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Microfluidics
Microfluidics
Microfluidics is a technique for the manufacture of particles of precisely the same size through the serial extrusion of droplets, giving almost perfect monodispersity in the creation of emulsions. The drawback of the microfluidics approach is that, even when multiple microfluidic production units are harnessed in parallel, this method is not capable of delivering industrially meaningful volumes. |
Micropore membrane emulsification Membrane emulsification
Membrane emulsification, where droplets are formed by pushing a substance through a membrane, was first discovered by Nakashima and Shimizu in the late 1980s. Membrane emulsification quickly demonstrated many benefits in the laboratory but incomplete technology development in early embodiments held back practical application of the technique. Commercial interest was also restricted because, as with microfluidics, there was no clear route to scale-up of the technology to industrially meaningful volumes. However, the recent development of the technique by Micropore Technologies enabling the reliably processing of many thousand tonnes a year, this scale-up restriction has effectively been removed.
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Homogenisation
Homogenisation
Mechanical mixing, or homogenisation, has long been the industry standard for formulation of many products. This technique comes in many guises and has been refined over many years of industrial experience for use in both low and high volume applications. These refinements, are all based on the basic principle of a rapidly spinning blade to “break up” the disperse phase into the continuous phase. As a result, this approach to forming emulsions is fundamentally uncontrolled, with a resulting disadvantages of broad particle size distribution and the potential for damage to delicate ingredients. |
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