DESC:
Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to cleaning compositions. More specifically the present invention relates to rehydratable or re-constitutable cleaning compositions.

Background and the Prior art
Conventionally, hand dish-wash bars are used for cleaning dishes and utensils. Use of hand dishwash bars however suffers from several drawbacks. Soap Bars for dishwash can be harsh on the hands leading to extreme dryness and roughness as the pH of such bars is highly alkaline. Further, these bars invariably comprise high abrasives with fillers distributed unevenly in the bar and these can cause damage and scratches on delicate glassware and cutlery. A bar soap turns slimy or mushy when it comes in contact with water. This leads to a mess as well as to wastage. There is therefore a trend towards use of liquid cleaning products.
Transport of liquid cleaning products is however associated with high costs. Packaging costs increase substantially for liquid products because of their heaviness and bulkiness. These products also necessitate robust packaging units. This invariably results in use of increased levels of plastics in the packaging material, which in turn are linked with environmental pollution. Not all the packaging materials are recycled to the fullest. Furthermore, liquid products are also vulnerable to stability issues and spillage during transport. Storage of high amounts of these products also presents formidable challenges since they require enormous shelf-space.
Further, all the available Bar and Liquid Dish wash products requires higher amount of water for rinse-off (Wash off action) and are often encountered with white layer formation in most of the utensils.
Rehydratable formulations in the form of powders had been disclosed for various end-use applications. For example, there is disclosed in US4330438 a powdered shampoo composition. IN201821030525 discloses reconstituted surfactant-based powder product which has good solubility in water and forms a stable gel when dispersed in water.

In a reconstitutable formulation an apparently simple reconstitution step when carried out by an untrained hand coupled with uncontrolled conditions of rehydration may result in an unstable product. Many a times depending upon choice of constituents and their proportions, many of the reconstitutable products do not always result in liquid product of desired aesthetics, stability and functionality. This results in poor perception of the product by the end consumer and it drastically dissuades the consumer from using such formulations despite of their otherwise obvious cost and environmental advantages.
A co-pending application filed by the present applicant IN202131040251 dated September 06, 2021 discloses a reconstitutable powder formulation comprising (i) a surfactant system; (ii) a polysaccharide-based thickening system; wherein the surfactant system comprises at least one primary surfactant and at least one secondary surfactant; and wherein the secondary surfactant is selected from the group consisting of sulfate-free surfactant; sulfonated surfactant and an amphoteric surfactant or a combination thereof.
Cleaning efficacy remains to be one of the foremost concerns when it comes to designing cleaning compositions. However, cleaning efficacy oftentimes comes with a compromise. This is often seen in case of hand dish-wash bars where even though these preparations ensure cleaning efficacy, they invariably end up being too harsh on skin, partly because of pH way to higher than pH of the skin and also because of the presence of the higher amounts of fillers and abrasives in these preparations. There is always a need for developing reconstitutable powder formulation specifically for surface cleaning or dishwashing which can be reconstituted even with gentle shaking and has higher re-useablity.

Object of the Invention
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a cleaning composition that can be dispensed in a re-constitutable powder format thereby substantially reducing the transport cost.
It is a still further object of the present invention to provide a re-constitutable cleaning composition that affords a stable liquid composition upon dilution with water despite the presence cleaning aids.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a re-constituted skin-friendly cleaning composition which is low in pH when compared with soap bars for hand dish-wash.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a cleaning composition that does not leave a white residual layers on cleaned objects as is observed when soap bars are used for cleaning these objects.
It is yet another object of the present invention that to provide a cost-effective cleaning composition that ensures minimal wastage of actives during the cleaning process.

Summary of the invention
According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a reconstitutable powder composition comprising (i) 70 to 90 wt% of total Active Surfactant Content (AD); (ii) 3 wt% to 23 wt% of a polymer, (iii) 0.3 wt% to 4 wt% of a cleaning aid/binder; wherein the ratio of said cleaning aid/binder to said polymer ranges from 1:5 to 1:80.
According to another aspect of the present invention there is provided a process for preparing the reconstitutable powder formulation of the present invention, wherein said process comprises the steps of :
(i) preparing a first surfactant premix by admixing at least one sulfonate surfactant, preservative and optionally, a coloring agent;
(ii) preparing a second surfactant premix by admixing at least one non-sulfonate surfactant and at least one cleaning aid, optionally with other excipients;
(iii) admixing an organic acid and at least one polymer;
(iv) mixing the resultant mixture of step (i) and step (iii) and optionally, adding fragrance;
(v) adding an anticaking agent to the resultant mixture of step (ii);
(vi) mixing the resultant mixture of step (iv) and (v) to obtain said reconstitutable powder formulation.
According to further aspect of the present invention there is provided a process for reconstitution of the formulation of the present invention, said process comprising the steps of :
(i) adding water to a container;
(ii) adding said re-constitutable powder formulation to the water in the container;
(iii) gently shaking the container to obtain a reconstituted liquid formulation.

Detailed description of the Invention
The following description is provided to assist in a comprehensive understanding of various embodiments of the present disclosure as defined by the claims and their equivalents. It includes various specific details to assist in that understanding but these are to be regarded as merely exemplary.
Accordingly, those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that various changes and modifications of the various embodiments described herein can be made without departing from the scope and spirit of the present disclosure. In addition, descriptions of well-known functions and constructions may be omitted for clarity and conciseness.
The terms and words used in the following description and claims are not limited to the bibliographical meanings, but, are merely used by the inventor to enable a clear and consistent understanding of the present disclosure. Accordingly, it should be apparent to those skilled in the art that the following description of various embodiments of the present disclosure is provided for illustration purpose only and not for the purpose of limiting the present disclosure as defined by the appended claims and their equivalents.
It is to be understood that the singular forms "a," "an," and "the" include plural referents unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. Thus, for example, reference to "a component surface" includes reference to one or more of such surfaces.
The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular various embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of various embodiments. It will be further understood that the terms "comprises" and/or "comprising" used herein specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, members, components, and/or groups thereof, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, members, components, and/or groups thereof. Also, expressions such as "at least one of," when preceding a list of elements, modify the entire list of elements and do not modify the individual elements of the list.
Definitions
The expression ‘binder’ and ‘cleaning aid’ in the context of the present invention means any water insoluble carbonate/bicarbonate based abrasives. These terms have been used interchangeably throughout the specification.
The expression sulfonate surfactant in the context of the present invention means alpha olefin sulfonate.
The expression “non-sulfonate surfactant” in the context of the present invention means one or more of the anionic non-sulfonate surfactants from categories that include alkyl sulfates, isethionates. Specific surfactants that are being used as “non-sulfonate surfactant” in the present invention include lauryl sulfate, sodium coco-sulfate and sodium cocoyl isethionate.
The present invention provides a reconstitutable powder composition comprising: (i) 70 to 90 wt% of total Active Surfactant Content (AD); (ii) 3 wt% to 23 wt% of a polymer, (iii) 0.3 wt% to 4 wt% of a cleaning aid/binder; wherein the ratio of the cleaning aid/binder to the polymer ranges from 1:5 to :80, preferably 1:5 to 1:50. The re-constitutable powder composition of the present invention provides desired cleaning efficacy while being gentle on the skin.
The total Active Surfactant Content (AD) comprises at least one sulfonate surfactant and at least one non-sulfonate surfactant. The sulfonate surfactant is preferably a alpha olefin (C12- C16) sulfonate. The non-sulfonate surfactant is at least one selected from the group consisting of sodium coco-sulfate, sodium lauryl sulfate, sodium alkyl sulfate and sodium cocoyl isethionate or any combination thereof.
According to a preferred embodiment the reconstitutable composition comprises a alpha olefin (C12- C16) sulfonate and a sodium lauryl sulfate.
The amount of atleast one sulfonate surfactant in the total Active Surfactant Content (AD) ranges from 15 wt% to 45wt%. Preferably the sulfonate surfactant is present in an amount 23 to 45% by weight.
The amount of non-sulfonate surfactant in the total Active Surfactant Content (AD) ranges from 35wt% to 70wt%. Preferably the non-sulfonate surfactant is present in an amount 35 to 60% by weight.
In one embodiment of the present invention the total amounts of alpha olefin sulfonate and sodium lauryl sulfate in total Active Surfactant Content (AD) ranges from 80wt% to 90wt% with respect to the total weight of the composition.
In another embodiment of the present invention the Active Surfactant Content (AD) includes 30 wt% to 45wt% of Alpha Olefin Sulfonate and 35wt% to 55wt% of Alkyl sulfate surfactant.
According to further embodiment of the present invention the reconstitutable composition comprises a alpha olefin (C12- C16) sulfonate and a sodium coco-sulfate.
According to yet another embodiment of the present invention the reconstitutable composition comprises a alpha olefin (C12- C16) sulfonate and a sodium alkyl sulfate.
It is also an embodiment of the present invention where the reconstitutable composition comprises a alpha olefin (C12- C16) sulfonate and a sodium cocoyl isethionate.
Stability as well as viscosity of the reconstituted composition plays an instrumental role in ensuring end-consumer’s ease in using the reconstituted liquid composition. In this regard, the cleaning aid/binder to polymer ratio plays a vital role.
It has been observed by the present inventors that choice of polymers matters a lot in the context of the present invention. Certain polymers, like hydroxyl propyl methyl cellulose have not been found to be suitable for obtaining desired viscosity build up in the reconstituted liquid product while certain other polymers when used in almost similar amounts have provided desired results in terms of viscosity build up in the reconstituted liquid compositions. Typically, the polymers in the context of the present invention are selected from the group consisting of sodium carboxy methyl cellulose, sodium carboxy methyl cellulose ether.
In the present context binder/cleaning aids include sodium bicarbonate, sodium carbonate, calcined sodium carbonate, sodium sesquicarbonate, potassium bicarbonate, magnesium carbonate and potassium carbonate.
Alkaline builders may also be used as a component of the binder constituent. These may include sodium silicate, sodium disilicate, sodium tripolyphosphate, tetrasodium pyrophosphate, disodium hydrogen orthophosphate, trisodium orthophosphate, sodium metaborate, sodium tetraborate sodium metasilicate, tetrapotassium pyrophosphate, tripotassium orthophosphate, sodium metalsilicate and potassium metasilicate. Alkaline builders suspend the fats, oils and greases as fine particles which are then easily washed away.
The reconstitutable composition of the present invention further comprises an organic acid in amount ranging from 0.05wt% to 1.00 wt%. Preferably the organic acid is citric acid.
The powder formulation may further comprise an anticaking agent selected from the group consisting of precipitated silica, hydrated silica, and carbonates, phosphates, stearates of calcium and magnesium and combinations thereof. The amount of anticaking agent in the formulation ranges from about 0.01wt% to about 5wt%.
In some of the embodiments, the powder formulation may further comprise at least one antimicrobial active selected from the group consisting of metals or salts thereof, quaternary ammonium compounds, biguanides, triclosan, and the like.
The present powder formulation may further comprise at least one excipient selected from the group consisting of chelating agent (0.001-2% by weight), coloring agent (0-0.5% by weight), fragrance (0.1%-8% by weight) and preservative (0.001-5% by weight). The preservative is at least one selected from the group that includes but is not limited to DMDM, Sodium Benzoate, Diazolidinyl urea, imidazolidinyl urea, Tricolosan, Methyl Paraben, isopropyl paraben, Chloroxylenol, Ethylparaben, Propylparaben, phenoxyethanol, potassium sorbate or combinations thereof.
The powder formulation of the present invention when reconstituted provides a translucent formulation or transparent formulation.
According to another aspect of the present invention there is provided a process for preparing the reconstitution of the powder formulation of the present invention to obtain a reconstituted liquid formulation. The process comprises following steps :
1) preparing a first surfactant premix by admixing at least one sulfonate surfactant, preservative and optionally, a coloring agent;
2) preparing a second surfactant premix by admixing at least one non-sulfonate surfactant and at least one cleaning aid, optionally with other excipients;
3) admixing an organic acid and at least one polymer;
4) mixing the resultant mixture of step (i) and step (iii) and optionally, adding fragrance;
5) adding an anticaking agent to the resultant mixture of step (ii);
6) mixing the resultant mixture of step (iv) and (v) to obtain said reconstitutable powder formulation.
According to yet another aspect of the present invention there is provided a process for reconstitution of the formulation of the present invention, said process comprising the steps of :
1) adding water to a container;
2) adding said powder formulation of the present invention to the water in the container;
3) gently shaking the container to obtain the reconstituted formulation.
Typically, the ratio of re-constituable powder to water during reconstitution ranges from 1:6 to 1:14; preferably from 1:7 to 1:10.
Typically, time period for gentle shaking during reconstitution ranges from 3 seconds to 120 seconds; preferably from 3 to 20 seconds.
According to a further aspect of the invention, there is provided a reconstituted liquid composition that obtained by reconstituting the powder composition of the present invention. The reconstituted liquid formulation is characterized by viscosity from 670 cps to 3340 cps; pH between 6.4 to 8.3, lather volume ranging from 120ml to 170ml.
Further, the reconstituted liquid composition remains stable for a period of at least 2 weeks at 500C.

Advantages of the invention
The present invention provides a reconstitutable product which ensures quicker dissolution of the powder constituents in water during reconstitution to form a stable gel. The reconstituble products offer the best possible performance achieved out of both the bar and liquid formats – is user friendly in terms of product pH like liquids formats available in the art and unlike hand dish wash bars; provides value for money and relatively less wastage during use like dish wash bars (unlike liquids).
The formulation according to the present invention provides a very free flowing powder; ensures easy of dispensing; less work to dissolve the powder and produce the final finished good with required performance and consumer preference.
The present invention is now being illustrated by way of non-limiting examples.

Examples:
The invention will now be illustrated with working examples, which is intended to illustrate the working of the invention and not intended to take restrictively to imply any limitations on the scope of the present invention. Unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood to one of ordinary skill in the art to which this disclosure belongs. Although methods and materials similar or equivalent to those described herein can be used in the practice of the disclosed methods and compositions, the exemplary methods, devices and materials are described herein. It is to be understood that this invention is not limited to particular methods, and experimental conditions described, as such methods and conditions may apply.

Example 1
The working ranges as disclosed in the present disclosure reiterated below in Table 1, all the examples have been divided into working examples (Depicted in Table 2) and non-working examples (Depicted in Table 3).
Working Ranges: Table 1
Ingredient/Test Parameter Working Range
Re-constitutable Powder Composition of the present invention
Total Surfactant Content (Active Detergent) AD% 70 wt% to 90 wt%
Total Non-sulfonate Surfactant 35 wt% to 70wt%
Total Sulfonate Surfactant 15 wt% to 45 wt%
Polymer 3 wt% to 23 wt%
Cleaning Aid/Binder To Carbonate Ratio 1:5 to 1:80

Organic Acid 0.0.05 to 1wt%
Bulk Density
Reconstituted liquid composition obtained using the Powder Composition of the present invention
Dilution Ratio (Powder: Water)
pH 6.4 to 8.3
Viscosity 670 cps to 3340cps
Lather Volume 120 to 170
Stability 2 weeks at 50 0C

Working Examples (WE): Table 2
S.NO Raw material WE-1 WE-2 WE-3 WE-4 WE-5 WE-6 WE-7 WE-8 WE-9 WE-10

1 Sodium Lauryl Sulfate powder (SLS), 99% Anionic non-sulfonate surfactant 50.87 44.12 40.37 44.19 42.37 - 50.87 40.37
2 Sodium Cocoyl Isethionate (SCI) 85% Anionic non-sulfonate surfactant 54.12 -
3 Sodium Coco Sulphate Anionic non-sulfonate surfactant 57.57
4 Sodium Alkyl sulphate Anionic non-sulfonate surfactant 56.478
5 AOS powder, 90% Anionic sulfonate surfactant 35 38 42 39 39 28 35 42 25 28
6 Methyl paraben Preservative 1 0 1.5 1.5 1.5 0 1 1.5 1.5 1.5
7 DMDM Hydantoin + Iodopropynyl Butylcarbamate Preservative 0 1.5 0 0 0 1.5 0 0 0 0
8 Silica Anticaking Agent 0.3 0.7 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.7 0.3 0.6 0.6 0.6
9 Color Colour 0.022 0.022 0.022 0.022 0.022 0.022 0.022 0.022 0.022 0.022
10 Sodium Carboxymethyl Cellulose Polymer 12 15 14 14 13.5 15 - -
14 12
11 Sodium Carboxy Methyl Cellulose Ether Polymer 12
12 SWIFT 8Q70 (Sodium CMC)
Polymer 14
13 Sodium Bi Carbonate / Sodium Carbonate Binder/Cleaning Aid 0.5 0.4 1 0.18 2.5 0.4 0.5 1 0.5 0.5
14 Amylase Enzyme Enzymes 0.1 0.2 0 0 0 0.2 0.1 0 0 0.1
15 Citric Acid Organic Acid 0.2 0.05 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.05 0.2 0.5 0.8 0.8
Powder format physical property characterization
1 AD, % 82.92 79.03 79.03 80.03 78.22 79.03 82.92 79.03 80.25 81.95
2 Bulk Density 0.36 0.41 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.41 0.36 0.4 0.4 0.4
3 Dilution time less the 20 sec
Reconstituted liquid formulation characterisation
4 pH 7.34 8.1 7.17 6.52 7.54 7.39 8.02 7.22 6.56 6.98
5 Viscosity, cP 1360 2880 1770 2060 1950 2240 670 3340 1890 1720
6 Lather Volume, ml 122 120 136 144 124 150 156 130 120 140
7 AD, % 8.3 7.9 7.9 8.0 7.8 7.9 8.3 7.9 8.0 8.2
8 Stability @ 50 deg for 2 weeks All samples cleared stability in appearance (no settling, hazyness, separation was observed)

Binder/Cleaning Aid to polymer ratio 24 37.5 14 77.78 5.4 37.5 24 14 28 24

Non-Working Examples (NWE) : Table 3
S.NO Raw material Function NWE-1 NWE-2 NWE-3 NWE-4 NWE-5 polymer NWE-6

1 Sodium Lauryl Sulfate powder (SLS), 99% Anionic non-sulfonate surfactant 52.578 32.378 30.128 39.778 40.378 38.378
2 Sodium Coco Sulphate Anionic non-sulfonate surfactant
3 Sodium Alkyl sulphate Anionic non-sulfonate surfactant
4 AOS powder, 90% Anionic sulfonate Surfactant 42 39 42 39 42 39
5 Methyl paraben Preservative 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5
6 DMDM Hydantoin + Iodopropynyl Butylcarbamate Preservative 0 0 0 0 0 0
7 Silica Anticaking Agent 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.6
8 Color Colour 0.022 0.022 0.022 0.022 0.022 0.022
9 Sodium Carboxymethyl Cellulose Polymer 2 25 25 14 - 14
10 HPMC
(Methocel 40-101) Polymer 14
11 Sodium Bi Carbonate / Sodium Carbonate Binder/Cleaning Aid 0.8 1 0.25 5 1 0.5
12 Amylase Enzyme Enzymes 0 0 0 0 0 0
13 Citric Acid Organic Acid 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.1 0.5 6
1 AD, % 91.11 68.32 68.89 75.65 79.03 74.26
2 Bulk Density 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.4
3 Dilution time
4 pH 6.99 7.28 5.2 9.96 7.36 3.86
5 Viscosity, cP 20 too thick too thick 1310 too thin 720
6 Lather Volume, ml 140 122 100 130 145 90
7 AD, % 9.1 6.8 6.9 7.6 7.9 7.4
8 Stability @ 50 deg for 2 weeks

Binder/Cleaning Aid to polymer ratio 2.5 25 100.00 2.8 14 28

Example 2:
All the compositions as depicted in Table 2 and Table 3 were prepared using the following process:
1) preparing a first surfactant premix by admixing at least one sulfonate surfactant, preservative and optionally, a coloring agent;
2) preparing a second surfactant premix by admixing at least one non-sulfonate surfactant and at least one cleaning aid, optionally with other excipients;
3) admixing an organic acid and at least one polymer;
4) mixing the resultant mixture of step (i) and step (iii) and optionally, adding fragrance;
5) adding an anticaking agent to the resultant mixture of step (ii);
6) mixing the resultant mixture of step (iv) and (v) to obtain said reconstitutable powder formulation.

The respective reconstituted liquid formulations were prepared from the powders obtained from compositions depicted in Table 2 and 3 using the following reconstitution process:
1) adding water to a container;
2) adding said powder formulation of the present invention to the water in the container;
3) gently shaking the container to obtain the reconstituted formulation.
All the working examples in accordance with the present invention as depicted in Table 2 upon reconstitution provided liquid compositions with desired viscosity, pH and stability.
NWE1 is a negative example since the amount of polymer provided in NW1 is 2 wt% and it is outside the range of the total polymer amount (3 to 23 wt%) provided above. The total surfactant active content (AD) is 91.11 wt%; which is also outside the scope of the present invention. The reconstituted liquid formulation prepared from the powder composition from NW1 lead to phase separation. The powder formulation in NWE1 upon reconstitution did not provide a stable gel formulation.
NWE2 is another negative example wherein the amount of polymer is 25wt%, which is outside the scope of the present invention. The reconstituted liquid formulation obtained from NWE2 was found out to be too viscous and it had severe issues with regard to dispensability on account of poor flow properties. Further, the high amount of polymer in case of NWE2 also adversely affected the dissolution of the powder material during reconstitution. NW2 also demonstrates that when the total surfactant content (AD) is below 70 wt% with respect to the total weight of the powder composition then the resulting reconstituted liquid composition exhibits viscosity that is outside the scope of the present invention.
NWE3 is a negative example wherein the cleaning aid to polymer ratio is 1: 100 which is outside the scope of the present invention. Further, NWE3 also comprises carbonate in an amount of 0.25 wt% which is also outside the scope of the present invention. The reconstituted liquid formulation obtained from the powder in NWE3 exhibited salting out and a stable gel could not be obtained on account of phase separation. Still further, NWE3 also shows that when the total surfactant content (AD) is below 70wt% then the resulting composition loses out on stability front.
NWE4 is another negative example that demonstrated the result of addition of the carbonate salt (5wt %) which is higher than the upper limit of the claimed working range. Further, pH of NW4 is 9.96 which is outside the scope of the present invention since it is harsh to the skin.
NWE5 demonstrates that polymers other than the ones mentioned in the claims do not provide the desired result. NWE5 employs HPMC in an amount of 14wt% (within the range provided for other working polymers) but the resulting formulation was not found out to be suitable for forming a stable gel upon reconstitution. Further, the viscosity of the resulting formulation was markedly lower than 670 cps, the claimed working lower limit for the viscosity of the reconstituted formulation.
NWE6 demonstrates that if the amount of citric acid is higher than the claimed limit (0.05 to 1) then the pH of the resulting reconstituted formulation dips to 3.86 which is outside the scope of the working invention. This kind of acidic pH is also harsh to the skin.

Example 3 : Tests
Hand-dishwash Cleaning Performance:
Cleaning performance of the reconstituted liquid compositions obtained using the powder composition of the present invention was compared with the cleaning performance of the liquid samples prepared using Hand Dishwash Soap Bar Sample (Leading Product picked from the market). The cleaning performance evaluation was based on the method as reported in Recommendation for the Quality Assessment of the Cleaning Performance of Hand Dishwashing Detergents, Detergents, SOFW-Journal, 128, Jahrgang 5-2002.
For the performance evaluation, soil samples were prepared using the following formulation as depicted in Table 4.

Soil composition: Table 4
Ingredients Source Actual wt.%
Ghee TSR Avadh 2.4
Vegetable fat Vanaspati 1.2
Margarine TSR margarine 1.2
Butter Amul butter 1.2
Fresh cream Amul fresh cream 1.2
Sunflower oil Gold Winner 2.4
Skim milk powder Everyday milk powder 9.6
Flour Aashirwaad atta 28.8
Water (16 dH)* 51.8
Coloring agent Turmeric 0.2
dH*-Degree of Hardness
The soil composition as described herein above was prepared by melting an admixture of ghee, vegetable fat, Margarine and butter to prepare a first melted mixture. Floor, milk powder, fresh cream, sunflower oil and coloring agent was mixed separately to form a second mixture. The first melted oily mixture was then added along with water to the second mixture under overhead stirrer at low speed for 2 hours and the resulting mass was stored it at 5°C for overnight. This mass was the thawed at 40°C before soiling the plates.
50 plates equal in shape, volume and surface area were soiled by spreading 6.7 gm of soil on each of the plates in an identical manner. The soiled plates were then kept aside for aging for 10 min.
Two samples of hand-dishwash liquid of 5 litre volume each were prepared. Sample 1 was prepared by dissolving the powder of (12.5gm) WE1 in 5 litres of 16dHwater.
Sample 2 was prepared by crushing the Hand-dishwash powder and admixing 12.5 gm of the crushed hand-dishwash powder (prepared from a Hand Dishwash Soap Bar Sample (Leading Product picked from the market) in 5 liters of 16 dH water to obtain liquid sample 2.
Both liquid sample 1 and liquid sample 2 were poured in two separate reservoirs set up above two separate bath tubs at 1meter height from the bath tubs. Both, sample 1 and sample 2 were released from respective reservoirs into respective tubs at flow rate between 18 to 21 seconds. The gradual release of the samples into tubs resulted in foamy layers in both the tubs.
Two different sets of soiled plates were cleaned in to these two separate tubs using circular movement of the brush on the front (6 clockwise and 6 anti-clock wise rubs) and back side (3 clockwise and 3 anti-clock wise rubs). While cleaning, it was ensured that the plates and the hands were completely immersed in the respective wash tubs. Plate washing was allowed to be continued and it was ensured that any excess foam during washing was transferred back to the tub before transferring the washed plate to an independent sink. This exercise was continued till the time all the foam on the top of sample 1 and sample 2 in both the tubs got reduced to its lowest in both the tubs.
The total number of washed plates were calculated for both sample 1 and sample 2 were counted after exhaustion of foam layers in both the tubs. The total number of washed plates with sample 1 were found out to be 11 while the total number of washed plates in case of sample 2 were found out to be 10.
It was observed that the cleaning performance of the reconstituted liquid samples prepared in accordance with the present invention, when measured in terms of the number of dishes washed was at least 10% better than performance of the samples prepared using the random Dishwash Soap bar. Furthermore, as described herein above, pH of the reconstituted samples prepared in accordance with the present invention was 7.3 while pH of the samples prepared using the HandDishwash Soap bar was 9.3. It is therefore concluded that the powder composition of the present invention, apart from the numerous other advantages as described herein above also provides a reconstituted liquid formulation that is gentle on skin.
,CLAIMS:
1. A reconstitutable powder composition comprising (i) 70 to 90 wt% of total Active Surfactant Content (AD); (ii) 3 wt% to 23 wt% of a polymer, (iii) 0.3 wt% to 4 wt% of a cleaning aid/binder; wherein the ratio of the cleaning aid/binder to the polymer ranges from 1:5 to 1:80.

2. The reconstitutable composition as claimed in claim 1, wherein the total Active Surfactant Content (AD) comprises at least one sulfonate surfactant and at least one non-sulfonate surfactant.

3. The reconstitutable composition as claimed in claim 2, wherein said sulfonate surfactant is alpha olefin (C12- C16) sulfonate.

4. The reconstitutable composition as claimed in claim 2, wherein said non-sulfonate surfactant is at least one selected from the group consisting of sodium coco-sulfate, sodium lauryl sulfate, sodium alkyl sulfate and sodium cocoyl isethionate or any combination thereof.

5. The reconstitutable composition as claimed in claim 2, wherein the amount of atleast one sulfonate surfactant in the total Active Surfactant Content (AD) ranges from 15 wt% to 45wt%.

6. The reconstitutable composition as claimed in claim 2, wherein the amount of atleast one sulfonate surfactant in the total Active Surfactant Content (AD) ranges from 23 to 45% by weight.

7. The reconstitutable composition as claimed in claim 2, wherein the amount of atleast one non-sulfonate surfactant in the total Active Surfactant Content (AD) ranges from 35wt% to 70wt%.

8. The reconstitutable composition as claimed in claim 2, wherein the amount of atleast one non-sulfonate surfactant in the total Active Surfactant Content (AD) ranges from 35 to 55% by weight.

9. The reconstitutable composition as claimed in claim 2, wherein said sulfonate surfactant is alpha olefin (C12- C16) sulfonate and said non-sulfonate surfactant is sodium lauryl sulfate.

10. The re-constitutable composition as claimed in claim 9, wherein the total amounts of said alpha olefin sulfonate and said sodium lauryl sulfate in said total Active Surfactant Content (AD) ranges from 80wt% to 90wt% with respect to the total weight of the composition.

11. The reconstitutable composition as claimed in claim 1, wherein said polymer is at least one selected from the group consisting of sodium carboxy methyl cellulose, sodium carboxy methyl cellulose ether.

12. The reconstitutable composition as claimed in claim 1, wherein said binder is at least one selected from the group consisting of sodium bicarbonate, sodium carbonate, calcined sodium carbonate, sodium sesquicarbonate, potassium bicarbonate magnesium carbonate and potassium carbonate.

13. The reconstitutable composition as claimed in claim 1, wherein said ratio of said cleaning aid/binder to said polymer is 1:5 to 1:50.

14. The reconstitutable composition as claimed in claim 1, further comprising an organic acid in amount ranging from 0.05wt% to 1.00 wt%

15. The reconstitutable composition as claimed in claim 14, wherein said organic acid is citric acid.

16. The reconstitutable composition as claimed in any of the preceding claims, wherein said composition further comprises at least one preservative selected from the group consisting of DMDM, Sodium Benzoate, Diazolidinyl urea, imidazolidinyl urea, Tricolosan, Methyl Paraben, isopropyl paraben, Chloroxylenol, Ethylparaben, Propylparaben, phenoxyethanol and potassium sorbate or any combination thereof.

17. A process for preparing the reconstitutable powder formulation as claimed in any of the preceding claims, wherein said process comprises the steps of :
(i) preparing a first surfactant premix by admixing at least one sulfonate surfactant, preservative and optionally, a coloring agent;
(ii) preparing a second surfactant premix by admixing at least one non-sulfonate surfactant and at least one cleaning aid, optionally with other excipients;
(iii) admixing an organic acid and at least one polymer;
(iv) mixing the resultant mixture of step (i) and step (iii) and optionally, adding fragrance;
(v) adding an anticaking agent to the resultant mixture of step (ii);
(vi) mixing the resultant mixture of step (iv) and (v) to obtain said reconstitutable powder formulation.

18. A process for reconstitution of the formulation as claimed in any of the preceding claims, said process comprising the steps of :
(i) adding water to a container;
(ii) adding said re-constitutable powder formulation to the water in the container;
(iii) gently shaking the container to obtain a reconstituted liquid formulation.

19. The process for reconstitution of the formulation as claimed in claim 18, wherein the ratio of re-constituable powder to water ranges from 1:6 to 1:14; preferably from 1:7 to 1:10.

20. The process for reconstitution of the formulation as claimed in claim 18, wherein the time period for gentle shaking during reconstitution ranges from 3 seconds to 120 seconds; preferably from 3 seconds to 20 seconds.

21. The process for reconstitution of the formulation as claimed in claim 18, wherein viscosity of the reconstituted liquid formulation ranges from 670 cps to 3340 cps.

22. The process for reconstitution of the formulation as claimed in claim 18, wherein pH of the reconstituted liquid formulation ranges from 6.4 to 8.3.

23. The process for reconstitution of the formulation as claimed in claim 18, wherein foam volume of the reconstituted liquid formulation ranges from 120ml to 170ml.

24. The process for reconstitution of the formulation as claimed in claim 18, wherein the reconstituted liquid formulation is stable at 500C for 2 weeks.