Controlled production of emulsions using a crossflow membrane part II: Industrial scale manufacture

This paper presents the results of an investigation into the practical application of an innovative emulsion manufacturing method - crossflow membrane emulsification on a pilot-plant scale. This method produces emulsions by breaking up the discontinuous phase in a controlled manner - flowing from one side to another of a well defined porous membrane. the droplets formed on the surface of the other side of the membrane are scoured away by the crossflow of the continuous phase. In this way the emulsion can be manufactured under lower shear conditions than with conventional emulsification techniques and the droplet sized and size distribution can be controlled through judicious choice of the process flow conditions and the pore size and size distribution of the membrane. Experiments have been carried out to demonstrate the effects of the process parameters and membrane structure on emulsion droplet size. Batch and semi-continuous manufacture of oil/water dispersions is demonstrated.