Chemically 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.
