fabcon separation - Chemists Corner

Formulating

fabcon separation

Posted by nelson on November 15, 2021 at 8:38 am

can anyone help regarding my fabcon problem, it separates to water

nelson replied 2 years, 10 months ago 7 Members · 25 Replies
- fabcon-separation
25 Replies

OldPerry

Member
November 15, 2021 at 7:17 pm

You’ll have to be more specific in your question.

What is “fabcon”?

Is that some trade name? Please post the INCI name or a better explanation for what fabcon is.
nelson

Member
November 24, 2021 at 10:46 am

fabric conditioner
PhilGeis

Member
November 24, 2021 at 12:24 pm

unstable emulsion
OldPerry

Member
November 24, 2021 at 12:28 pm

use an emulsifier
ketchito

Member
November 24, 2021 at 1:42 pm

I thought it was me not knowing what fabcon is, hehe. @nelson, as @Perry mentioned, you need to be more specific regarding your issue. It’s hard to tell you what to fix with so little information.
nelson

Member
November 25, 2021 at 9:59 am

is it high speed shear mixer or homogenizer?
nelson

Member
November 25, 2021 at 10:02 am

is emulsifier a chemical ? kindly suggest one that I can use as I’m stuck. many thanks
OldPerry

Member
November 25, 2021 at 2:49 pm

@nelson - an emulsifier is a chemical. Unless you share with us the names of all of the chemicals in your system, there is not much help anyone can give you. The emulsifier to use depends on what ingredients you are trying to combine. See the forum instructions video.
nelson

Member
November 25, 2021 at 7:51 pm

FABCON BEADS

ANTIBAC 50 %

DMDM h

BLUE DAWN 385

COLOR BLUE

DEFOAMER (SILICONE)

ENCAP

WATER
nelson

Member
November 25, 2021 at 7:53 pm

I read somewhere that a shear mixer can also help , though I’m not sure if it really will
ozgirl

Member
November 25, 2021 at 9:34 pm

What is the process you use to make the product? Do you need to heat it?

If you provide the percentages of raw material and your process this will help us with providing assistance.

What is Blue Dawn 385 and Encap? Are they your fragrances?

Do you need a defoamer?

nelson

Member

November 26, 2021 at 12:50 am

we dissolve beads @ 70 temp then let cool before adding others encap is scent retainer, blue dawn is the perfume FABCON BEADS	6.20%
ANTIBAC 50 %	0.20%
DMDM h	0.20%
BLUE DAWN 385	1.25%
COLOR BLUE	0.0025%
DEFOAMER (SILICONE)	0.50%
ENCAP	0.12%
WATER	91.53%

ozgirl

Member
November 26, 2021 at 2:28 am

Are you stirring the product at all?

I normally work with liquid fabric softener concentrates (from Stepan) but we heat the water and fabric softener to temperature (~40C/104F) separately and then combine with stirring use a propeller type stirrer (low to medium speed). Then add our preservatives, fragrance, calcium chloride (viscosity adjustment) whilst stirring when it cools to around 30C/86F.

I would try just making samples with the fabcon beads and water and maybe the preservative initially and see if this separates. If it separates it is probably an issue with your method. If it is OK then make some more samples adding your other raw materials one at a time and hopefully this will identify where the problem is occurring.
MurtazaHakim

Member
November 26, 2021 at 9:59 am

We are experiencing recurring issue of phase separation in our fabric softener. The formulation is

1. Fentacare TEP 90
2. Hydroxyethyl Cellulose
3. Preservative
4. Colorant
5. Fragrance

Is it due to Hydroxyethyl Cellulose ???
The other components appear to be compatible with each other.
ketchito

Member
November 26, 2021 at 2:54 pm

MurtazaHakim said:

We are experiencing recurring issue of phase separation in our fabric softener. The formulation is

1. Fentacare TEP 90
2. Hydroxyethyl Cellulose
3. Preservative
4. Colorant
5. Fragrance

Is it due to Hydroxyethyl Cellulose ???
The other components appear to be compatible with each other.

@MurtazaHakim I never had good experiences using HEC. I’d either increase the amount of your esterquar, or add a stabilizer (like Jaypol 213 or Rheolux 812), which work at very low doses.
ketchito

Member
November 26, 2021 at 2:59 pm

@nelson As @ozgirl mentioned, the manufacturing process is very relevant, to have both a good viscosity and stability. You could also increase stability of your formula by adding a stabilizer (like Jaypol 213 or Rheolux 812).
nelson

Member
November 26, 2021 at 8:24 pm

is it advisable to use high shear mixer than using stabilizer ?
MurtazaHakim

Member
November 27, 2021 at 9:11 am

What is the recommended dosage of Esterquat (Fentacare TEP-90) ??? Which type of thickener should I replace HEC with ??? The mixer operates at lower speed and Esterquat is added after the bulk water reaches temperature above 50 degree Celsius. Are there any changes required like specific sequence of addition ???
ketchito

Member
November 29, 2021 at 3:24 pm

nelson said:

is it advisable to use high shear mixer than using stabilizer ?

@nelson A high shear mixer might not be the best option for a fabric conditioner, especially if you are also adding encapsulated fragrance.
PhilGeis

Member
November 29, 2021 at 3:54 pm

If you’re in US, all ingredients must be on the TSCA inventory. Many cosmetic ingrediencs are not.
nelson

Member
December 8, 2021 at 1:54 am

ketchito said:

nelson said:

is it advisable to use high shear mixer than using stabilizer ?

@nelson A high shear mixer might not be the best option for a fabric conditioner, especially if you are also adding encapsulated fragrance.

best to use ordinary mixer ?
ketchito

Member
December 8, 2021 at 12:44 pm

@nelson That’s the best practice for these type of products (at moderate-high speed). Try some samples to see how it turns out.
Chemist77

Member
December 15, 2021 at 6:43 pm

Acusol 882 (Dow) is one of the best known for such formulations, stabilizes as well.
nelson

Member
December 18, 2021 at 11:16 pm

thank you very much to all that gave inputs.
I made some samples and waiting for few weeks if there will be separation (no idea how long should I wait ).
nelson

Member
January 13, 2022 at 8:18 pm

not sure what happened why after washing with fabcon there are white streaks