Method for the bleaching of kitchenware in a dishwasher

Abstract

The invention provides a method for bleaching kitchenware in a dishwasher, comprising the step of the in situ activation of a bleach activator by means of a reactive oxygen species, where the reactive oxygen species is generated in situ in the dishwasher by electrolysis of an aqueous solution.

1 .- 22 . (canceled) 
     
     
         23 . A method for bleaching kitchenware in a dishwasher, comprising the step of the in situ activation of a bleach activator by means of a reactive oxygen species, where the reactive oxygen species is generated in situ in the dishwasher by electrolysis of an aqueous solution. 
     
     
         24 . The method according to  claim 23 , where the reactive oxygen species is a reactive oxygen species which has at least one oxygen atom with the oxidation number −1. 
     
     
         25 . The method according to  claim 24 , where the reactive oxygen species is selected from the group consisting of hydrogen peroxide, hydrogen peroxide anions, perhydroxyl radicals and hydroxyl radicals. 
     
     
         26 . The method according to  claim 23 , where the electrolysis takes place in an electrolysis cell comprising at least one anode/cathode pair. 
     
     
         27 . The method according to  claim 26 , where the anode comprises electrically conductive diamond. 
     
     
         28 . The method according to  claim 27 , where the anode comprises diamond doped with boron. 
     
     
         29 . The method according to  claim 26 , where the cathode comprises diamond doped with boron. 
     
     
         30 . The method according to  claim 26 , where the electrolysis cell is a built-in part of the dishwasher. 
     
     
         31 . The method according to  claim 26 , where the electrolysis cell is a component separate from the dishwasher. 
     
     
         32 . The method according to  claim 31 , where the electrolysis cell is attached in the inflow line outside of the dishwasher, or is used as battery-operated electrolysis cell in the wash chamber. 
     
     
         33 . The method according to  claim 23 , where the electrolysis is carried out at current densities in the range from 10 to 200 mA/cm2. 
     
     
         34 . The method according to  claim 23 , where the electrolysis is carried out at current densities in the range from 0.1 to 16 A. 
     
     
         35 . The method according to  claim 23 , where the electrolysis takes place in one or more time intervals from 1 minute to 30 minutes, before or during the wash cycle. 
     
     
         36 . The method according to  claim 23 , where the method is carried out at temperatures in the range from 20 to 65° C. 
     
     
         37 . The method according to  claim 23 , where the aqueous solution comprises additives while carrying out the electrolysis, or additive are added to the aqueous solution after carrying out the electrolysis. 
     
     
         38 . The method according to  claim 37  where the bleach activator is one of the additives. 
     
     
         39 . The method according to  claim 23 , where the bleach activator is an acyl derivative, the acyl radical of which has the following formula: 
       
         
           
           
               
               
           
         
         where 
         R 1  is C 1-20 -alkyl or C 6-10 -aryl, 
         or 
       
       
         
           
           
               
               
           
         
         where 
         L 1  is C 1-20 -alkylene or C 6-10 -arylene. 
       
     
     
         40 . The method according to  claim 23 , where the bleach activator is a poly-N-acylated polyamine. 
     
     
         41 . The method according to  claim 23 , where the bleach activator is tetraacetylethylenediamine (TAED). 
     
     
         42 . The method according to  claim 23 , where the pH of the aqueous solution is in the range from 3 to 12. 
     
     
         43 . A combination of a dishwasher with an electrolysis cell located outside of the dishwasher in the inflow line. 
     
     
         44 . A combination of a dishwasher with a battery-operated electrolysis cell located in the wash chamber. 
     
     
         45 . The method according to  claim 23 , where the electrolysis is carried out at current densities in the range from 50 to 100 mA/cm2. 
     
     
         46 . The method according to  claim 23 , where the electrolysis is carried out at current densities in the range from 0.1 to 10 A, the electrolysis takes place in one or more time intervals from 5 minutes to 15 minutes before or during the wash cycle, the method is carried out at temperatures in the range from 20 to 40° C., and the pH of the aqueous solution is in the range from 6 to 11.