A PROCESS FOR THE SIMPLIFIED PURIFICATION OF USEFUL MATERIALS AND MIXTURES OF USEFUL MATERIALS FROM THE FIELD OF WETTING AGENTS, DETERGENTS AND/OR CLEANING PRODUCTS AND ASSOCIATEDUSEFUL MATERIALS

摘要

The invention relates to a process for improving the purity and, in particular, the color and odor quality of useful materials and mixtures of useful materials from the field of wetting agents, detergents and/or cleaning products. The process is characterized in that a starting material containing impurities and, in particular, steam-volatile impurities is treated with the superheated steam in finely divided form at normal pressure, bleaching agents optionally being used to produce improvements in color. In one particular embodiment, the invention relates to the use of the process for drying aqueous preparations of useful materials and/or mixtures of useful materials from the field of wetting agents, detergents and/or cleaning products in a spray drying zone and/or fluidized bed using superheated steam as the drying gas for the simultaneous purification of a starting material containing in particular steam-vola-tile impurities. This purification treatment may be combined with oxidative or reducing bleaching simultaneously initiated in the treated material to produce light-colored useful materials or mixtures of such useful materials. If desired, ozone may be added in traces to the superheated steam.