1. Introduction
In industries such as high-end cosmetics, biopharmaceuticals, and precision chemical engineering, the demand for high-quality liquid products with fine particle sizes, strong stability, and no air bubbles is increasingly stringent. The homogenizing vacuum emulsifier equipment, integrating homogenization, emulsification, and vacuum deaeration functions, has become a key device to meet these requirements. It can effectively solve the problems of uneven mixing, air bubble inclusion, and poor product stability that are difficult to avoid with traditional equipment. This case focuses on how a customer in the [specific industry, e.g., high-end facial cream manufacturing] overcame long-term production bottlenecks by introducing homogenizing vacuum emulsifier equipment, and achieved comprehensive improvements in product quality, production efficiency, and cost control.
2. Background of the Project
2.1 Project Requirements
The customer mainly produces [product type, e.g., anti-aging facial creams and serums], which require extremely high standards for emulsion fineness, stability, and appearance. Before introducing the new homogenizing vacuum emulsifier equipment, the customer’s production line had the following clear requirements:
- Emulsion Fineness: The particle size of the emulsion needs to be controlled within 0.5-2 microns to ensure the product has a smooth and delicate texture, without any granular feeling when applied to the skin.
- Vacuum Deaeration: The product must be free of air bubbles. The equipment needs to maintain a vacuum degree of -0.095 MPa to -0.098 MPa during the emulsification process, so as to completely remove air bubbles generated during material mixing and avoid problems such as oxidation and reduced product shelf life caused by air.
- Production Capacity: With the expansion of the customer’s market share, the daily production capacity of a single production line needs to reach at least 3,000 kg, and the equipment should support continuous or semi-continuous production to reduce the time loss caused by batch switching.
- Safety and Compliance: The equipment must be made of pharmaceutical-grade 316L stainless steel for all parts in contact with materials, and comply with international standards such as GMP (Good Manufacturing Practice). It should also be equipped with a complete safety protection system, including over-temperature, over-pressure, and emergency stop functions, to ensure the safety of the production process.
2.2 Challenges Faced
Before using the homogenizing vacuum emulsifier equipment, the customer relied on a combination of traditional high-speed stirrers and separate vacuum tanks for production. This production mode brought a series of problems that seriously restricted the development of the enterprise:
- Insufficient Emulsion Fineness: The traditional high-speed stirrer could only break the oil phase into particles with a size of 5-10 microns, and the particle size distribution was uneven. Some batches of products even had particles larger than 15 microns, resulting in a rough texture. This not only affected the user experience but also led to a 5-8% product return rate due to "granular feeling" complaints.
- Air Bubble Inclusion: The separate vacuum tank could not achieve real-time vacuum deaeration during the emulsification process. Air bubbles would be reintroduced when materials were transferred from the stirrer to the vacuum tank, resulting in 10-15% of the products having visible air bubbles on the surface. These products could only be reworked or scrapped, increasing production costs.
- Low Production Efficiency: The traditional production process required multiple steps, including material mixing in the stirrer, transfer to the vacuum tank for deaeration, and then sampling inspection. Each batch of production took 6-8 hours, and the daily production capacity of a single line was only about 1,200 kg, which was far from meeting the market demand. In addition, the transfer of materials between equipment increased the risk of contamination and material loss.
- Unstable Product Quality: Due to the inconsistent mixing speed and vacuum degree in different batches, the stability of the emulsion varied greatly. Approximately 7-10% of the products would experience stratification or color change after 6 months of storage, and the oxidation rate of the products was high, leading to a significant reduction in shelf life.
3. Selection of the Homogenizing Vacuum Emulsifier Equipment
3.1 Features and Advantages of the Chosen Equipment
After conducting in-depth market research, comparing products from multiple suppliers, and conducting on-site trial production tests, the customer finally selected a dual-stage homogenizing vacuum emulsifier equipment. This equipment had the following core features and advantages:
- Dual-Stage Homogenization System: The equipment was equipped with a dual-stage homogenizing head. The first stage used a high-pressure plunger pump to generate a pressure of up to 30 MPa, which could initially break the oil phase into small particles; the second stage used a special stator-rotor structure to further refine the particles to a size of 0.3-1 micron. This dual-stage homogenization design ensured the fineness and uniformity of the emulsion.
- Integrated Vacuum System: The equipment integrated a high-efficiency vacuum pump and a sealed emulsification tank. During the entire emulsification process, the vacuum degree could be stably maintained at -0.096 MPa to -0.098 MPa. The unique tank body design and stirring structure could prevent air from being sucked in during material addition, realizing real-time and thorough vacuum deaeration.
- Intelligent Temperature and Process Control: The equipment was equipped with a PLC (Programmable Logic Controller) control system and a touch screen operation interface. Operators could set and monitor key parameters such as homogenization pressure, stirring speed, temperature, and vacuum degree in real time. The system also had an automatic process memory function, which could store the production parameters of different products and ensure the consistency of production processes between batches.
- Easy Cleaning and Compliance Design: All parts in contact with materials were made of pharmaceutical-grade 316L stainless steel, and the inner tank of the equipment had a smooth surface with a roughness of Ra ≤ 0.4 μm, which was easy to clean and avoid material residue. The equipment was also equipped with a CIP (Clean-in-Place) cleaning system, which could complete the cleaning process in 45 minutes without disassembling the equipment, meeting the GMP requirements for hygiene and cleanliness.
3.2 How It Met the Requirements
The selected homogenizing vacuum emulsifier equipment fully matched the customer’s production requirements and effectively solved the previous challenges:
- Meeting Emulsion Fineness Requirements: Through the dual-stage homogenization system, the equipment could stably control the emulsion particle size within 0.5-1.5 microns, which was better than the customer’s required range of 0.5-2 microns. After testing, the product texture became extremely smooth, and the customer return rate due to "granular feeling" dropped to less than 0.3%.
- Meeting Vacuum Deaeration Requirements: The integrated vacuum system maintained a high vacuum degree throughout the emulsification process, completely eliminating air bubbles in the product. The rate of products with air bubbles was reduced from 12% (before) to less than 0.5%, and the problem of product oxidation caused by air was also significantly alleviated.
- Meeting Production Capacity Requirements: The equipment supported semi-continuous production. After optimizing the production process, the production time per batch was shortened to 2.5-3 hours, and the daily production capacity of a single line reached 3,500 kg, exceeding the customer’s target of 3,000 kg. At the same time, the integrated design avoided material transfer between equipment, reducing material loss and contamination risks.
- Meeting Safety and Compliance Requirements: The pharmaceutical-grade 316L stainless steel material and GMP-compliant design ensured that the equipment met the industry’s strict hygiene and safety standards. The complete safety protection system also effectively prevented safety accidents such as over-temperature and over-pressure, ensuring the smooth progress of the production process.
4. Implementation Process
4.1 Installation and Setup
The installation and setup of the homogenizing vacuum emulsifier equipment were completed by a professional technical team from the equipment supplier, and the entire process took 14 working days. The specific steps were as follows:
- Pre-Installation Preparation: One month before the equipment arrived, the technical team conducted on-site surveys with the customer to confirm the site conditions, including power supply (380V/50Hz), water supply (pressure ≥ 0.3 MPa), drainage, and ventilation. They also formulated a detailed installation plan and provided training on pre-installation preparation for the customer’s on-site personnel.
- Equipment Unloading and Positioning: On the day the equipment arrived, the technical team used professional hoisting equipment to unload the equipment and accurately position it according to the installation plan. They paid special attention to the levelness of the equipment to ensure the stable operation of the homogenizing head and vacuum system.
- Pipeline and Electrical Connection: The technical team connected the equipment’s material inlet and outlet pipelines, cooling water pipelines, and vacuum pipelines, and strictly checked the sealing performance of each pipeline to avoid leakage. At the same time, they completed the electrical connection work, including the connection of the main power supply, control circuit, and safety protection circuit, and conducted a comprehensive electrical safety test.
- Commissioning and Trial Production: After the installation was completed, the technical team conducted a 5-day commissioning work. They first tested the operation of each component, including the homogenizing system, vacuum system, stirring system, and temperature control system, to ensure that all parameters met the design requirements. Then, they used the customer’s actual raw materials for trial production. During the trial production, they adjusted parameters such as homogenization pressure and stirring speed repeatedly, and tested the fineness, air bubble content, and stability of the product. Finally, they confirmed that all indicators met the customer’s requirements.
4.2 Training and Familiarization
To ensure that the customer’s operators and maintenance personnel could proficiently use and maintain the equipment, the supplier provided a 7-day systematic training course, which covered the following contents:
- Theoretical Training: The training teacher explained the working principle of the homogenizing vacuum emulsifier equipment, the structure and function of each component (such as the dual-stage homogenizing head, vacuum pump, and PLC control system), the common causes of faults and their solutions, and the GMP-related requirements in the production process. The trainees were required to master the theoretical knowledge and pass a written test.
- Practical Operation Training: Under the guidance of the training teacher, each operator conducted practical operations, including parameter setting, material addition, homogenization process monitoring, vacuum degree adjustment, and product discharge. The teacher corrected incorrect operation methods in real time and ensured that each operator could independently complete the entire production process.
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