Development of a range of air fresheners for homecare and preliminary design of their manufacturing process

Abstract

Every day we perceive different smells in the street, at work, on public transport, in the home... These smells can be pleasant and bring pleasant memories to mind, but sometimes they are unpleasant and we tend to try to change that sensation. Society is faced with the need to neutralise these unpleasant smells wherever they are present. Specifically, this project has focused on the space of the home, a place where people tend to spend a large part of their time. It has therefore been decided to develop a range of air fresheners for domestic use. The development of formulated products is a process in which the needs of society or the consumer are identified and transformed into commercial products. Firstly, in order to carry out this process of developing the product range, the analysis of current trends and market needs have conceptualised the different products. With this information, it was decided to create three air fresheners, one aerosol type, one liquid plug-in type and the last one gel type. The functionalities and packaging of the product were also determined. Next, in order to achieve the effectiveness of the air freshener range, quality factors have been established for the three types of air fresheners. The selection of ingredients and a formulation proposal for each air freshener is then carried out. The difference between the three types of air fresheners is their mode of diffusion of the volatile active substance. This has an impact on the product development discussed above. The aerosol type air freshener will contain a propellant, Propel 38, which will assist in the atomisation of the volatile substance. As a consequence of this ingredient needs a certain container under pressure, a metal container with a capacity of 250mL has been chosen. On the other hand, the liquid electric plug-in air freshener will be a homogeneous solution that by means of a wick and the increase of temperature, the volatile active substance can be spread in the air. This leads to a different container, a glass container with a capacity of 20mL has been chosen.The gel type air freshener will be an absorbent body in which the volatile active substance will be contained. The formation of this absorbent body will be by means of an ingredient called gelling agent. Therefore, the packaging is different again, it is now a rectangular plastic container with slots in the top and a capacity of 150g. Finally, a preliminary design of the industrial manufacturing process for each air freshener has been proposed and equipment has been selected. In general, an agitation tank will be needed to mix the ingredients and homogenise them; and packaging, capping and packing equipment for the distribution of the product