E 512 8 0 C O S M E T I C S S P R AY T E C H N O L O GY M A R K E T I N G Marketing Results of a study on the future of beauty salons Market survey The main service providers at a glance Events LuxePack review: The highlights of luxury packaging Machines Reduced processed times for high quality mascaras VIP of the Month Imogen Matthews on women over 50 a forgotten consumer group Focus: Cosmeceuticals 12/2012 www.cossma.com
SYSTEMS COLOR COSMETICS! EKATO UNIMIX MANUFACTURING EQUIPMENT Mascara, foundations, liners etc. Water-proof, non water-proof or silicone formulations Dust-free pigment addition Ultra-fine pigment dispersing No-shear bulk transfer > 98% yield with patented discharge system EKATO SYSTEMS GmbH, Käppelemattweg 2, 79650 Schopfheim, Germany Tel. +49 (0) 7622 29-400, Fax +49 (0) 7622 29-600, E-mail: systems@ekato.com www.ekato.com (EKATO SYSTEMS)
PRODUCTION MACHINES + EQUIPMENT High yield discharge system Rainer Engenhart from Ekato is convinced that, even though manufacturers tend to tolerate longer process times and lower yield rates for high value products such as mascaras, efficiency should not be an issue of importance only for lower value products. He believes that efficiency should be improved for high value products, too, and here he presents some cost saving opportunities. Why tolerate longer process times and lower yield rates for high value products when higher efficiency is easy to obtain? Apart from saving the cost of raw materials, considerable savings can be made by cleaning significantly less mascara residue off the manufacturing equipment. Saving labour, a much faster cleaning process and lowering detergent consumption these are factors that can contribute to a cost-saving production process. Mascara manufacturers frequently achieve yield rates as low as 80%, resulting from losses both in the compounding and filling areas and during photo: Fotolia in-house transfer of the material. In the compounding department alone yield rates of between 85% and 95% are typical. Too much perfectly acceptable product is thus wasted. To make matters worse, the cleaning and disposal of residual mascara is time-consuming and expensive. homogenizing and emulsifying with high shear forces heating and cooling without local hot spots or cold spots discharging the finished mascara without heating up or damaging the product s properties achieving high yield rates. photos: Ekato Making mascara with the patented Ekato Paravisc impeller Essentials for mascara processing Modern mascara production equipment is all-in-one processing equipment that should include: a vessel with jacket for heating and cooling a scrape agitator for low shear-force mixing a homogenizer for high shear-force mixing, for dispersing pigments and for emulsifying a vacuum pump for pulling raw materials into the vessel and for de-aeration a transfer CIP (Clean-In-Place) powders avoiding the generation of dust dispersing thickeners and pigments with no agglomerates What is relevant for discharge? Key factors for mascara discharge systems include the fact that high viscosity products have to be handled efficiently, leaving as little product as possible behind in the equipment. No shearing or heating of mascara during transfer should be involved and the transfer should be carried out at a reasonable flow rate. Challenges to discharge Due to the high viscosity of mascara at discharge temperature it is very difficult to drain the mascara by gravity or to pump it out via the homogenizer. In addition, positive displacement pumps would require additional investment, cleaning and maintenance. 32 COSSMA 12I2012
MACHINES + EQUIPMENT PRODUCTION Pressurizing the vessel bears the risk of a so-called blow through. Currently most mascara manufacturers use positive displacement pumps to transfer the finished bulk to a transfer container. Additional equipment (a pump) needs to be purchased, cleaned and maintained regularly, therefore some companies resort to using pressurized compounding vessels to force the mascara out of the mixing tank. Although this method, in contrast to the pump solution, does not require additional cleaning, the blowing of compressed air through the mascara can cause problems. Such a blow-through can constitute a safety hazard at the discharge end. How the high-yield discharge system works The high-yield discharge System (HYDS), patented by EKATO, is a proprietary system to discharge mascaras and other high-viscosity and shearsensitive products from a mixing vessel to a transfer container or a filling line. Its main components comprise: the Ekato Unimix system* with a secondary lid equipped with lid lift and swivel device, a compressed air connection and regulator, and a transfer element. In order to discharge the mascara the agitator is raised and the transfer element is placed on top of the mascara. After this, the secondary vessel lid is swivelled onto the vessel and locked. The vessel is then pressurized and the mascara is discharged via the bottom discharge port. With the help of the inspection window the lowering of the transfer disc pushing the mascara out of the vessel can be watched. The vessel is then vented, pressure is released after transfer and the transfer element is removed. Benefits of this solution The Ekato HYDS is a smart solution with an adequately designed transfer element as a key system component. The element is light enough to be inserted into the vessel by a single operator and strong enough to withstand any unwanted deformations. Its key benefits include: The HYDS element before discharge suitability for products thicker than 1 million cp and non-newtonian flow characteristics up to 99% yield out of the mixing gentle process with the lowest possible shear no temperature increase necessary bubbles are not entrapped or broken up the transfer element is self-levelling, floating on the product, hence no guidance is necessary no need to use a positive displacement pump or homogenizer upon completion of the bulk transfer the element can easily be removed by one person. A well-designed gap between the outside diameter of the HYDS element and the inside diameter of the vessel wall will allow the element to move properly along the vessel wall. At the same time, the gap will not allow bulk to pass by. The thicker the product, the more thoroughly it is scraped off the wall. Once the transfer element has shaped itself into the domed vessel bottom, the discharge of the mascara stops automatically and without any risk of blow-through. After venting the vessel and releasing the pressure, the element will retract to its original shape within only a few minutes. Cleaning procedure After the discharge of the mascara, the transfer element will be manually removed from the vessel and cleaned. Thanks to the smart design it can be manually cleaned quickly and easily Complete discharge: up to 99% yield e.g. by placing it in a parts washer installation. The vessel, agitator, homogenizer, product pipes and valves undergo a regular clean-in-place cycle. Increased efficiency Mascara manufacturers who switch to the Ekato Unimix processing technology shorten batching times, reduce operating costs, improve product quality and produce consistent products batch after batch. All of these aspects, as well as the benefits of the system, can justify the investment with a positive and rapid return. Using the Ekato Unimix system it is not unusual to manufacture mascaras in 3 to 4 hours. Using an HYDS the achievable yield rates are approximately 99% for systems larger than 1,000 litres, approximately 98% for 500 litre systems and more than 96% for 50 litre systems. Related applications The application options for the HYDS, apart from mascara, include ointments, heavy creams, gels, peels, scrubs, pastes and many other products. But industrial applications in the chemical, electronics and even food industries such as adhesives, sealants, pastes, etc. can also benefit from the HYDS. * Ekato offers worldwide consulting with trial laboratories in Germany, China, India and U.S.A. Rainer Engenhart Project Manager Sales Ekato USA, Oakland, NJ, USA systems@ekato.com www.ekato.com COSSMA 12I2012 33