LANXESS Oxone™ for Home Care Formulations

Oxone™ monopersulfate compound from LANXESS is a nonchlorinated peroxygen oxidizer supplied as a white, granular, free-flowing powder. It gives formulators room to work at cold-water wash temperatures without sacrificing stain removal.

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Three properties determine the cold-water performance. The first is oxidation potential. A standard electrode potential of 1.85 V puts Oxone™ high enough to drive many room-temperature oxidations without heat input, so the bleaching step doesn't depend on the wash reaching a threshold temperature.

The second is solubility. Oxone™ dissolves readily even as water temperature drops, so the active reaches the soil rather than sitting undissolved in the drum or the sump.

The table below shows aqueous solubility of Oxone™ across the temperature range relevant to consumer wash cycles.

At 20°C, a typical cold wash setting, Oxone™ has a solubility of more than 275 g/L, so dissolution rate is not a limiting factor in short cycles.

The third property is reaction speed. Oxone™ acts rapidly once in solution, so the bleaching step completes within the shorter cycles of the eco and quick-wash settings. Formulators building for those settings do not have to compensate for a slow oxidizer with higher addition levels.

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LANXESS tested Oxone™ against the two systems most home care formulators already run. In laboratory testing on textile stain removal, Oxone™ outperformed both sodium percarbonate alone and sodium percarbonate combined with TAED.

The test held all three systems at equal or comparable addition levels, ran at 19.7°C over a 45-minute cycle, and used no other detergent ingredients. Stains covered four common oxidizable soils: red wine, grape juice, coffee, and tea. Oxone™ led on every one, measured as percent soil removal by color difference after the first wash.

Apart from performance, Oxone™ also provides:

• Lower use levels than sodium percarbonate for the same or better cleaning, which concentrates cleaning power and leaves formulation space for other actives
• Non-chlorine, non-persistent chemistry that degrades into potassium and sulfate salts
• Odorless performance, with none of the smell chlorine oxidizers carry and no masking of an added fragrance, so the perfumer’s work survives into the finished product
• Transport hazard Class 8 rather than the Class 5.1 that applies to sodium percarbonate, which lowers logistical risk and requires no oxidizer label in the formulation

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In laundry detergents, Oxone™ delivers stain removal, brightness, and fabric care at lower wash temperatures, including in short cycles.

In automatic dishwashing detergents, Oxone™ removes tough stains and prevents water spotting without requiring high wash temperatures.

Oxone™ also works in hard surface cleaners, particularly toilet bowl and drain products where its oxidizing strength breaks down organic matter, and in appliance cleaners for washing machines, dishwashers, and coffee machines.

The powder form is incorporated into powdered detergents, unit-dose tablets, and pods without a separate carrier, and its solubility supports all of those formats.

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In the solid state, Oxone™ loses less than 0.5% of its activity per month under recommended storage conditions. Even small amounts of moisture, alkaline chemicals, chemicals that contain water of hydration, or transition metals in any form reduce that stability. Decomposition is exothermic and can self-accelerate if the product temperature rises.

In solution, Oxone™ is most stable at the unmodified acidic pH of the product. Stability declines above pH 7 and reaches a minimum near pH 9, where the concentration of the mono-anion HSO5- equals that of the di-anion SO52-. Cobalt, nickel, iron, and manganese catalyze decomposition in solution, and the degree of catalysis depends on the concentration of both Oxone™ and the metal ion.

As with any oxidizer, use of Oxone™ in a given formulation requires testing to determine suitability for the intended application.

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Oxone™ PS-16 from LANXESS is available through ChemPoint, with samples, quotes, and technical support. A specialist can work with you on pH, raw material compatibility, and addition levels.

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