Development of a disinfectant and moisturizing hand cream and preliminary design of its manufacturing process

Abstract

The current health crisis that society is going through as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus has led to increased awareness of hand hygiene and cleaning. The products used to prevent the transmission of this, and other viruses are usually alcohol-based hand sanitizers and their frequent use can cause dryness of the skin and alter the integrity and function of the skin barrier. Although many of these products contain glycerin to increase viscosity and reduce dehydration, it may not be enough. Therefore, consumers often combine this product with other moisturizers products to counteract the damage. The purpose of this project is to develop a hand cream that combines disinfectant and moisturizing action to meet the needs of society. The product must combine the main characteristics of hand disinfectants and creams, so it is necessary to find the balance between disinfecting agents and cosmetic ingredients to create an effective bactericidal, virucidal and fungicidal cream, without irritating the skin. Disinfectant efficacy, emulsion stability, disinfectant stability, rheology and sensory aspects such as color, fragrance, and moisturizing efficacy have been established as quality factors for the formulated product. The hand cream has been conceptualized as an O/W emulsion with pseudoplastic behavior, low viscosity when applied to the skin and high viscosity at low shear rates so that it does not spill easily. The emulsion has been conceptualized as whitish and with dispersed phase droplets approximately 20 μm in size. The selection criteria for all ingredients have been based on patents, scientific articles, books, and market trends, considering their efficacy, safety, irritability, and allergenicity. Based on this, peracetic acid has been chosen as the disinfecting agent. The production process is based on the emulsion and homogenization of the dispersed and continuous phase that forms the formula. It has been designed as a batch process as it is the type of production that is best suited. To carry out the manufacturing process, two stirred vessels have been selected for the premix stages, a coaxial mixing reactor with a high cut stator rotor for the emulsion and homogenization stage, and a storage vessel and filling equipment for the post-treatment stage