Competitive Advantages
Magnetic emulsion technology has the lowest total cost:
1 investment cost: The equipment cost of M4E devices is significantly lower as compared to traditional equipment like colloid mills or high-shear stirrers.
2 installation costs: M4E-devices take little space and can be fitted easily into existing pipework and reservoirs. This limits installation costs of magnetic emulsion equipment.
3 energy costs: Classical emulsion technologies have a high energy cost, because only a fraction of the energy is effectively used for emulsifying. The rest is converted into heat, noise and motion. Magnetic emulsion technology on the other hand acts as a very good mixer on a molecular length of scale and is therefore much more efficient. Almost all energy is used in the process of emulsification. This means that energy consumption can be reduced with a factor 10 or more as compared to the classical processes.
4 spare-parts costs: The M4E devices contain no moving parts and therefore require no spare-parts and have a long lifetime.
5 maintenance costs: The M4E devices are almost maintenance free. The clean-in-place devices (CIP) are easy to clean and do not have to be removed from the installation for cleaning.
Magnetic emulsion technology produces high quality emulsions:
high emulsion quality: The quality of emulsions manufactured with magnetic technology is at least comparable with high-shear equipment. Often even a better quality is obtained. Cosmetic creams and lotions for instance often have an improved viscosity, stability and homogeneity.
soft technology: Magnetic emulsion technology is a low-shear technology. The absence of high shear forces prevents the damaging of certain molecules. This is an advantage for emulsions containing sensitive molecules, as viscosity enhancers in light sauces and cosmetics (carbomers), actives in cosmetics/pharma and high value additives in food products.
Magnetic emulsion technology offers great potential for process optimisation:
flexibility: Magnetic emulsion technology is a very flexible technology. The M4E-devices can be mounted wherever it is most convenient in new or in existing installations. The magnetic devices are installed outside the vessel. This means that the same device can be used with several production vessels with different batch sizes.
batch or (semi-)continuous: M4E devices can be operated in-line as well as fitted into batch processes. M4E has developed a range of devices for applications in the range from litres to metric tons an hour.
increased output: Production output can be increased by increasing batch processing time.
