A zwitterionic polyetherpolyamine comprising a linear or branched
polyetherpolyamine backbone having 2 to 10 tertiary amino nitrogen atoms
and a molecular weight of from 100 to 800, at least one tertiary amine end
group of the polyetherpolyamine backbone contains two groups having the
formula
##STR1##
wherein
A means an ethylene oxide unit, a propylene oxide unit, a unit of butylene
oxides and a tetrahydrofuran unit,
n is a number of from 1 to 50, X is an anionic group, with the proviso that
in formula II one X may also be hydrogen and
M is hydrogen, alkali metal or ammonium,
or contains one group of formula I or II and one group selected from
radicals consisting of
##STR2##
C.sub.1 - to C.sub.22 -alkyl and C.sub.7 - to c.sub.22 -aralkyl, the
meaning of A and n is the same as in formula I or II,
said zwitterionic polyetherpolyamine having a molecular weight up to 9,000
and optionally containing up to 100% of the nitrogen atoms quaternized,
and a process for the production of zwitterionic polyetherpolyamines by
alkoxylating the said polyetherpolyamine backbone, sulfating the
alkoxylated polyetherpolyamine and optionally quaternizing the alkoxylated
polyetherpolyamine before or after sulfation. The products obtained are
used as additives in detergents.
