MANUFACTURE OF HIGH ACTIVE DETERGENT PARTICLES

A PROCESS FOR MANUFACTURING DETERGENT PARTICLES COMPRISING THE STEPS OF : A) FORMING A LIQUID SURFACTANT BLEND COMPRISING A MAJOR AMOUNT OF SURFACTANT AND A MINOR AMOUNT OF WATER, THE SURFACTANT PART CONSISTING OF AT LEAST 51 WT% LINEAR ALKYLBENZENE SULFONATE AND AT LEAST ONE CO-SURFACTANT, THE SURFACTANT BLEND CONSISTING OF AT MOST 20 WT% NONIONIC SURFACTANT; B) DRYING THE LIQUID SURFACTANT BLEND OF STEP (A) IN AN EVAPORATOR OR DRIER TO A MOISTURE CONTENT OF AT MOST 2 WT% AND COOLING THE OUTPUT FROM THE EVAPORATOR OR DRYER; C) FEEDING THE COOLED MATERIAL, WHICH OUTPUT COMPRISES AT LEAST 93 WT% SURFACTANT BLEND WITH A MAJOR PART OF LAS, TO AN EXTRUDER, OPTIONALLY ALONG WITH LESS THAN 10 WT% OF OTHER MATERIALS SUCH AS PERFUME, FLUORESCER, AND EXTRUDING THE SURFACTANT BLEND TO FORM AN EXTRUDATE WHILE PERIODICALLY CUTTING THE EXTRUDATE TO FORM HARD DETERGENT PARTICLES WITH A DIAMETER ACROSS THE EXTRUDER OF GREATER THAN 2 MM AND A THICKNESS ALONG THE AXIS OF THE EXTRUDER OF GREATER THAN 0.2 MM, PROVIDED THAT THE DIAMETER IS GREATER THAN THE THICKNESS; D) OPTIONALLY, COATING THE EXTRUDED HARD DETERGENT PARTICLES WITH UP TO 30 WT% COATING MATERIAL.