Structured particles comprising an alkoxylated polyalkyleneimine, and granular laundry detergent comprising the same

1. A structured particle comprising:

(a) from 10 wt % to 50 wt % of an alkoxylated polyalkyleneimine;

(b) from 35 wt % to 70 wt % of a water-soluble alkali metal carbonate; and

(c) from 1 wt % to 20 wt % of silica;

(d) from 0 wt % to 40 wt % of a water-soluble alkali metal sulfate, wherein said structured particle is characterized by a particle size distribution Dw50 ranging from 250 microns to 1000 microns and a bulk density ranging from 500 to 1500 g/L, and wherein said structured particle has a total surfactant level of from 0 wt % to 5 wt %.

2. The structured particle of claim 1 , wherein the alkoxylated polyalkyleneimine has an empirical formula of (PEI) a (CH 2 CH 2 O) b (CH 2 CH 2 CH 2 O) c , wherein PEI is a polyethyleneimine (PEI) core; wherein a is the average number-average molecular weight (MW n ) of the PEI core prior to modification, which ranges from 100 to 100,000; wherein b is the weight average number of ethylene oxide (CH 2 CH 2 O) units per nitrogen atom in the PEI core, which is an integer ranging from 0 to 60; and wherein c is the weight average number of propylene oxide (CH 2 CH 2 CH 2 O) units per nitrogen atom in the PEI core, which is an integer from 0 to 60.

3. The structured particle of claim 2 , wherein a ranges from 500 to 1000, b ranges from 20 to 40, and c ranges from 2 to 10.

4. The structured particle according to claim 1 , comprising from 20 wt % to 40 wt % of said alkoxylated polyalkyleneimine.

5. The structured particle according to claim 1 , characterized by a moisture content of less than 4% by total weight of said structured particle.

6. The structured particle according to claim 1 , comprising from 35 wt % to 60 wt % of the water-soluble alkali metal carbonate, and wherein said water-soluble alkali metal carbonate is in a particulate form characterized by a particle size distribution Dw50 ranging from 10 microns to 100 microns.

7. The structured particle according to claim 1 , comprising from 2 wt % to 15 wt % of said silica, wherein the silica is a hydrophilic silica comprising less than 10% residual salt by total weight of the silica, wherein said hydrophilic silica is capable of forming swollen silica particles upon hydration, and wherein said swollen silica particles have a particle size distribution Dv50 of from 1 μm to 100 μm.

8. The structured particle according to claim 1 , comprising from 15 wt % to 30 wt % of the water-soluble alkali metal sulfate, and wherein said water-soluble alkali metal sulfate is in a particulate form characterized by a particle size distribution Dw50 ranging from 50 microns to 250 microns.

9. The structured particle according to claim 1 , comprising from 0 wt % to 5 wt % of zeolite and or from 0 wt % to 5 wt % of phosphate.

10. A structured particle comprising:

(a) from 25 wt % to 40 wt % of an alkoxylated polyalkyleneimine having an empirical formula of (PEI) a (CH 2 CH 2 O) b (CH 2 CH 2 CH 2 O) c , wherein PEI is a polyethyleneimine (PEI) core; wherein a is the average number-average molecular weight (MW n ) of the PEI core prior to modification, which ranges from 500 to 1000; wherein b is the weight average number of ethylene oxide (CH 2 CH 2 O) units per nitrogen atom in the PEI core, which is an integer ranging from 20 to 40; and wherein c is the weight average number of propylene oxide (CH 2 CH 2 CH 2 O) units per nitrogen atom in the PEI core, which is an integer ranging from 2 to 10;

(b) from 35 wt % to 60 wt % of sodium carbonate particles having a particle size distribution Dw50 ranging from 70 microns to 90 microns; and

(c) from 10 wt % to 15 wt % of a hydrophilic silica comprising less than 10% residual salt by total weight of the silica, wherein said hydrophilic silica is capable of forming swollen silica particles upon hydration, and wherein said swollen silica particles have a particle size distribution Dv50 of from 5 μm to 50 μm,

wherein said structured particle is characterized by a particle size distribution Dw50 ranging from 250 microns to 1000 microns and a bulk density ranging from 500 to 1500 g/L, and wherein said structured particle has a moisture content of less than 4 wt %.

11. A structured particle comprising:

(a) from 20 wt % to 30 wt % of an alkoxylated polyalkyleneimine having an empirical formula of (PEI) a (CH 2 CH 2 O) b (CH 2 CH 2 CH 2 O) c , wherein PEI is a polyethyleneimine (PEI) core; wherein a is the average number-average molecular weight (MW n ) of the PEI core prior to modification, which ranges from 500 to 1000; wherein b is the weight average number of ethylene oxide (CH 2 CH 2 O) units per nitrogen atom in the PEI core, which is an integer ranging from 20 to 40; and wherein c is the weight average number of propylene oxide (CH 2 CH 2 CH 2 O) units per nitrogen atom in the PEI core, which is an integer ranging from 2 to 10;

(b) from 40 wt % to 60 wt % of sodium carbonate particles having a particle size distribution Dw50 ranging from 70 microns to 90 microns;

(c) from 3 wt % to 5 wt % of a hydrophilic silica comprising less than 10% residual salt by total weight of the silica, wherein said hydrophilic silica is capable of forming swollen silica particles upon hydration, and wherein said swollen silica particles have a particle size distribution Dv50 of from 5 μm to 50 μm; and

(d) from 20 wt % to 30 wt % of sodium sulfate particles having a particle size distribution Dw50 ranging from 180 microns to 220 microns,

wherein said structured particle is characterized by a particle size distribution Dw50 ranging from 250 microns to 1000 microns and a bulk density ranging from 500 to 1500 g/L, and wherein said structured particle has a moisture content of less than 4 wt %.

12. A granular detergent composition comprising from 1 wt % to 10 wt % of structured particles according to claim 11 .

13. The granular detergent composition of claim 12 , further comprising from 1 wt % to 99 wt % of one or more surfactants selected from the group consisting of anionic surfactants, cationic surfactants, nonionic surfactants, amphoteric surfactants, and mixtures thereof.

14. The granular detergent composition of claim 12 , comprising at least one anionic surfactant selected from the group consisting of C 10 -C 20 linear alkylbenzene sulphonates (LAS), C 10 -C 20 linear or branched alkyl sulfates (AS), C 10 -C 20 linear or branched alkylalkoxy sulfates having a weight average degree of alkoxylation ranging from 0.1 to 10, and mixtures thereof.

15. The granular detergent composition of claim 12 , further comprising from 0.1 wt % to 1 wt % of a silicone-containing particle comprising a silicone-derived anti-foaming agent and a particulate carrier material.

16. A method of forming structured particles, comprising the steps of:

(a) providing from 10 part to 50 parts, by a total weight of 100 parts, of an alkoxylated polyalkyleneimine in a paste form; and

(b) mixing the alkoxylated polyalkyleneimine paste with from 35 parts to 70 parts of a water-soluble alkali metal carbonate, from 1 part to 20 parts of silica, and from 0 parts to 40 parts of a water-soluble alkali metal sulfate, by a total weight of 100 parts, to form structured particles, wherein the water-soluble alkali metal carbonate is in a particulate form having a particle size distribution Dw50 ranging from 10 microns to 100 microns, wherein the silica is in a particulate form characterized by a particle size distribution Dw50 ranging from 3 microns to 30 microns, and wherein the water-soluble alkali metal sulfate is in a particulate form characterized by a particle size distribution Dw50 ranging from 50 microns to 250 microns,

wherein the structured particles so formed are characterized by a particle size distribution Dw50 ranging from 250 microns to 1000 microns and a bulk density ranging from 500 to 1500 g/L.