formation. Examples are ethylene glycol, diethylene glycol and also glycol ethers. Their percentage content in the formulations according to the invention is gener-ally not more than 15% by weight and is preferably between 0.5 and 10% by weight. Permanent plasticizers are liquids which are not volatile under normal condi-tions so that the character of the floor-care film can be lastingly influenced with their assistance. Examples of such plasticizers are dibutyl phthalate, tributyl phos-phate, tributoxyethyl phosphate and N-methyl caprolactam.
Permanent plasticizers also are generally present in the suspensions according to the invention in quantities of not more than 15% by weight and preferably in a quantity of 0.5 to 10% by weight.
Wetting agents and flow control agents are intended to improve the wetting of the treated surface during application of the self-shine emulsion. In addition, they make the emulsion easier to dilute with water, for example for application to wet floors. Suitable wetting and flow control agents are any of the usual surfactants, more particularly nonionic and anionic surfactants, for example ethoxylates of long-chain alcohols or alkyl benzene sulfonates and fatty alcohol sulfates. Fluorine surfactants are also used in many cases and produce a particularly mar~ed reduction in surface tension. The content of wetting and flow control agents is generally not more than 5% by weight, based on the total weight of the self-shine emulsion, and is preferably between 0.1 and 2% by weight. Surface wetting during application can also be improved with wetting resins. Wetting resins are preferably styrene/maleate resins or clear polyacrylates.
Their content in the formulations is generally not more than 5% by weight and is preferably from 0.1 to 2% by weight.
The formulations may be prepared by standard suspen-~0 94/14910 6 PCT/EP93/03488 ding processes. For example, they may be prepared by the water-in-wax method or by the wax-in-water method. If nece~c~ry, the pH of the formulation is adjusted to the required value in the neutral range (pH 5 to pH g) by addition of alkalis or acids.~
The self-shine emulsions according to the invention are generally applied in undiluted form. The emulsions are applied to the surface and uniformly distributed thereon in the required quantity using a soft object, for example a sponge or a cloth. After evaporation of the water, an extremely uniform, glossy film is left on the surface in this floor-care process.

Examples A wax-in-water dispersion was first prepared from the waxes and emulsifiers listed in the Table and then mixed with the other components to form the final formu-lations. Unless otherwise indicated, the figures in the Table are percentages by weight, based on the pure active substances. The self-shine emulsions thus prepared were then tested for their stability during storage at low temperatures and for their flow control properties.
To evaluate stability at low temperatures, the samples were stored for 12 weeks at O to 3C. Over this period, the samples were removed weekly from the freezer and visually evaluated on reaching room temperature.
Visible signs of instability were flocculation, sediment, deposits and changes in viscosity. Evaluation was~based on the following scale:
O uniform, homogeneous sample 1 slight deposits or sediment after 12 weeks 2 slight deposits or sediment after 3 weeks 3 medium deposits or sediment after 3 weeks 4 heavy deposits or sediment after 3 weeks - Wo 94/14910 7 PCT/EP93/03488 very heavy deposits or sediment after 3 weeks The flow control properties were determined by application to black untreated PVC sheets under condi-tions which meet practical requirements. To this end, 10ml of the suspension to be tested were uniformly applied by hand applicator to a 30 x 60 cm PVC tile in each test.
The applicator consisted of an upholstery velvet stretch-ed over a frame with an effective surface area of 20 x 5.5 cm. After drying, the appearance of the surface was visually evaluated on the following scale:

0 streak-free 1 faintly visible uniform streaks 2 distinctly visible streaks 3 distinct, uneven streaks 4 heavy uneven residues.

2 1 5 2 ~ 6 6 -_ Wo 94/14910 8 PCT/EP93/03488 Tabl~ 1 Example 1 2 Isothiazoline 0.02 Montan wax, dropping point 3.5 3.5 Ester wax, solidification 3.5 3.5 point 85C
Oleyl cetyl alcohol + 23 E0 0.5 0.5 Isotridecyl alcohol + 8 E0 1.0 1.0 Styrene acrylate MFT 45CC* 4.5 4.5 Zonyl FSJ (fluorine surfactant) 0.02 0.02 Diethyl ethanolamine 0.3 0.3 Perfume 0.2 0.2 Diethylene glycol mono-n- - 10.0 butyl ether Water ad 100 ad 100 pH value 8.4 8.4 Stability in storage at 0-3C 3 0 Flow control properties 4 *MFT = minimum film forming temperature The test results clearly reflect the advantageous properties of self-shine emulsion 2 according to the invention in relation to comparison formulation 1.

Claims (9)

1. An aqueous self-shine emulsion for the care of floors which has a pH value of 5 to 9 in undiluted form, containing a natural or synthetic wax and a monoalkyl diethylene glycol ether containing 1 to 4 carbon atoms in the alkyl moiety or a mixture of such ethers.

2. A self-shine emulsion as claimed in claim 1 which has a pH value in undiluted form of 6 to 8.

3. A self-shine emulsion as claimed in claim 1 or 2 containing a monoalkyl diethylene glycol ether from the group consisting of diethylene glycol monomethyl ether, diethylene glycol monoethyl ether, diethylene glycol mono-n-butyl ether-and mixtures thereof.

4. A self-shine emulsion as claimed in any of claims 1 to 3, in which the wax content is between 2 and 50% by weight and preferably between 2 and 15% by weight.

5. A self-shine emulsion as claimed in any of claims 1 to 4 additionally containing up to 30% by weight and preferably 2 to 10% by weight of an at least partly water-insoluble polymer compound with a minimum film forming temperature of 0 to 70°C or a mixture of several polymer compounds with this property.

6. A self-shine emulsion as claimed in any of claims 1 to 5 containing 0.05 to 11% by weight and preferably 3 to 8% by weight of a monoalkyl diethylene glycol ether containing 1 to 4 carbon atoms in the alkyl moiety or a mixture of such ethers.

7. A self-shine emulsion as claimed in any of claims 1 to 6 containing a wax from the group consisting of montan ester wax, paraffin wax, carnauba wax, polyethylene wax and mixtures thereof.

8. A self-shine emulsion as claimed in claim 7 con-taining a mixture of montan ester wax with polyethylene wax or carnauba wax.

9. The use of the self-shine emulsion claimed in any of claims 1 to 8 in undiluted form for the care of floors.