Method of Dispersing Hydrophobic Substances in Aqueous Cleansing System

Abstract

This disclosure relates to a method for making a dispersion, comprising preparing an aqueous phase comprising water and a surfactant; combining a hydrophobic substance and a plurality of particles comprising cellulose to form a concentrate; and mixing the aqueous phase and concentrate to provide a dispersion. This abstract is intended as a scanning tool for purposes of searching in the particular art and is not intended to be limiting of the present disclosure.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method for making a dispersion, the method comprising:
 (a) preparing an aqueous phase comprising water and a surfactant;   (b) combining a hydrophobic substance and a plurality of particles comprising cellulose, wherein the particles have:
 i. a mean particle size of from about 0.1 to about 100 microns; 
 ii. an aspect ratio of from about 1 to about 1.5; and 
 iii. a non-spherical shape, 
 wherein at least a portion of the cellulose is type-II cellulose, 
   thereby providing a concentrate; and   (c) mixing the aqueous phase and the concentrate,   thereby providing the dispersion.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the particles comprise lignin. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the weight % of lignin in the particles is from about 1 to about 30. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the particles have a crystallinity determined by x-ray diffraction (XRD) of 60% or more. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the particles have a d 75  of less than about 25 microns and/or a d 50  of from about 0.5 microns to about 20 microns. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the aqueous phase, the concentrate, and the dispersion are substantially free of volatile organic solvent. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein steps (a) through (c) are carried out in an environment that is substantially free of volatile organic solvent. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the concentrate is not contacted with a surfactant prior to step (c). 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the surfactant has a hydrophile-lipophile balance (HLB) number of greater than 10. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the surfactant is a sulfate, sulfonate, isethionate, carboxylate, sarcosinate, amino acid-based surfactant, non-ionic surfactant, soap, sulfoacetate, or a combination thereof. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the hydrophobic substance is synthetic or derived from a plant or other organic matter. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the hydrophobic substance comprises an oil, a silicone, a fat, an emollient, a triester of glycerol, or a combination thereof. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the weight % of the hydrophobic substance in the concentrate prior to step (c) is from about 40 to about 60. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the weight % of the particles in the concentrate prior to step (c) is from about 0.05 to about 10. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the ratio of hydrophobic substance to particles in the concentrate prior to step (c) is from about 10:1 to about 6:1. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the weight % of cellulose in the particles is from about 40 to about 100. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the hydrophobic substance and the plurality of particles are combined with water during step (b). 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the weight % of water in the concentrate prior to step (c) is from about 25 to about 50. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the ratio of hydrophobic substance to water in the concentrate prior to step (c) is from about 1:1 to about 2:1. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the hydrophobic substance and the plurality of particles are combined with glycerin, a glycol, a hydroxy ester, or a combination thereof during step (b). 
     
     
         21 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the hydrophobic substance and the plurality of particles are combined with a preservative during step (b). 
     
     
         22 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the weight % of the hydrophobic substance in the dispersion is at least about 10. 
     
     
         23 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the dispersion is a homogeneous dispersion. 
     
     
         24 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the dispersion is an emulsion. 
     
     
         25 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the dispersion is a stable emulsion. 
     
     
         26 . A method for making a dispersion, the method comprising:
 (a) preparing an aqueous phase comprising water and a surfactant;   (b) combining a hydrophobic substance, water, and a plurality of particles comprising lignin and cellulose, at least a portion of which is type-II cellulose, wherein the particles have:
 i. a mean particle size of from about 0.1 to about 100 microns; 
 ii. an aspect ratio of from about 1 to about 1.5; and 
 iii. a non-spherical shape, 
   thereby providing a concentrate; and   (d) mixing the aqueous phase and the concentrate,   thereby providing the dispersion;
 wherein the weight % of the hydrophobic substance in the concentrate prior to step (c) is from about 40 to about 60; 
 wherein the weight % of water in the concentrate prior to step (c) is from about 20 to about 50; and 
 wherein the weight % of particles in the concentrate prior to step (c) is from about 0.05 to about 30. 
   
     
     
         27 . A dispersion prepared by the method of  claim 1 . 
     
     
         28 . A powder, grain, paste, concentrate, or foam comprising the dispersion of  claim 27 . 
     
     
         29 . A cleaning product comprising the dispersion of  claim 27 . 
     
     
         30 . A personal care or beauty product comprising the dispersion of  claim 27 .