GB2166152A - Mixtures of sulphonated fatty acid esters and other organic compounds - Google Patents

Mixtures of sulphonated fatty acid esters and other organic compounds Download PDF

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Publication number
GB2166152A
GB2166152A GB08525637A GB8525637A GB2166152A GB 2166152 A GB2166152 A GB 2166152A GB 08525637 A GB08525637 A GB 08525637A GB 8525637 A GB8525637 A GB 8525637A GB 2166152 A GB2166152 A GB 2166152A
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Prior art keywords
fatty acid
acid ester
sulphur trioxide
organic compound
process according
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GB08525637A
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GB2166152B (en
GB8525637D0 (en
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David William Roberts
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Unilever PLC
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Unilever PLC
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Priority to IN283/BOM/85A priority Critical patent/IN163971B/en
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Publication of GB8525637D0 publication Critical patent/GB8525637D0/en
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    • CCHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
    • C07ORGANIC CHEMISTRY
    • C07CACYCLIC OR CARBOCYCLIC COMPOUNDS
    • C07C309/00Sulfonic acids; Halides, esters, or anhydrides thereof
    • CCHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
    • C11ANIMAL OR VEGETABLE OILS, FATS, FATTY SUBSTANCES OR WAXES; FATTY ACIDS THEREFROM; DETERGENTS; CANDLES
    • C11DDETERGENT COMPOSITIONS; USE OF SINGLE SUBSTANCES AS DETERGENTS; SOAP OR SOAP-MAKING; RESIN SOAPS; RECOVERY OF GLYCEROL
    • C11D1/00Detergent compositions based essentially on surface-active compounds; Use of these compounds as a detergent
    • C11D1/02Anionic compounds
    • C11D1/12Sulfonic acids or sulfuric acid esters; Salts thereof
    • C11D1/28Sulfonation products derived from fatty acids or their derivatives, e.g. esters, amides
    • CCHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
    • C11ANIMAL OR VEGETABLE OILS, FATS, FATTY SUBSTANCES OR WAXES; FATTY ACIDS THEREFROM; DETERGENTS; CANDLES
    • C11DDETERGENT COMPOSITIONS; USE OF SINGLE SUBSTANCES AS DETERGENTS; SOAP OR SOAP-MAKING; RESIN SOAPS; RECOVERY OF GLYCEROL
    • C11D11/00Special methods for preparing compositions containing mixtures of detergents
    • C11D11/04Special methods for preparing compositions containing mixtures of detergents by chemical means, e.g. by sulfonating in the presence of other compounding ingredients followed by neutralising

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  • Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
  • Organic Chemistry (AREA)
  • Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (AREA)
  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Chemical Kinetics & Catalysis (AREA)
  • Oil, Petroleum & Natural Gas (AREA)
  • Wood Science & Technology (AREA)
  • Organic Low-Molecular-Weight Compounds And Preparation Thereof (AREA)

Abstract

A process for the manufacture of sulphonated mixtures of fatty acid esters and organic compounds, the sulphonation product whereof are detergent-active, comprises preparing the sulphonated fatty acid ester with an excess amount of sulphur trioxide, adding the organic compound in a quantity which is less than 80 mole % of the excess sulphur trioxide, and neutralizing the reaction mixture. High degrees of sulphonation are achieved.

Description

SPECIFICATION Process for the manufacture of detergent active mixtures The present invention relates to a process for the manufacture of detergent-active mixtures.
More in particular, it relates to a cosulphonation process for the manufacture of sulphonated mixtures of fatty acid esters and organic compounds the sulphonation products whereof are detergent-active.
Detergent-active mixtures of this type are of value in detergent products without restriction to the product form and may be used in association with other types of detergent-actives and conventional detergent additives.
Fatty acid ester sulphonates are manufactured by reacting the corresponding fatty acid ester with strong sulphonation agents, in particular, sulphur trioxide in admixture with inert gas. In order to achieve high degrees of sulphonation, amounts of sulphur trioxide in excess of 1:1 stoechiometry with the fatty acid ester are used.
In the German Patent Specification No. 1.418.887 a process is described wherein the molar excess of sulphur trioxide over the fatty acid ester is used for the cosulphation of hydroxyl groups containing compounds such as fatty alcohols, fatty alkylolamides, alkylphenols, etc. The hydroxyl group containing compound is added to the sulphonated fatty acid ester reaction mixture in a molar quantity wich is equal to or exceeds the molar excess of sulphur trioxide over the fatty acid ester. In this process the hydroxylgroup containing compound is sulphated to degrees of up to 90%.
The presence of quantities of unreacted organic compounds, such as for instance unreacted fatty alcohols, is undesirable since they do not contribute to detergency, and therefore negatively influence the manufacturing economy of the product. They often have impairing effects on product characteristics, such as on foaming properties, rheology etc. It is therefore important to achieve a degree of sulphonation as high as possible.
It has now been found that in mixtures of sulphonated fatty ester and excess amount of sulphur trioxide, only part of the remaining SO3 is in a form which is instantly available as sulphonation agent and can be suitably used in a further sulphonation step.
Accordingly, the present invention provides a process for the manufacture of sulphonated mixtures of fatty acid ester and an organic compound the sulphonation product whereof is detergent-active, comprising the steps of: (1) reacting the fatty acid ester with a molar excess of sulphur trioxide over 1:1 stoechiometry with the fatty acid ester; (2) adding the organic compound, optionally in admixture with the sulphonation product thereof, to the reaction mixture produced in step (1); and (3) neutralizing the reaction mixture produced in step (2); the organic compound being added in a quantity which is less than about 80 mole % of the excess of sulphur trioxide.
In the first step of the process the fatty acid ester is sulphonated with a molar excess of sulphur trioxide. The molar excess of sulphur trioxide which must be used to achieve substantially complete sulphonation of the fatty acid ester is dependent of the reactivity of the ester starting material and the temperature. Preferably the mole ratio of sulphur trioxide to fatty acid ester is within the range up to 2.5:1, such as within the range of from 1.5:1 to 2.5:1. Reaction temperatures lie within the range of 0 to 150"C and preferably 30 to 130"C.
Preferably the fatty acid ester/sulphur trioxide reaction mixture is subjected to an ageing step during which the sulphonation of the fatty acid ester to alpha sulphonated material proceeds substantially to completion. The period of the ageing step will reduce with the use of higher molar levels of the sulphur trioxide in the sulphonation mixture. For example when the sulphonation of methyl laurate is performed at 60"C with a mole ratio of 2:1 for sulphur trioxide:ester the ageing period is almost zero, whereas for sulphonation at 70"C with a mole ratio of 1.3:1 it is about 30-45 minutes.
The organic compound is added to the reaction mixture of step (1) after substantially complete sulphonation of the ester. It is added in a quantity which is less than 80 mole %, in particular from 30 to 80 mole % of the excess of sulphur trioxide over 1:1 stoechiometry with the ester.
Best results are achieved when the organic compound is added in a quantity which lies within the range of 40 to 60 mole % of the excess of sulphur trioxide over 1:1 stoechiometry with the ester.
The organic compound reacts with the instantly reactive part of the sulphur trioxide without the need of further heating or ageing, but there is no bar to such further heating.
After addition of the organic compound the reaction mixture may be immediately neutralized with suitable alkali.
The fatty acid esters will usually be derived from naturally occurring fatty acids, but petroleum derived, synthetic, fatty acids can also be used. Suitable are fatty acids having 8 to 22 carbon atoms in the alkyl chain, which are esterified with C1-C6 alcohols, such as methanol or ethanol.
Examples of the sources of glycerides from which suitable fatty acids can be obtained are coconut oil, tallow, palm oil, palm kernel oil, fish oils, soya, babassu and tall oils. The fatty acids will usually be hardened to an lodine Value of 1 or below to reduce the formation of coloured species during sulphonation. Some oils, e.g. tallow, soya and some fish oils, will require hydrogenation to provide suitable fatty acids.
The sulphonation in step (1) is performed using sulphur trioxide in liquid or in gaseous form.
Gaseous sulphur trioxide will be admixed with a diluent gas. The diluent gas, which is normally air, is required to be inert in the sulphonation reaction; nitrogen or carbon dioxide are other suitable diluent gases.
The organic compound should be sulphonatable to yield a detergent-active material. Suitable examples thereof are primary and secondary (C1o-C28) alcohols, (Cro-C20) olefins, alkylphenols and alkylbenzenes having 10 to 16 carbon atoms in the alkyl chain. Preferred are primary fatty alcohols.
When detergent-active mixtures are required having a high ratio of sulphonated organic compound to sulphonated product of the fatty acid ester, it is of advantage to add the organic compound in admixture with the sulphonation product thereof to the reaction mixture produced in step 1. In particular for organic compounds the sulphonation product whereof is not stable in pure form, the use of partially converted material in step 2 of the process, is a preferred way to achieve complete sulphonation of the organic compound in the resulting detergent-active mixture.
Since primary alcohol sulphates are only stable as such, i.e. in their acidic form, to degrees of sulphation below about 90%, they are preferably added in step (2) of the process in up to 90% sulphated form yielding detergent-active mixtures with a high ratio of primary alcohol sulphate to sulphonated product of the fatty acid ester.
The process of the invention will now be further illustrated by way of examples.
Laboratory scale sulphonation experiments were designed to simulate a batch process in a stirred tank reactor. The reaction vessel was a Pyrex 3-necked flask fitted with stirrer, a reflux condenser and a gas inlet tube for introduction of SO3/nitrogen below the surface of the liquid being sulphonated. Gaseous SO,3 (about 10% v/v in nitrogen) was produced by adding liquid SO3 from a burette to a vapouriser, consisting of a Pyrex flask heated at 100" and connected to a supply of dry nitrogen and to the reaction vessel. Mole ratios of SO3 to ester or S03 to alcohol were calculated from the amount of liquid S03 fed to the vapouriser and the weight of ester used. NMR analysis was with the Bruker 360 MHz instrument in all cases.
Example 1 Sulphur trioxide (52.39., 0.654 mole) was added, as a gaseous mixture with nitrogen, to methyl laurate (70.or., 0.327 mole) at 50"C, with stirring, over a period of 1 hour. The resulting sulphonation product was stored at 50 for 90 min, whilst lauryl alcohol (1009., 0.538 mole) was partially sulphated to a nominal 76% conversion by addition of sulphur trioxide (32.79., .409 mole), as a gaseous mixture with nitrogen, at 50".
The sulphonated methyl laurate and the partially sulphated lauryl alcohol were then mixed, and the mixture was kept at 50". Samples were neutralised after 5 min and 2 hr, and a further sample was neutralised after the mixture had been stored at room temperature for 5 days. The neutralised samples were analysed by 'H NMR, using a Bruker 360 MHz instrument, to give the composition data shown in the table I.
Example II Sulphur trioxide (74.79., .934 mole) was added to methyl laurate (100 g., 467 mole) at 60 , over a period of 1 hr. After storage of the resulting sulphonation product for 3 hr., a sample (10g.) was added to a molten lauryl alcohol (2.49). The resulting mixture was stored in an open beaker at 60 for 5 min, then methanol (0.6 ml) was added and the mixture was neutralised. 'H NMR analysis gave the composition data shown in the table I.
Example 111 Sulphur trioxide (74.79., .934 mole) was added to methyl laurate (1009., .467 mole) at 600, over a period of 1 hr. The resulting sulphonation product was stored at 400.
Sulphur trioxide (ca. 309., .38 mole) was added to lauryl alcohol (100 g., 0.537 mole) at 40 , over a period of 1 hr. The resulting sulphonation product was examined by 'H NMR after 1 hr, 2 1/2 hr and 21 hr. In all these cases the composition was found to be 71-72 mole % C12H2sSO4H and 28-29 mole % C12H250H, no other species being detected.
Samples (209.) of the lauryl alcohol partial sulphation product when it was 1 hr and 21 hrs old were mixed at 40 , by manual swirling in an open beaker, with samples (21.69) of the methyl laurate sulphonation product. The resulting products were neutralised after 5 min and analysed by 'H NMR, which gase the data shown in the table I.
Example IV Lauryl alcohol (1509., 0.806 mole) was partly sulphated at 40 by addition of sulphur trioxide (58.09., 0.725 mole), as in the previous examples. 'H NMR gave the conversion of C,2H250H to C,2H250SO3H as 84.5% (immediately after completion of SO3 addition) and 83% (after storage at 40 overnight).
Methyl laurate (709., 0.327 mole) was sulphonated at 60 with sulphur trioxide (52.39, 0.654 mole), as in the previous examples.
5.0g of the resulting mixture was added to 10g of the one-day old lauryl alcohol partial sulphation product described in the preceding paragraph, at 400, in an open beaker. NMR analysis on the product obtained after neutralisation (5 minutes after mixing) gave the data shown in the table I.
Table I Example No. I II III IV conversion of alkylalcohol 70% 0% 71 - 72% 83% to alkylsulphste before step (2) Imbile ratio between aIkylalochol 40% 48% 40 - 41% 49% land unreacted sulphurtrioxide in Istep (2) loomposition of final sulphonation Product in nole % based on total a) b) active: alkyl sulphate 63% 28% 55% 54% 72% I fatty acid ester sulphonate 11% 44% 24% 26% 12.2% I fatty acid sulphonate 25% 27% 20% 20% 12.5% others 1% 1% 1% - 3.3% conversion: alkylalchol to aItylsulphate 100% 100% 100% 100% 96% Ifatty acid ester to fatty acid 98% 98.5% 98% 100% 99% I (ester) sulphonate a) alkylalcohol partial-sulphonation product wax mixed with fatty acid ester sulphonation product after 1 hour.
b) alkylalcohol partial-sulphonation product wax mixed with fatty acid ester sulphonation product after 21 hour.

Claims (10)

1. A process for preparation of sulphonated mixture of fatty acid ester and an organic compound the sulphonation product whereof is detergent-active comprising the steps of: (1) reacting the fatty acid ester with a molar excess of sulphur trioxide over 1:1 stoechiometry with the fatty acid ester; (2) adding the organic compound, optionally in admixture with the sulphonation product thereof, to the reaction mixture produced in step (1); and (3) neutralizing the reaction mixture produced in step (2); the organic compound being added in a quantity which is less than about 80 mole % of the excess of sulphur trioxide.
2. A process according to claim 1 wherein the mole ratio of sulphur trioxide to fatty acid ester in step (1) is within the range of from 1.5:1 to 2.5:1.
3. A process according to claim 1 or 2 wherein the reaction temperature in step (1) is within the range of from 30 C to 130"C.
4. A process according to anyone of the preceding claims wherein the reaction mixture of step (1) is subjected to an ageing step.
5. A process according to anyone of the preceding claims wherein the organic compound is added in a quantity which is of from 30 to 80 mole % of the excess of sulphur trioxide over 1:1 stoechiometry with the fatty acid ester.
6. A process according to claim 5 wherein the organic compound is added in a quantity which is of from 40 to 60 mole % of the excess of sulphur trioxide over 1:1 stoechiometry with the fatty acid ester.
7. A process according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the fatty acid ester is derived from fatty acids having 8 to 22 carbon atoms in the alkyl chain, which are esterified with C,-C6 alcohols.
8. A process according to claim 7 wherein the fatty acid is hardened to an lodine Value of 1 or less.
9. A process according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the organic compound is a primary fatty alcohol having from 10 to 28 carbon atoms.
10. A process according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the organic compound is added in admixture with the sulphonation product thereof.
GB08525637A 1984-10-19 1985-10-17 Mixtures of sulphonated fatty acid esters and other organic compounds Expired GB2166152B (en)

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Cited By (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
CN111138322A (en) * 2019-12-27 2020-05-12 赞宇科技集团股份有限公司 Production process of high-quality alkyl benzene sulfonic acid

Citations (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
GB720195A (en) * 1951-04-20 1954-12-15 Colgate Palmolive Peet Co Synthetic detergent compositions

Patent Citations (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
GB720195A (en) * 1951-04-20 1954-12-15 Colgate Palmolive Peet Co Synthetic detergent compositions

Cited By (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
CN111138322A (en) * 2019-12-27 2020-05-12 赞宇科技集团股份有限公司 Production process of high-quality alkyl benzene sulfonic acid

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GB2166152B (en) 1988-03-23
GB8525637D0 (en) 1985-11-20
PH21179A (en) 1987-08-07

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Effective date: 20031017