6. Alternative technologies

There are many technical alternatives for improving the stability and homogeneity of a dispersion: mixers, colloidal mills, grindstone and microbead homogenizers, ultrasonic homogenizers, shut-off homogenizers. However, the particle size achievable with a high-pressure homogenizer is much smaller than with colloidal mills or powerful mixers. There are also other selection factors to consider, such as flow rate and process continuity or discontinuity (table 3 ). These alternatives make it possible to choose less expensive and less energy-consuming equipment if particle sizes greater than 5 micrometers are sufficient.