BioPick Pickering emulsions stabilised with nanoparticles from biomass
Project completed Enoncé du projet
Surfactants are being called into question and there are new regulations (REACH regulation since 2007) on the replacement of these chemical substances deemed “worrying for health and the environment”. Some directives encourage formulators to use active agents with environmentally friendly interfaces.
The alternative advocated in the BIOPICK project is to stabilise emulsions with solid, partially hydrophilic and hydrophobic particles, strongly anchored at the interface, making the interface “solid” and very robust. These are called Pickering emulsions. These emulsions are much more stable than their conventional counterparts, and have greater mechanical interfacial properties.
Wood is the most abundant renewable and biodegradable resource. It also has functionalities by assembling different molecules and is likely to have natural interfacial properties. The stabilisation of emulsions by wood particles is therefore a perfect response to the problem of replacing surfactants by renewable, environmentally friendly emulsifiers (Grenelle de l’environnement 2). The disassembly/reassembly of wood in the form of micro- and sub-micrometre-sized particles constitutes a solid source for emulsion stabilisation by the Pickering effect.
Project objectives
The approach is essentially generic:
Biomass ⇒ Micro-Nanoparticles ⇒ Emulsions.
The general approach is based on the following objectives:
Carrying out an exhaustive bibliographical study on the stabilisation of Pickering emulsions, on the methods for reducing the size of solid lignocellulosic particles, by dry and wet means.
Development of specific methods for the preparation of nanoparticles adapted to the different sources of material from wood.
Partners :
INRAE et ENSIACET
Funders :
ANR
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