Most wet wipes are dilute, single-phase, aqueous solutions distributed on a nonwoven basesheet.  Despite the relative soft feel of basesheets in general, the purpose of this project was to evaluate whether oil-in-water emulsions could improve this attribute.  Emulsion use is limited by cost constraints and the ability to create stable, low viscosity and minimal solid content formulations.  After identifying a prototypical emulsion consisting of vegetable oil fatty acids and emulsifier, a high throughput screening approach was developed.  The workflow involved compounding the formulations and measuring the fabric handle of wetted basesheet samples.  This approach evaluated variables such as emulsifier type and concentration, fatty acid source, type of basesheet, and solution add-on in a controlled and efficient manner.  Statistical analysis identified the chain length of the fatty acid and the emulsifier HLB value as significant factors in predicting fabric handle. Consumer panel evaluation of optimized formulas correlated with the handle data.

High throughput development of emulsions for softening personal care wipes

244th National Meeting (2012)

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