sponsoredPastillation for cosmetics production and more A solid choice: pastillation systems for intermediate materials

Sponsored by

IPCO Germany GmbH Niederlassung Fellbach

IPCO pastillation systems make intermediate products easy to transport, store, handle and dose for manufacturers of cosmetics, pharmaceuticals and food products. Benefits include consistently sized pastilles, high hygiene standards and GMP compliance.

Granulated products are used to manufacture an incredibly wide range of items, from soaps and cleaning agents to creams and ointments – and even chocolate and caramel.

Mass production in the chemical, cosmetics and health care industries, along with the pharmaceutical and food sectors, requires industrial quantities of intermediate materials. Easy transport, storage, handling and dosability of these industrial ingredients is key. IPCO pastillation systems produce consistently sized, freeflowing granules that meet all these requirements.

Reliable, reproducible quality

IPCO pastillation systems have long been used to produce granules with optimum characteristics. The system forms the respective intermediate material into droplets which are then cooled into solid pastilles that have a consistent shape and are dry, dustfree and easy to dispense. Whether the pastilles are made from fatty acids or fatty alcohols, speciality resins or waxes, or other melts that have been solidified for ease of handling or dosing, their uniform shape, stability and quality can be reproduced precisely, again and again.

Flexible method provides many options

At the same time, pastillation systems are highly versatile. The core technology involves a pump that supplies the molten product to the pastillation system. Here, a nozzle bar deposits drops of the product through a perforated, rotating shell onto a continuously running stainless-steel belt. Uniform pressure and an even flow ensure that the pastilles are identical in size and shape. As the belt continues to travel, it is sprayed with cooling water from below. The heat from the molten product is transferred through the belt into the cooling water, which is recooled and recirculated. By simply exchanging the nozzle bar and/or the rotating shell, this basic system can be used to process products of varying viscosities (10–40,000 mPas) at temperatures up to 300 °C and to produce uniform pastilles in a range of sizes (diameters of 0.8–36 mm).

Environmental and economic benefits

Because the cooling process in IPCO pastillation systems is quick, no pollutants can escape into the atmosphere. The cooling water never comes into contact with the molten product, so no cross-contamination can occur. Furthermore, the method itself ensures a clean production environment. And IPCO hasn’t forgotten the bottom line: directly solidifying the droplets from the melt means size reduction in the liquid phase, which eliminates the energy and machine costs for downstream crushing, breaking or grinding.

High hygiene standards meet GMP guidelines

Modern processes used to manufacture cosmetic, food and pharmaceutical products require the highest degree of hygiene and safety. In more than 100 countries around the world, customers now demand that manufacturers and processors demonstrate compliance with Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) guidelines. By following these guidelines, companies ensure that their production systems are consistent with international standards. Depending on the particular application, IPCO pastillation systems are built based on GMP requirements and individual, customer specifications, including factors such as good access for simpler and faster cleaning, or features designed to maximise hygiene, such as components made entirely of highgrade alloy steel or food standardcompliant plastics.

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New applications built on decades of experience

Since the 1980s, IPCO pastillation technology has set industry standards for meeting specific process requirements for a broad range of products. But new applications require new solutions. For example, modular system design allows pastilles to be produced from a wide variety of melts. These include intermediate products for the highcapacity production of chocolate, hot melts, epoxy resin or hotmelt adhesives, among others. In addition, purposedesigned systems provide cost-effective alternatives for laboratory use and smallscale production. Finally, every major oleochemical producer in the world – many of which supply intermediates for the cosmetics industry and pharmaceuticals manufacturing – now uses the same modern pastillation technology deployed by IPCO.

The basic principle of pastillation is simple: supply the respective product, form it into droplets and cool it into solid pastilles. But its advantages for manufacturers are considerable: reliability, reproducibility, versatility, environmental and economic benefits, optimum hygiene and the highest degree of quality. IPCO pastillation systems are already an integral part of production in many sectors and are clearly a solid choice for new partners in the cosmetics, food and pharmaceutical processing industries.

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