Enabling Manufacture of Designer Emulsions and Functional Particles

Microcapsules are ubiquitous in everyday life and are found in products used in crop protection, drug delivery, personal care, cosmetics etc. All microcapsules contain an active ingredient protected by the capsule shell for a multitude of purposes including safety, taste masking, stability and targeted delivery. To improve the performance of the capsule (in terms of stability and delivery behaviour) the capsule size distribution needs to be as narrow as possible, which is currently very difficult to achieve on industrial scales using existing manufacturing processes. Adapting microfiltration technologies to create membrane emulsification is a currently under-exploited manufacturing route that will enable the large-scale production of capsules with tightly controlled size distributions, leading to products with improved release properties at a cost that industry can afford. The technology will be tested on a specific high-value coatings application. The project is led by a small dynamic company, escubed limited who will work closely with researchers at the University of Leeds to develop the membrane technology for industrial use and will demonstrate its applicability to pilot plant scale at International Paint, a global leader in coatings technologies.