Biobased emulsions

Important results from the project

We have developed an emulsification process in a food-grade and non-flammable oil for the production of agarose-based separation media. Bio-based emulsions of agar from food-approved raw materials that can be handled without additional safety requirements have been developed. These emulsions can lead to manufacturing processes of different agarose-based separation media, which can be quickly and cost-effectively scaled up to large production volumes

Expected long term effects

The produced bio-based emulsions of agar can lead to manufacturing processes of different agarose-based separation media, which can be quickly and cost-effectively scaled up to large production volumes. There are limitations of the concentrations of agar solution in emulsion, which means that these emulsions require larger reactor volumes than current processes

Approach and implementation

A laboratory equipment has been designed for an oil-based emulsification process where the most important parameters for emulsification can be studied. These parameters have been verified in a larger pilot equipment. In the laboratory exploitation, different oils have been evaluated together with different emulsifiers, the best combinations have been verified in the pilot equipment. The cooling of the emulsion has been studied and a control of the porosity of the emulsified material has been developed through the cooling process.