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Eco-Friendly Shellac Coating Process

The document describes a new environmentally friendly process for coating foods and pharmaceuticals using shellac. The process uses carbon dioxide to reduce the viscosity and alcohol concentration of shellac solutions by more than 50%, allowing for faster drying times and lower VOC emissions compared to traditional methods. It has advantages such as reduced processing time and costs as well as lower environmental impact. The process can be easily adapted to existing coating operations without expensive retrofitting.

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44 views2 pages

Eco-Friendly Shellac Coating Process

The document describes a new environmentally friendly process for coating foods and pharmaceuticals using shellac. The process uses carbon dioxide to reduce the viscosity and alcohol concentration of shellac solutions by more than 50%, allowing for faster drying times and lower VOC emissions compared to traditional methods. It has advantages such as reduced processing time and costs as well as lower environmental impact. The process can be easily adapted to existing coating operations without expensive retrofitting.

Uploaded by

عبدالعزيز بدر
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Coating Foods and Pharmaceuticals with

Shellac Edible Polymer Using


Environmentally Friendly Process

Fig. 1: 50/50 (ethanol/shellac) solutions sprayed at 200 psi and 20 degrees C

Disclosure Number

 2344

Patents Issued

 6723363

For Licensing Information

Matthew Smith
Sr. Technology Licensing Officer
Office of Technology Management
mds126@psu.edu
Phone: 814-863-1122
Fax: 814-865-3591

The disclosed process provides a sprayable shellac solution that reduces VOCs while improving
production rates. By utilizing carbon dioxide as a viscosity reduction agent and/or a propellant,
the process reduces the alcohol concentration in the shellac solution - potentially by more than
50 percent. This technique also substantially reduces processing time, since the processing time
depends on the time required to evaporate the solvent.

Background

Pharmaceutical and food products are often coated with edible shellac, which must be of a
sufficiently reduced viscosity. Current practice involves dissolving shellac in a solvent, using an
alcohol. The coating process, called panning, involves tumbling the product (tablets, candies,
etc.) in a revolving drum. As the product tumbles, the shellac solution is sprayed or ladled on.
Drying air is introduced to the pan, evaporating all of the alcohol. Federal regulations often
require capturing the evaporated alcohol before releasing it into the environment as volatile
organic compounds (VOCs). Typical stack controls (such as catalytic or thermal oxidizers) do
not easily reduce the VOC emissions from panning, necessitating higher-cost solutions. Because
of these high costs and the lack of adequate substitute solvents in shellac coating, there is a need
for a new spraying process.

Invention Description

The disclosed process provides a sprayable shellac solution that reduces VOCs while improving
production rates. By utilizing carbon dioxide as a viscosity reduction agent and/or a propellant,
the process reduces the alcohol concentration in the shellac solution - potentially by more than
50 percent. This technique also substantially reduces processing time, since the processing time
depends on the time required to evaporate the solvent.

Advantages

 Substantially reduced processing time thanks to quickly evaporating solvent


 Reduced cost for post-process VOC removal
 Reduced environmental impact
 Easily adaptable to current processes, with no expensive retrofitting necessary

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