When making toothpaste and dental creams, the performance of the end product is reliant on the effectiveness of the formulation and mixing process used. The typical process of manufacturing toothpaste requires a range of liquid and powdered ingredients to be blended using a high-speed mixer to ensure that all materials are well dissolved and aeration is eliminated.
The Common Processes Involved in Toothpaste Production
The methods for toothpaste manufacturing typically vary depending on the product type, such as pastes and gels, and ingredients used. We commonly see the following process steps in toothpaste production:
- Incorporation of Carbopol® and 40% Carbamide Peroxide into Glycerine.
- Carbopol® is difficult to disperse into Glycerine because the low pH Glycerine solution results in instant hydration and viscosity increase.
- 40% by weight Carbamide Peroxide is added to the Carbopol solution in a re-circulation to the mixing vessel.
- Need to increase production without expanding the facility.
Manufacturing Toothpaste Using a High-shear Mixer
Quadro® offers high-quality toothpaste manufacturing equipment to address the specific processing challenges in the personal care and cosmetics industry, including toothpaste production. Our high shear powder dispersers are designed to provide safe, effective and reliable blending solutions to leading manufacturers in the industry.
The Quadro Ytron® ZC Powder Disperser was designed for the incorporation of difficult-to-disperse ingredients into a liquid stream in a single pass, resulting in high-quality and efficient powder dispersions.
The ZC Powder Disperser is incredibly effective at dispersing solids, achieving a dispersion rate of up to 70% by weight. With minimal air entrainment, the ZC greatly reduces the time needed for product deaeration. In just one pass, the powder is completely hydrated and free of any lumps, maximizing product yield and minimizing wastage.
For this application, we used the ZC1 inline disperser, skid mounted with a dual PD pump arrangement for performance with high viscosities and high solids addition rates with an automated Q-Vac vacuum powder addition system.
The following controls we added to allow three pre-set operating points on inlet and discharge pumps:
- Carbopol addition
- Carbamide Peroxide addition
- Auxiliary setting
- Automated powder valve with level sensors in the hopper to control powder on/off addition.
ZC Powder Disperser Advantages
The ZC offers a 75% reduction in overall batch time vs. conventional in-tank mixer processing. It is able to achieve rapid incorporation & dispersion of solids without lumps or "fish-eyes", resulting in improved product consistency from batch to batch.
The use of the ZC meant that the customer saw increased product viscosity, allowing them to reformulate and use less polymer. The over-processing that is common with conventional mixers was avoided due to the high shear mixing capabilities of the ZC, preserving the rheological properties of shear-sensitive products.
Increased production efficiency was achieved by removing the requirement to filter undispersed powders, and the compact design of the ZC meant that there was no longer a need to expand the manufacturing area to increase production.
The Quadro® system meant that the customer no longer experienced excessive dusting from bag dumping into process vessels as well as the elimination of solids build-up on process vessel walls. Not only that, quality problems associated with cross-batch contamination were eliminated alongside a reduction in air entrainment.
Get in Touch
If you're interested in learning more about how Quadro® equipment can be used in the manufacturing of toothpaste, please contact our team.
