Industrial Doctorate Centre: Formulation Engineering

本申请申请资金用于继续和发展配方工程中的EngD，该项目自2001年以来一直得到EPSRC的支持。EngD是为满足现代流程工业的需要而开发的。经典的过程工程涉及的是加工材料，如石油化工，这可以用热力学术语来描述。然而，现代过程工程越来越关注结构(微米到纳米级)和化学复杂的材料的生产，以及它所接受的加工的功能。为了获得最佳性能，工艺必须与产品同时设计，因为提取商业价值需要可靠和快速的放大。例如：食品、药品、涂料、催化剂和燃料电池电极、结构陶瓷、薄膜、化妆品、洗涤剂和农用化学品。在所有这些中，材料配方和微观结构控制着对其功能至关重要的物理和化学性质。该中心利用这一事实，即这些工业部门的科学是普遍的，并围绕着设计过程来产生微观结构：(I)优化分子输送：例如，食品、个人护理和药品之间存在共性；在所有这些部门，活性物质的分子输送是关键的(在食品中，对胃和胃肠道，对个人护理中的皮肤，对制药行业的全身)；(Ii)在过程中控制结构：例如，燃料电池元件和催化剂需要一种结构，允许关键分子在广泛的温度和压力范围内有效通过；熔模铸造用结构陶瓷的制造面临着相同的问题；(Iii)使用具有适当规模和定义的放大规则的工艺：需要创建能够以最小的浪费和转换损失高效地制造这些产品的工艺。因此，影响广泛不同行业的研究问题是相同的：需要了解导致最佳纳米到微结构从而最佳效果的工艺。产品要么是结构化固体、软固体，要么是结构化液体，具有高度依赖于工艺的特性。要有效地制造这些产品，需要对它们的化学、加工和材料科学有全面的了解。由于产品对制造过程的敏感性，这一领域的研究具有直接的工业效益，我们目前的行业基础证明了这一点，对英国具有重大价值，其中包括大量产品创新特别迅速和以消费者为中心的快速消费品(FMCG)公司。因此，工程设计中心的需要和附加值是将不同的行业和行业部门聚集在一起，形成一个连贯的配方工程研究计划。我们收到了19家公司的支持信，其中包括(I)已经通过多种资源(包括联合利华、宝洁、劳斯莱斯、Imerys、强生马泰、吉百利和博姿)表示支持的大公司，(Ii)被我们的研究技能和行业基础所吸引的新中心公司(包括拜耳、阿克苏诺贝尔、巴斯夫、恒天然(新西兰)、百时美施贵宝和百事可乐)。

This application requests funds to continue and develop the EngD in Formulation Engineering which has been supported by EPSRC since 2001. The EngD was developed in response to the needs of the modern process industries. Classical process engineering is concerned with processing materials, such as petrochemicals, which can be described in thermodynamic terms. However, modern process engineering is increasingly concerned with production of materials whose structure (micro- to nano- scale) and chemistry is complex and a function of the processing it has received. For optimal performance the process must be designed concurrently with the product, as to extract commercial value requires reliable and rapid scale-up. Examples include: foods, pharmaceuticals, paints, catalysts and fuel cell electrodes, structured ceramics, thin films, cosmetics, detergents and agrochemicals. In all of these, material formulation and microstructure controls the physical and chemical properties that are essential to its function. The Centre exploits the fact that the science within these industry sectors is common and built around designing processes to generate microstructure:(i) To optimise molecular delivery: for example, there is commonality between food, personal care and pharmaceuticals; in all of these sectors molecular delivery of actives is critical (in foods, to the stomach and GI tract, to the skin in personal care, throughout the body for the pharmaceutical industry);(ii) To control structure in-process: for example, fuel cell elements and catalysts require a structure which allows efficient passage of critical molecules over wide ranges of temperature and pressure; identical issues are faced in the manufacture of structured ceramics for investment casting;(iii) Using processes with appropriate scale and defined scale-up rules: the need is to create processes which can efficiently manufacture these products with minimal waste and changeover losses.The research issues that affect widely different industry sectors are thus the same: the need is to understand the processing that results in optimal nano- to microstructure and thus optimal effect. Products are either structured solids, soft solids or structured liquids, with properties that are highly process-dependent. To make these products efficiently requires combined understanding of their chemistry, processing and materials science. Research in this area has direct industrial benefits because of the sensitivity of the products to their processes of manufacture, and is of significant value to the UK as demonstrated by our current industry base, which includes a significant number of FMCG (Fast Moving Consumer Goods) companies in which product innovation is especially rapid and consumer focused. The need for, and the added value of, the EngD Centre is thus to bring together different industries and industry sectors to form a coherent underpinning research programme in Formulation Engineering. We have letters of support from 19 companies including (i) large companies who have already shown their support through multiple REs (including Unilever, P+G, Rolls Royce, Imerys, Johnson Matthey, Cadbury and Boots), (ii) companies new to the Centre who have been attracted by our research skills and industry base (including Bayer, Akzo Nobel, BASF, Fonterra (NZ), Bristol Myers Squibb and Pepsico).