GOALI: Integrated Product and Process Design for Emulsified Products

主要研究者：Michael Henson，Cristhian Almeida-Rivera，Michael马龙和大卫J. McClements机构：马萨诸塞州大学，阿默斯特提案编号：00730795标题：GOALI：乳化产品的集成产品和工艺设计化学配方产品包括农业化学品、食品和饮料、消费品和制药行业中常见的各种复杂、多相、微结构材料。与几乎完全以其组成为特征的商品化学品不同，化学配制产品具有与其微观结构密切相关的特定最终用途特性。设计问题涉及化学配方的规格和产生所需微观结构和物理性能的加工条件。目前的产品开发战略的基础上试错实验是不足以在全球市场上的竞争，快速推出新产品是必不可少的，以满足不断变化的客户需求。虽然美国的商品化学品制造基地继续向发展中国家转移，但化学配方产品的设计和制造预计仍将集中在发达国家，因为产品价值相对较高，需要进行相当程度的产品创新。因此，制定系统的产品和工艺设计战略对于确保美国在这一重要经济领域的领导地位至关重要。智力优势：乳液是一类特别重要的化学配方产品，其产品和工艺设计问题是强耦合的。在与联合利华合作的GOALI项目中，PI计划为乳化产品开发一个概念设计框架，该框架资源密集度较低，并大大缩短了新产品进入市场的时间。该研究将重点关注通过高压均质化生产的两种模型乳液系统，用于输送营养保健品，这对改善人类健康和性能越来越重要。将开发简化的均质化工艺和物理性质模型，以预测作为配方和加工变量函数的可行最终用途性质。设计物理学的分层应用将被用来有效地减少可行设计的空间，并产生一些有前途的候选人进行更详细的实验和计算分析。建模误差将通过开发一种运行间控制策略来解决，该策略使用液滴尺寸分布和每次通过均质器后获得的可用流变测量值来更新未来通过的处理变量。概念验证将通过设计和生产功能性乳剂来证明，这些乳剂用于提供两种重要的营养品：omega-3脂肪酸和番茄红素。更广泛的影响：该研究将推进用于人类健康应用的乳化产品的开发，重点是提供促进均衡营养和健康体重的生物活性成分。更广泛地说，这项研究将对需要快速开发和高效制造化学配方产品的各种重要美国行业产生积极影响。该项目的跨学科性质反映在学术-工业研究团队中，该团队提供复杂流体，化学产品和工艺设计，颗粒系统建模和控制以及技术创新方面的综合专业知识。该项目代表了马萨诸塞大学工艺设计和控制中心与联合利华（一家在美国各地设有设施的全球消费品公司）之间现有关系的扩展。该项目支持的两名学生将通过共同咨询安排和与行业从业者的频繁互动，接触到一个高度跨学科的学习环境。联合利华将为每名学生安排三至六个月的工业实习，以促进技术转让，并通过接触工业产品创新过程来增强他们的教育经验。所有项目小组成员都表现出对教育以及征聘和培训代表性不足的学生的承诺。PI计划继续和扩大这些活动，通过积极招募少数民族学生通过NSF赞助和马萨诸塞大学领导的东北联盟在少数民族和研究生教育和教授（NEAGEP），通过利用本科研究助理在他们的实验和计算工作，并通过使用他们的研究成果，开发教材和教科书为本科和研究生教育。

PI: Michael Henson, Cristhian Almeida-Rivera, Michael Malone and David J. McClements Institution: University of Massachusetts, Amherst Proposal Number: 00730795Title: GOALI: Integrated Product and Process Design for Emulsified ProductsChemically formulated products include a wide variety of complex, multiphase, microstructured materials common in the agricultural chemical, food and beverage, consumer products and pharmaceutical industries. Unlike commodity chemicals which are characterized almost exclusively by their composition, chemically formulated products have specific end-use properties that are intimately connected with their microstructure. The design problem involves specification of the chemical formulation and the processing conditions that produce the desired microstructure and physical properties. Current product development strategies based on trial-and-error experimentation are not adequate to compete in the global marketplace where rapid introduction of new products is essential to meet ever changing customer demands. While the U.S. manufacturing base in commodity chemicals continues its move to developing countries, the design and manufacturing of chemically formulated products is expected to remain concentrated in developed countries due to relatively high product values and the substantial degree of product innovation required. Consequently, the development of systematic product and process design strategies are critical to ensure U.S. leadership in this important economic sector. Intellectual Merit: Emulsions are a particularly important class of chemically formulated products for which the product and process design problems are strongly coupled. In this GOALI project with Unilever, the PIs plan to develop a conceptual design framework for emulsified products that is less resource intensive and significantly reduces the time for new products to reach the marketplace. The research will focus on two model emulsion systems produced via high pressure homogenization with applications to the delivery of nutraceuticals, which are increasingly important for improving human health and performance. Simplified homogenization process and physical property models will be developed to allow the prediction of feasible end-use properties as a function of formulation and processing variables. The hierarchical application of design heuristics will be used to efficiently reduce the space of feasible designs and to generate a few promising candidates for more detailed experimental and computational analysis. Modeling errors will be addressed through the development of a run-to-run control strategy that uses drop size distribution and available rheological measurements obtained after each pass of the homogenizer to update the processing variables for future passes. Proof-of-concept will be demonstrated by designing and producing functional emulsions for delivery of two important nutraceuticals: omega-3 fatty acids and lycopene. Broader Impacts: The research will advance the development of emulsified products for human health applications, with a focus on the delivery of bioactive components that promote balanced nutrition and healthy weight. More generally, the research will positively impact a wide variety of important U.S. industries that require rapid development and efficient manufacturing of chemically formulated products. The interdisciplinary nature of the project is reflected by the academic-industrial research team, which offers combined expertise in complex fluids, chemical product and process design, particulate systems modeling and control, and technology innovation. This project represents an expansion of an existing relationship between the UMass Process Design and Control Center and Unilever, a global consumer product company with facilities located throughout the United States. The two students supported by this project will be exposed to a highly interdisciplinary learning environment through co-advising arrangements and frequent interactions with industrial practitioners. Three to six month industrial internships will be arranged at Unilever for each student to facilitate technology transfer and to enhance their educational experience through exposure to the industrial product innovation process. All project team members have a demonstrated commitment to education and the recruitment and training of underrepresented students. The PIs plan to continue and expand these activities by actively recruiting minority students through the NSF-sponsored and UMass-led Northeast Alliance in Minority and Graduate Education and the Professoriate (NEAGEP), by utilizing undergraduate research assistants in their experimental and computational work, and by using their research results to develop educational materials and textbooks for undergraduate and graduate education.