Performance of a rotating membrane emulsifier for production of coarse droplets

A versatile and high capacity membrane emulsification system which utilises a rotating membrane for the precision manufacture of oil-in-water (o/w) emulsions is investigated. The o/w emulsions produced used a low viscosity paraffin wax as the dispersed phase, Tween 20 or sodium dodecyl sulphate (SDS) as the emulsifier and carbomer as the stabiliser, respectively. The ability to generate coarse monodisperse emulsions was demonstrated with droplets of average diameter 80-570 mu m and coefficient of variation ranging from 9.8% to 33.6%. The effects of key process parameters on the droplet size and distribution are discussed, including requirements for future developments of the membrane. (C) 2008 Published by Elsevier B.V.