Eco-design of innovative capsules – ECCOCAPS

Microencapsulation finds applications in many industrial sectors, including detergents, textiles, cosmetics, and healthcare and provides solutions to the needs expressed by manufacturers in terms of new products, enhanced performance, or even new functionalities.
Faced with increasingly restrictive standards, it is now necessary to integrate innovative processes and materials that are more respectful of the environment. In this context, a first priority request from the industry is to replace the toxic reagents used in microencapsulation processes, as required by the REACH regulations. A second priority request is the development of microcapsules that do not release microplastics into the environment at the end of their life cycle.

CAPSULÆ, a company specialized in the field of microencapsulation, and the Institut des Molécules et Matériaux du Mans (IMMM, joint research unit CNRS – Le Mans University, UMR6283), an expert in the field of functional materials, wish to pool their respective expertise to meet these priority demands through the ECCOCAPS joint laboratory project.

LabCOM ECCOCAPS will rely on the research and development of original and innovative technological solutions, based on the work and skills of the partners. More specifically, ECCOCAPS is proposing in the short term the implementation of new chemistries for microencapsulation technologies, based on the concept of click chemistry, in particular to replace commonly used toxic reagents. Beyond and in the medium term, through the use of bio-sourced precursors and the development of biodegradable microcapsules, the ECCOCAPS project will help to reduce the environmental impact of microencapsulation and its products through a “safe by design” approach, avoiding the release of microplastics in the environment.

The solutions proposed in ECCOCAPS and their originality will enable CAPSULÆ to offer its customers encapsulation systems that meet new regulations and have a low impact on the environment. ECCOCAPS will lead to innovative products for human care, hygiene and health products as well as for the animal health and nutrition sector. These innovative products will ensure a competitive advantage over existing products and offer the possibility of gaining competitiveness and increasing market share. For the research organization, ECCOCAPS is a solid basis for consolidating its work in the field of innovative reagents and functional polymers, and for undertaking new research in an area with strong development potential.