ARS | Publication request: FOOD POWDER DELIVERY THROUGH A FEEDER SYSTEM:EFFECT OF PHYSICO-CHEMICAL PROPERTIES

Submitted to: International Journal of Food Properties
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: March 15, 2007
Publication Date: May 5, 2009
Citation: Pordesimo, L.O., Onwulata, C.I., Carvalho, C.W. 2009. FOOD POWDER DELIVERY THROUGH A FEEDER SYSTEM:EFFECT OF PHYSICO-CHEMICAL PROPERTIES. International Journal of Food Properties. 12:556-570

Interpretive Summary: As consumers have become more health conscious, there has been greater effort on improving the nutrients in foods, and providing other health benefits through foods. For example, crunchy snack foods, associated with the higher incidence of obesity and diabetes in the U.S., are being improved nutritionally with whey proteins. In our work, whey proteins and other powdered ingredients are blended and processed into nutritional snacks. Successful incorporation of whey protein into crunchy snacks requires the controlled addition of ingredients into the manufacturing process. We studied how delivery of snack ingredients, including whey proteins, in feeders was affected by their physical and chemical properties. This understanding allows snack manufacturers to reliably control the flow of ingredients into their processes and therefore produce products with better nutrition on a consistent basis for U.S. consumers.

Technical Abstract: A regression analysis was undertaken to determine how to quantitatively integrate the effects of powder physico-chemical properties on delivery through a twin screw feeder. This understanding allows snack manufacturers to reliably control the flow of ingredients, including whey proteins, into their processes and therefore produce products with better nutrition on a consistent basis for U.S. consumers. There was a clear linearity between powder delivery by the commercial twin screw feeder test platform over its entire operating range with the rate varying with the material delivered. Apparent particle density and particle size represented by both D50 and mean of a volume weighted PSD were found to be most influential on delivery rate. Their effects could be quantitatively accounted for through a multiple regression equation for the slope of the linear powder delivery curves.