Emulsion Concentrate Stability and Pumpability via Polyglycerol Esters
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing emulsion concentrates for cosmetic and pharmaceutical preparations face challenges such as low storage stability at elevated temperatures, phase separation, and high viscosity, making them difficult to pump and process without heat and shear energy, and they often have a high aqueous fraction that increases transportation and storage costs.
Innovation Solution
An emulsion concentrate with a water-insoluble oil component, hydrophilic nonionic emulsifiers, lipophilic coemulsifiers, and polyols in specific weight ratios, allowing for low water content and improved stability, flowability, and pumpability at standard temperatures, achieved through the use of specific oil components like hydrocarbons, dialkyl ethers, and polyglycerol esters, and emulsifiers like cetearyl alcohol and glyceryl stearate.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If emulsion concentrates are made with high oil content to reduce aqueous fraction and transportation costs, then storage and transportation costs are reduced, but viscosity increases making them difficult to pump and process
Solution Approach 1:
The invention changes the chemical composition parameters by introducing specific polyglycerol esters with defined molecular weights and fatty acid compositions, along with hydrocarbons and dialkyl ethers, to achieve the desired balance between viscosity and oil content. This allows the emulsion concentrate to maintain pumpability while having reduced aqueous fraction.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention uses a composite system combining multiple ingredient classes: polyglycerol esters (with specific molecular weight ranges), hydrocarbons (C12-C40), dialkyl ethers (C12-C22), and optional polyols. This composite material approach allows tuning of rheological properties to achieve both low viscosity for pumpability and reduced water content for cost efficiency.
2Stability of the object's composition
If emulsion concentrates are formulated for high stability at elevated temperatures, then storage stability is improved, but the formulation becomes more complex and difficult to process
Solution Approach 1:
The invention specifies particular parameter ranges for polyglycerol esters (molecular weight 200-500, specific fatty acid compositions) and hydrocarbons (C12-C40) that inherently provide temperature stability. By controlling these parameters within defined ranges, the formulation achieves high storage stability without requiring complex processing or additional stabilizing agents.
3Ease of operation
If conventional emulsion concentrates are used with high aqueous fraction, then pumpability is maintained, but transportation and storage costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
The invention reduces the aqueous fraction content by optimizing the oil phase composition with polyglycerol esters and hydrocarbons that provide adequate lubrication and flow properties. This allows the concentrate to maintain pumpability with significantly reduced water content, thereby lowering transportation and storage costs.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention creates a simplified concentrate formulation that copies the essential functional properties of conventional high-water emulsions but with reduced water content. The specific combination of polyglycerol esters and hydrocarbons replicates the flow and pumpability characteristics without requiring the high aqueous fraction typical of conventional formulations.
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention relates to an emulsion concentrate containing water-insoluble oil components (A), hydrophilic non-ionic emulsifiers (B), lipophilic co-emulsifiers (C), polyols (D) and water; which comprises less than 50% by weight of water-insoluble oil component (A), based on the total weight of the concentrate, and comprises components (A), (B) and (C) and (D) in a ratio by weight A:B:C:D=1:(0.25-0.6):(0.25-0.6):(0.45-0.65). The invention further relates to the use of these emulsion concentrates, and also to preparations and paper products, non-woven products or textile products for body care and personal cleansing, which comprise water-insoluble oil components (A), hydrophilic non-ionic emulsifiers (B), lipophilic co-emulsifiers (C), and polyols (D) in a ratio by weight A:B:C:D=1:(0.25-0.6):(0.25-0.6):(0.45-0.65).