Electrostatic emulsification of domestic and personal care products.
Synopsis A technique is described for producing high quality emulsions in a controllable and reproducible way. The dispersed liquid phase is atomized electrostatically, thus enabling particle size to be well below 10mum for wax solutions while at the same time maintaining a very narrow particle size distribution. The energy saving over conventional emulsification methods is considerable, amounting to up to 85% for one typical domestic care product. Emulsification is achieved in a one-step process in a machine which essentially has no moving parts and requires no auxiliary air supply. In addition to the ability to create high quality emulsions, electrostatic atomization of the dispersed phase itself introduces a new and useful parameter, electrical conductivity, enabling greater flexibility in terms of ensuring emulsion stability. Even in conventional emulsifier systems, electrically charging the dispersed phase may have important implications which have not to date been fully appreciated.
Hughes
J F
JF
Department of Electrical Engineering, University of Southampton, Southampton SO9 5NH.
Roberts
J M
JM