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As a long-term specialist in the field of microencapsulation for the production of carbonless papers, Koehler is also familiar with adapting this technology for other industries, especially for the production of fragrance capsules.
Since we started producing our own microcapsules in 1974, the technology has been regularly developed and our own production facilities have been adapted accordingly. With this knowledge of process development and large-scale production, we concentrate on what is feasible in order to also support external customers as a contract manufacturer.
In the microencapsulation process, microscopical small oil droplets or solid particles are evenly enveloped by a polymer shell.
The encapsulated content is usually released again in a targeted manner by mechanical destruction of the capsule wall.
If external customers are interested, Koehler is available as a contact for contract manufacturing or technology licensing.
After clarification of the fundamental applicability of the technologies available at Koehler to the customer's application and an economic evaluation of the application potential, the following steps typically follow:
1. Emulsifying the core material in the aqueous Phase
2. Addition of the wall former
3. Wall formation
4. Cross-linking the wall material
PCMs (phase change materials) store the latent heat that causes a change of phase from solid to liquid. When the environment cools down, the stored heat energy is released again. The microcapsules’ permanent shell, optimized specifically for this purpose, must be impermeable but still flexible to guarantee that the encapsulated wax can permanently change phase and that the capsule functions properly.
The first step in the development of a suitable microcapsule is the exact description of the applications and the resulting requirements with regard to the capsule properties. The release, size of the capsule, and specific properties of the core substance are only a few parameters that affect both the formulation and process development.
Writing the formulas and process scale-up are followed by pilot production batches in our pilot plant. The long experience of our employees in performing laboratory and pilot tests ensures fast process adjustments enabling an easier transfer to the next larger installations. In this test phase many options for possible process optimization are automatically incorporated. The sample quantities produced in the pilot plant range from 100 kg to 300 kg per batch in order to be used for larger applications or market trials.
Koehler operates production facilities of various sizes for manufacturing microcapsules. We produce mid-sized production quantities in batch sizes of 1.8 to 3.6 tons and an annual output of approximately 2,000 tons. Up to 13,500 tons of capsule dispersion can be produced for large-volume products. This makes Koehler one of the world’s largest suppliers in the encapsulation business. These capacities allow us to react with flexibility to our customers’ requests.
Delivering products on time and the consistent quality of the microcapsules are our top priority. At our quality assurance laboratory, we conduct a wide array of customized analyses.
The standard physical specification parameters defined include total solids content, viscosity and capsule size distribution. The latter is determined via laser diffraction. The capsules can also be evaluated visually on scanning-electron-microscope images. For chemical analyses, wet-chemical as well as various spectroscopic and chromatographic methods are available.
If you have any questions related to our products, the Koehler sales team will be happy to help. Just send us your inquiries using our contact form.