Formulation engineering concentrates on research into the physical, chemical and biological processes that create formulated product structure and the maintenance or breakdown of that structure in use. Classical process engineering is concerned with the processing of simple chemicals on a bulk scale (for example petroleum products and intermediate bulk chemicals), the physical properties of which can be described using thermodynamics.
However, modern processes are concerned with the creation and production of materials whose structure is complex for which the process history becomes important. Examples of these materials include food, pharmaceutical and speciality products such as paints, catalyst supports, polymer films, cosmetics, detergents and agrochemicals. In all of these, the material microstructure controls the physical and chemical properties which are essential to their function. To process these materials efficiently requires combined understanding of the chemistry, process and material science.
Find out more about our Formulation Engineering research.