Floor cleaning composition

• US 4,548,954 A
• Filed: 12/20/1984
• Issued: 10/22/1985
• Est. Priority Date: 07/06/1983
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Creative Products Resource, Inc. (Henkel AG & Co KGaA)
• Original Assignee: Creative Products Resource Associates, Ltd.
• Inventors: Smith, James A., Murphy, Betty J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Foelak, Morton
• Application Number:
  US06/684,384
• Time in Patent Office: 306 Days
• Field of Search: 521/52, 521/76, 521/159, 521/122, 521/905, 521/918, 521/123, 210/924
• US Class Current: 510/215
• CPC Class Codes: C08J 2375/04 Polyurethanes
• CPC Class Codes: C08J 2491/00 Characterised by the use of oils, fats or waxes; Derivatives thereof
• CPC Class Codes: C08J 9/0061 characterized by the use of several polymeric components
• CPC Class Codes: C09G 1/02 containing abrasives or grinding agents abrasives as such C09K3/14; polishing of semi-conductors H01L
• CPC Class Codes: C09G 1/10 based on mixtures of wax and natural or synthetic resin
• CPC Class Codes: C11D 1/72 Ethers of polyoxyalkylene glycols
• CPC Class Codes: C11D 17/048 Soap or detergent bars or cakes with an inner core consisting of insoluble material floating soaps C11D17/02
• CPC Class Codes: C11D 17/049 Cleaning or scouring pads; Wipes
• CPC Class Codes: C11D 3/0031 Carpet, upholstery, fur or leather cleansers
• CPC Class Codes: C11D 3/14 Fillers; Abrasives ; Abrasive compositions; Suspending or absorbing agents not provided for in one single group of C11D3/12; Specific features concerning abrasives, e.g. granulometry or mixtures dyes, pigments C11D3/40
• CPC Class Codes: C11D 3/162 containing Si
• CPC Class Codes: C11D 3/18 Hydrocarbons C11D3/164 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: C11D 3/373 containing silicones
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 521/905 Hydrophilic or hydrophobic cellular product
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 521/918 Physical aftertreatment of a cellular product

Abstract

An absorbent floor cleaning composition is disclosed comprising shreds of a hydrophilic, open-celled, solids-loaded polyurethane foam having an aqueous phase releasably absorbed therein. The composition is particularly effective to clean flooring fouled with oily or greasy soils.

Claims

1. A process for preparing an oil absorbent floor cleaning composition comprising:

(a) forming an aqueous reactant phase comprising about 25-70% by weight of abrasive solid particles, about 0.1-5% of the weight of the solid particles of a silane-coupling agent, about 0.1-10% of a nonionic surfactant, about 0.1-20% of a silicone fluid and about 15-40% water;

(b) mixing said aqueous reactant phase with a water-foamable prepolymer resin which contains at least 2 free isocyanate groups per resin molecule so that the final mole ratio of water to total free isocyanate groups is within the range of about 5-100;

1, thereby converting said resin into a hydrophilic, open-called, highly reticulated polyurethane foam bun;

(c) shredding said foam bun; and

(d) adsorbing an exterior aqueous phase into said shredded foam.

2. The process of claim 1 wherein said composition has a free-flow, bulk density within the range of about 0.15-0.4 g/cc and a shred size of about 5-20 mesh.

3. The process of claim 1 wherein the aqueous reactant phase further comprises about 1-15% by weight of an inorganic suspending agent.

4. The process of claim 1 wherein the aqueous phase further comprises about 1-20% of an organic solvent.

5. The process of claim 1 wherein the exterior aqueous phase is about 2-50% by weight of said shredded foam.

6. The process of claim 3 wherein said aqueous reactant phase is formed by slurrying the solid particles with the water, adding the silane-coupling agent, stirring and heating the water phase to 70°

-80°

F. and adding the suspending agent, the silicone fluid and the surfactant.

7. The process of claim 1 wherein the solid particles comprise silaceous mineral particles and said silane coupling agent is an aminoalkyl(tris-alkoxy)silane.

11. The oil absorbent floor cleaning composition formed by the process of claim 1.

8. A process for preparing an oil absorbent floor cleaning composition comprising:

(a) forming an aqueous reactant phase comprising about 20-35% by weight of water, about 0.1-10% of a nonionic surfactant, about 1-10% by weight of a polysiloxane silicone fluid, about 115% of an organic solvent, about 40-65% of abrasive mineral particles, about 0.1-5% by weight of the mineral particles of a silane-coupling agent and about 2-10% of an inorganic suspending agent;

(b) mixing said aqueous reactant phase with a water-foamable prepolymer resin in a weight ratio of aqueous phase to prepolymer of about 20-1;

1, said prepolymer resin comprising a toluene diisocyanate-capped polyalkoxylene ether polyol having a molecular weight within the range of about 1300-1400 and comprising about 1.5-2.5 mEq/g of isocyanate groups, so as to convert such resin into a hydrophilic, open-celled, friable polyurethane foam bun;

(c) shredding said bun into foam shreds having a bulk density of about 0.5-0.1 g/cc; and

(d) absorbing an exterior aqueous phase consisting essentially of water into said foam shreds to the extent of about 10-40% by weight of said shreds.

9. The process of claim 8 wherein the nonionic surfactant comprises the condensation product of a C₁₁ -C₁₅ fatty alkyl alcohol with about 3-45 moles of ethylene oxide.

10. The process of claim 8 wherein the weight range of aqueous phase to prepolymer resin is about 10-2:

1, wherein the abrasive mineral particles comprise about 50-65% by weight of the aqueous phase, and wherein said suspending agent comprises wollastonite.

12. The oil absorbent floor cleaning composition formed by the process of claim 8.