Improving non-aqueous dispersions for agrochemical application

The total sales of agrochemicals in 2019 was US$59 billion with Bayer CropScience, Syngenta, BASF, and Corteva accounting for 57% thereof. Agrochemicals are frequently manufactured as colloids using aqueous fluids, but it is also essential to have alternative oil-based carrier fluids for situations where active ingredient hydrolysis is an issue. We propose to study agrochemical colloidal particles in non-aqueous dispersion (NAD) to improve their physical stability inter alia. This iCASE project proposal with Professor Dirk Aarts in Physical Chemistry at Oxford is aimed at better understanding and then enhancing the co-formulants required. The Oxford group have significant experience and expertise with NADs, and they are ideally placed to help Syngenta characterise them better, for example by improved measurement of the colloid-colloid interactions, which is one of the long-standing goals in fundamental colloid science. This collaboration will seek new dispersants and thickeners for such NADs. The research will accelerate and underpin new projects within Syngenta. This could lead to an increased concentration of agrochemical in the product, more facile manufacturing, improved robustness of the formulation on storage and so on. These outputs will flow from improved fundamental understanding of the dispersion and structuring mechanisms at play in typical agrochemical NADs.Project Objectives:1) - Only a few polymeric dispersants are used within agrochemical NAD design - the challenge is to find novel dispersion mechanisms to expand the options; 2) - Effective structuring of NADs against sedimentation is technically limited - only small packs (5 litres) are feasible. The challenge is to allow 500 - 5000 litres for intermediate storage; 3) - Interactions between ingredients such as surfactants often show antagonistic effects on the particle dispersion, causing flocculation and unwanted phase separation. The challenge is to understand and control these interactions to...