Granted Patent B2

US 12,747,412 · App. 18/415,040 · Granted Sep 29, 2026

Inventors: Janel Marie Van Vleet (Saint Paul, MN); Terrence P. Everson (Saint Paul, MN); James S. Dailey (Grosse Ile, MI); Thomas Gessner (Ypsilanti, MI); Juergen Tropsch (Ludwigshafen, DE)

Assignee: ECOLAB USA INC.

C11D1/825A47L15/0007C11D1/72C11D1/79

Abstract

Claims (37)

1 . A method of rinsing a surface comprising:

applying a rinse aid composition to a surface in need of rinsing;

wherein the rinse aid composition comprises a surfactant system comprising:

(i) at least two surfactants according to the following formulas:

wherein R 1 is a straight-chain C 10 -C 16 alkyl, wherein x 3 is from 5 to 8, and

wherein y 3 is from 2 to 5,

wherein R 1 is a straight-chain C 10 -C 16 alkyl, wherein x 4 is from 4 to 6, and

wherein y 4 is from 3 to 5,

wherein R 2 is a C 10 -C 14 alkyl with an average of at least 2 branches per residue, and

wherein x 1 is from 5 to 10,

wherein R 7 is a branched C 8 -C 16 Guerbet alcohol, x 5 is from 5 to 30, y 5 is from 1 to 4, and y 6 is from 10 to 20,

wherein x is from 88 to 108, y is from 57 to 77, and z is from 88 to 108, and

wherein x is from 15 to 25, y is from 10 to 25, and z is from 15 to 25; and

(ii) optionally an additional surfactant according to the following formulas:

wherein R 2 is a C 10 -C 14 alkyl with an average of at least 2 branches per residue, and

wherein x 2 is from 2 to 4,

wherein R 6 is a C 8 -C 16 Guerbet alcohol, wherein x 4 is from 2 to 10, and wherein y 4 is from 1 to 2, and

wherein x is from 12 to 20, y is from 120 to 220, and z is from 12 to 20.

2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the rinse aid composition further comprises an additional functional ingredient.

3 . The method of claim 2 , wherein the additional functional ingredient is a solidification aid, carrier, chelating agent, bleaching agent, sanitizer, defoaming agent, anti-redeposition agent, optical brightener, dye, odorant, stabilizing agent, dispersant, enzyme, corrosion inhibitor, thickener, solubility modifier, or a combination thereof.

4 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the surfactant system comprises surfactant (A) or surfactant (A2), and surfactant (B), and optionally surfactant (C).

5 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the surfactant system comprises surfactant (A), surfactant (B), and surfactant (D), or wherein the surfactant system comprises surfactant (A2), surfactant (B), and surfactant (D).

6 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the surfactant system comprises surfactant (H) or surfactant (D), and surfactant (G), and optionally surfactant (A).

7 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the surfactant system comprises surfactant (B) and surfactant (D), and optionally surfactant (F).

8 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the surfactant system comprises surfactant (A) or surfactant (A2), and surfactant (D) or surfactant (H).

9 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the rinse aid composition is a liquid concentrate or a solid.

10 . The method of claim 9 , wherein the rinse aid composition is a pressed solid or an extruded solid.

11 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising a first step of contacting the rinse aid composition with water to dilute the rinse aid composition.

12 . The method of claim 11 , wherein the rinse aid composition diluted with water has an actives concentration of less than 5 wt. %.

13 . The method of claim 11 , wherein the rinse aid composition diluted with water has about 1 ppm to about 125 ppm of the surfactant system.

14 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising a step of reducing the contact angle of the rinse aid composition by at least about 5° compared to the contact angle of a commercially-available rinse aid composition to induce sheeting and result in a faster drying time of the surface.

15 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the surface is in a warewashing application.

16 . The method of claim 15 , wherein the warewashing system includes one or more rinse cycles in a commercial warewashing machine.

17 . The method of claim 15 , wherein the one or more rinse cycles include a hot water sanitizing rinse cycle, a chemical sanitizing rinse cycle, or a combination thereof.

18 . The method of claim 15 , wherein the warewashing system is a low temperature warewash application, wherein the method is performed at a temperature of 140° F. or less.

19 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the ware is a cookware, dishware, flatware, glass, cup, a hard ware surface, glass ware surface, plastic ware surface, or a combination thereof.

20 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the method reduces spotting and filming on the ware.

Assignments (5)

Continuity (7)

References Cited (182)