Membrane Emulsification Advances and Perspectives

Fundamentals of membrane emulsification processes and their application in emulsions and particles production are discussed. A brief comparison with traditional emulsification methods is reported. Parameters governing emulsion micromanufacturing by membrane emulsification in dynamic and static conditions are illustrated. Advances promoted and technological development still needed to fully exploit the technology is pointed out as well. The use of membrane emulsification for the preparation of simple, double emulsions and particles as well as their use in various fields including food, pharmaceutical, and chemical manufacturing is reported. Highlights on the use of membranes to assist nanoprecipitation for the production of micro- and nanosuspensions are also included. A final analysis illustrates the patents related to the field and their worldwide distribution. It is worth to note that in the last seven years the technology has significantly increased its popularity, by nearly doubling the rate of number of filed patents per year compared with the previous 20 years, since early 1990s when the technology was first introduced in Japan. The major growth was promoted in China where inventions mainly referred to development of formulations by means of membrane emulsification.