Development of Next Generation Eco-valve for Aerosols

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Liquefied petroleum gas is the most popular aerosol propellant c.84% of global mkt, howeverit is unsustainable as it extracted from depleting, non-renewable resources (natural gas & oil);contributes substantially to VOC emissions; & it is highly explosive & flammable & thussurrounded by H&S regulations which drive up the cost of all associated activities.Compressed inert gas (air or nitrogen) is an alternative aerosol propellant offering majoradvantages over LPGs: renewable resource,non-explosive/flammable, H&S regulations nolonger apply therefore lower life cycle cost. However, its use is limited when used inconjunction with a standard aerosol valve: the pressure in the can drops as product is used &thus spray characteristics deteriorate (unacceptable variations in particle size & dischargeflow rates). To address this issue, The Salford Valve Company has developed & patented, atlab scale, a unique suite of aerosol valves ‘Eco-valve’, which enable a standard aerosol tofunction effectively using a compressed gas propellant without the need for specialisttechnology. Advantages include: excellent spray characteristics over lifecycle of the can; stepchange in performance compared to current technology; standard filling technique&components & can be fitted to a standard can; suitable for all applications & industry sectorsincl. metered & continuous flow.The company now seek to advance 3 Eco-valve types from bench top to pre-productionprototype (applicable to c.90% of aerosol applications): Super Single Gasket, Metered & LowLoss. Scale up will involve further design & development of the valves & pre-productionmoulds to ensure the valves can be mass produced at levels demanded by the global mkt.With the global aerosol valve mkt already a $617M industry & with significant policy driversfor environmentally friendly & safe consumer products, the development of the Eco-valverepresents a major business opportunity, with mkt entry expected in Q4 2015