EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Complex Particulate Products and Processes

Most chemical products are designed to have an effect, for example nutritional, hygiene, medical, disease and pest control, colouration, flavour, and preservation. Formulations are used to enhance and/or stabilise these desired effects and deliver the benefit at the point of use. The majority of formulated products in the Food, Home & Personal Care, Healthcare, Pharmaceutical, Agrochemicals, Fine Chemical, Catalysts, Coatings and Specialty Chemical sectors are Complex Particulate Products that contain solid or liquid particles (or droplets). Evidence for this is found in the breadth of companies supporting this CDT bid across these key economic sectors.

The proposed CDT will train scientists and engineers capable of leading research teams for the development of new complex particulate products and the associated intensified processes (efficient, lean and agile) for their manufacture. The TSB high-value manufacturing strategy highlights the UK's need to apply 'leading-edge technical knowledge' to the 'creation of products' to underpin a technology-led economy where 'innovation in manufacturing' is a central theme. This demands a step-change in the current engineering skill-base, notably through promotion of more effective integration of research between scientists, engineers and product designers.

Particle science and engineering underpins a wide-range of manufacturing sectors in the UK and across this space, there is a strong requirement for engineers and physical scientists who can iteratively translate novel materials discoveries through the design and development of scalable manufacturing processes, into innovative high-quality products (following for example a 6-sigma strategy). The shortage of highly trained researchers to support novel and sustainable manufacturing approaches in this area is a current risk for major UK based manufacturing companies as well as SMEs.

Current academic training is largely analytical and focuses on materials discovery (new molecules, new materials), or on product formulation issues (physical/chemical stability, product effect), or on manufacturing and processing (scale up, unit operation, design and development of chemical and biochemical processes). There is generally little integration from materials to products with all the various processing stages needed, across the research, development and manufacturing supply chain. The efficient delivery of novel high-quality complex formulated products into the market requires a shared understanding of the challenges and limitations between researchers and practitioners working at all aspects of the product design and manufacture. This CDT will challenge the current culture of more tightly focussed research by providing comprehensive training for all students across the relevant domain space with a stroing focus on teamwork at all stages including during the PhD research phase. For the students the Centre will provide a unique training environment, combining innovative industry relevant training with world-class research supervision in a problem-led educational environment. Ultimately the combination of skills provided by the Centre will contribute strongly to the development of new research leaders in this field for both industry and academia.

The establishment of a CDT in Complex Particulate Products and Processes will have a range of positive impacts, both academic and socio-economic. We identify four groups of beneficiaries: industry partners and associated supply chains; academia; the general public; and government policy makers.

The research undertaken within the CDT will have a strong links to current UK industry needs. Particle science and engineering underpins a wide-range of manufacturing sectors in the UK including foods, home & personal care, healthcare, pharmaceuticals, agrochemicals, fine chemicals, catalysts and coatings. The CDT will support a highly significant part of the UK manufacturing base; a UK strategic sector that provides direct employment for 214,000 people and supports several hundred thousand additional jobs throughout the economy [UK Trade and Industry Report 2009: Chemicals - the UK advantage: Adding value for global investors and industry].

Clearly, the research outputs of 50 strategically-focused PhD research projects will significantly enhance knowledge in the area that will be proactively transferred to industry. Given our normal expectations, many of the CDT projects will lead to high-quality papers in the scientific literature thereby advancing our scientific and engineering understanding and providing impact within the academic community. It is also a key aim of the CDT to work across the boundary of science and engineering with a focus at the chemistry/chemical engineering interface. This is an area of current need and has been highlighted in a number of reports for investment, most recently the EPSRC Review of the Chemistry/Chemical Engineering Interface 2010/11. A CDT at this interface will build innovative approaches to integrated training where graduates are comfortable with the 'whole process', notably the impact that "small" decisions taken in product design can have on the efficiency and sustainability of manufacturing processes.

Moving beyond the traditional disciplinary boundaries and conventional research training approach, we will actively build teams clustered in a target area as is done in industry. For example, linking PhD projects on particle design, product stability and process development. Working together, the students can build a shared understanding of upstream and downstream process opportunities as well as understand any limitations that will ultimately affect the adoption of their research. This will have positive benefits for UK based industry, providing research leaders capable of driving innovation and creativity in this critical industry sector. Ultimately, there will also be benefits that accrue to the general public through the enhanced competitiveness of this critical manufacturing sector to the UK economy.

There is a need for graduates who understand how changes in ingredient quality, particle properties and/or formulation of a product can affect its processing and manufacturing. This links to the TSB high-value manufacturing strategy to apply 'leading-edge technical knowledge' to the 'creation of products' underpinning a technology-led economy where 'innovation in manufacturing' is a central theme. This addresses a government strategic agenda. The shortage of highly trained researchers to support novel and sustainable manufacturing approaches in this area has also been explicitly noted from our survey of 20 major manufacturing companies, highlighting a difficulty in finding engineers and scientists with the necessary skills. Across this space, there is a strong requirement for engineers and physical scientists who can iteratively translate novel materials discovery through the design and development of viable manufacturing processes, into innovative high-quality products. The graduates from this CDT will have a significant impact on the industrial and academic research and development capacity in this important area as the next-generation of research leaders in the field.