Stepan Company
Cold-water laundry detergents

Abstract:

Laundry detergents and their use for cold-water cleaning are disclosed. The detergents comprise a lipase and a mid-chain headgroup surfactant or an alkylene-bridged surfactant. The mid-chain headgroup surfactants have a C.sub.14-C.sub.30 alkyl chain and a polar group bonded to a central zone carbon of the C.sub.14-C.sub.30 alkyl chain. The alkylene-bridged surfactants comprise a C.sub.12-C.sub.18 alkyl chain, a polar group, and a C.sub.1-C.sub.2 alkylene group bonded to the polar group and a central zone carbon of the C.sub.12-C.sub.18 alkyl chain. Surprisingly, when combined with lipases, detergents formulated with the mid-chain headgroup or alkylene-bridged surfactants effectively liquefy greasy soils at low temperature and provide outstanding cold-water performance in removing greasy stains such as bacon grease, butter, cooked beef fat, or beef tallow from soiled articles.