MECI · Membrane emulsification in the chemical industry

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Project objective

Emulsification is an important technology in the chemical industry. Many products are emulsions (coatings, margarines, ointments, etc.) or produced with help of emulsions. Traditionally emulsions are made using colloid mills, rotor-stator systems and homogenizers. The quality of emulsions is often essential for the application/quality of the end product. Recently, a new emulsification technique based on micro-filtration membranes has been introduced for e.g. margarine and slow release drugs applications in the food and pharmaceutical industry . The objective of the research project is to develop end products (emulsions) with well-defined properties and reduced emulsifier contents, as emulsifiers may be harmful for the environment. The research work comprises1 ) the preparation and tuning of the properties of micro-filtration membranes,2) the characterization of micro-filtration membranes,3) the study of emulsification phenomena at various process conditions (type of emulsifier, concentrations of to be dispersed substances, flow velocity, pressure, temperature, etc.),4) the study of the properties of the resulting emulsions (stability, droplet size, etc.) and5) the modeling of the experimental data. A team of experts from different areas including process engineers, emulsion experts and product specialists will guide the fellow. In view of the generic nature of the proposed research, the work constitutes an eminent opportunity for training young and ambitious post-graduates in the exciting field of emulsion techniques and optimizing of production processes in an industrial research environment.

Original text from CORDIS.

Participants

• AKZO NOBEL CHEMICALS BV · ARNHEMCoordinatorNetherlands

Links

• View on CORDIS