Expertise
OPTIMISE FORMULATIONS
In the ever-evolving environmental, economic, and regulatory landscape, industrial services require continuous adaptation. Efficiency must be prioritized alongside updates.
How can the company leverage resources to enhance formulation optimization?
Formulations are currently being optimised in two ways:
- Through formulation adjustments such as ingredient selection and recipe refinement.
- By optimizing the production process to enhance efficiency and effectiveness.
This highlights two key priorities: industrialisation and performance.
In this scenario, blending offers a wealth of manufacturing process options to meet these challenges. Innovative mixing solutions not only facilitate the creation of unique formulations, but also improve the concentration of high-value elements while meeting production performance constraints.
Let’s look at two aspects: original formulations and solids enhancement.
Original formulations
Mixing enables the deployment of new products by blending previously disparate or immiscible components, yielding novel textures or plasticity (e.g., wood + plastic, toothpaste + microbeads). Current resources facilitate such innovations.
Let’s explore a few examples.
Working with cellulose fibers: it presents challenges, necessitating complex processes like vacuum impregnation and pressurized casting. Balancing viscosity for conventional handling while incorporating fibers calls for advanced mixing technologies. These enable new formulations with higher fiber content and viscous matrices.
Reduction of additives and binders
In technical ceramics, the solid value material is suspended in a liquid, accompanied by minor additives like plasticizers and dispersing agents. Suspension is crucial for the formatting of the end product.
A key focus in mixing performance is to minimize binder and additive proportions while preserving plasticity and simplifying debinding, ensuring optimal mixing quality.
Enhanced material transfers and intense shear aid in reducing the reliance on these compounds.
Increasing solid content
Traditionally, encapsulating aromas or active ingredients in organic matrices demanded low viscosities, limiting the value elements. However, specialized continuous mixing equipment revolutionizes production, enabling higher solid concentrations and easy implementation with exceptional cleanliness standards.
THEMATIC FOLDER : MIXING WHEN FACING NEW INDUSTRIAL PRIORITIES
How can mixing, which is simply defined as the work of viscous products, relate to the industrial priorities of today and the future?
The following pages provide an overview of this viewpoint.