Natural Oil Marking Composition Fat Bloom Prevention

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Solution Overview

Problem

Crayon compositions made from natural oils often suffer from fat blooming, leading to a loss of gloss and stability issues, which increases handling and production costs and affects customer perception, as they transform from a less stable to a more stable crystal form over time, causing cracking and blooming.

Innovation Solution

A marking composition comprising 40-60% triacylglycerides, 15-25% monoacylglycerides and diacylglycerides, and 25-35% talc by weight, with a melting point between 48°C and 75°C, designed to minimize fat blooming through specific lipid-based wax formulations and structuring agents, ensuring stability and performance.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Ease of manufacture

If natural oil based triglycerides are used in marking compositions, then cost reduction and environmental friendliness are achieved, but fat blooming and cracking occur due to polymorphic transformation

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvecost reductionVSAvoidstability against fat bloom
Core Design Contradiction:
Ease of manufactureVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The patent changes the physical and chemical parameters of the wax composition by specifying precise ratios of different triglycerides (40-60% triacylglycerides, 15-25% monoacylglycerides and diacylglycerides) and adding structuring agents (25-35% talc). This parameter optimization prevents polymorphic transformation that causes fat blooming, while maintaining cost-effectiveness of natural oil-based ingredients.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #35Parameter changes

Solution Approach 2:

The patent creates a composite material system combining multiple components: natural oil-based triglycerides as the base, supplemented with monoacylglycerides and diacylglycerides for stability, and talc as a structuring agent. This composite approach leverages the complementary properties of each component to prevent fat blooming while maintaining the cost advantages of natural oil-based ingredients.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #40Composite materials

2Adaptability or versatility

If natural oil based triglycerides are used to replace petroleum based waxes, then renewable source usage increases, but polymorphic behavior causes crystal rearrangement and blooming

Engineering Contradiction:
Improverenewable source usageVSAvoidcrystal form stability
Core Design Contradiction:
Adaptability or versatilityVSStability of the object's composition

Solution Approach 1:

The patent optimizes the compositional parameters by precisely controlling the ratios of triacylglycerides (40-60%), monoacylglycerides and diacylglycerides (15-25%), and structuring agents (25-35%). This parameter control suppresses the harmful polymorphic behavior of natural oils while preserving their renewable advantage, preventing crystal rearrangement that leads to blooming.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #35Parameter changes

Solution Approach 2:

The patent introduces talc as a structuring agent that acts as an intermediary substance to stabilize the crystal structure of natural oil-based triglycerides. This mediator prevents the harmful polymorphic transformation and crystal rearrangement, allowing the use of renewable natural oils without suffering from their inherent instability issues.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

3Ease of manufacture

If crayon composition is produced from natural oils, then production cost decreases compared to paraffin, but fat blooming results in loss of sales and increased handling costs

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveproduction costVSAvoidfat bloom
Core Design Contradiction:
Ease of manufactureVSObject-generated harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

The patent optimizes the compositional parameters to precisely control the behavior of natural oil-based ingredients. By specifying 40-60% triacylglycerides, 15-25% monoacylglycerides and diacylglycerides, and 25-35% structuring agents, the formulation prevents fat blooming while maintaining the cost advantages of natural oil-based production.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #35Parameter changes

Solution Approach 2:

The patent converts the inherent polymorphic behavior of natural oils, which normally causes fat blooming, into a beneficial stable crystal structure. Through careful formulation and the addition of structuring agents, the crystal transformation that would normally be harmful is controlled to produce a stable, bloom-free product that maintains low production costs.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #22Blessing in disguise (Convert harm into benefit)

Applied Scientific Principles

This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.

Function Achieved in This Case

The composition is substantially free of fat bloom, extending shelf-life to at least one month and maintaining stability against phase transformation, reducing production costs and enhancing customer appeal by preventing cracking and blooming.

Implementation Method 1

Triglycerides exhibit well-documented polymorphic behavior whereas the aliphatic hydrocarbons of paraffin do not. 'Polymorphism' means there are multiple crystal forms of the material that can (co)exist.

Methodology Applied
Scientific EffectPolymorphic behavior: Phase Change

Implementation Method 2

under rapid cooling, less stable lower melting and less molecularly dense crystals form initially, but given time and freeze-thaw cycles, the mobility of the molecules allow their rearrangement to higher melting, more stable and more molecularly dense crystal forms.

Methodology Applied
Scientific EffectCrystallization: Crystallisation

Implementation Method 3

A marking composition comprising a lipid-based wax composition comprising 40-60 percent by weight triacylglycerides, and 15-25 percent by weight monoacylglycerides and diacylglycerides combined... with a melting point between 48°C and 75°C

Methodology Applied
Scientific EffectMelting point control: Melting

Data Source

PatentEP2569379B8Natural oil based marking compositions and their methods of making
Publication Date: 2018.09.19 CARGILL INC

AI summary

Natural oil based marking compositions and their methods of making are provided. The compositions comprise a lipid-based wax having approximately 0-90 percent by weight triacylglycerides and approximately 10-99 percent by weight monoacylglycerides and diacylglycerides combined. The compositions also comprise approximately 1-40 percent by weight of a structuring agent. The methods comprise blending the composition by heating the lipid-based wax and structuring agent at a sufficiently high temperature to destroy substantially all crystal structure within the lipid-based wax. The methods further comprise pouring the composition into a mold having a surface and a core, wherein the pouring is conducted at a temperature at least 5°C greater than the congeal point of the lipid-based wax. The methods further comprise cooling the lipid-based wax under conditions sufficient to cool the core to at least 5°C below the congeal point of the lipid-based wax in approximately 30-90 minutes.