while the default is using RC4, it is possible to use other more secure algorithms. These are specified as the fifth parameter. Also, one needs to add an initialization vector (random bytes). Eg.
<?php
$data = "This is top secret.";
// fetch public keys for our recipients, and ready them
$cert = file_get_contents('./cert.pem');
$pk1 = openssl_get_publickey($cert);
$iv = openssl_random_pseudo_bytes(32);
openssl_seal($data, $sealed, $ekeys, array($pk1), "AES256", $iv);
// free the keys from memory
openssl_free_key($pk1);
echo base64_encode($sealed);
?>