Soft Drinks Formation - Dispersal / Watering of Active Ingredients

Ingredients such as gums, starch, alginates, etc. are found in many soft drinks that include fruit juices, squashes, sweetened milk, and carbonated beverages. These "active" ingredients make up a very small percentage of the total composition, but include important features:

Hardness: Allowing the formula maker to obtain viscosity and texture (known as “mouthfeel”). Especially important is the low calorie or sugar-free products where the effect of sugar filling should be reversed. Many different products are used, including xanthan gum, pectin, etc.
Stabilization: Keeping particles (eg fruit pulp) suspended. Several products are used e.g. CMC, starch, propylene glycol alginates (PGA), pectin, and gums such as guar and gum arabic. Carrageenan is used to stabilize cork in milk drinks. Many of these ingredients will provide firming and strengthening effects.

The process

Depending on the degree of production, the solids/solids may be dispersed directly into the batch, or different premises may be prepared for use in different products. In any case, to get the performance of these products, they must be properly dispersed and watered. Many procedural requirements must be met to achieve the following:

The powder/liquid mixing system should be able to mix the powder and disperse it into all the contents of the mixture.
The powders should be thoroughly soaked in water to increase yields.
Some products are “activated” unless the particles are “individually owned.”
A high level of shear is sometimes required for other products to work and be fully hydrated.
Some types of ingredients require heat to absorb water.

The problem

Hydration of gums and thickeners is one of the most difficult tasks to assemble. If you use standard agitators, many problems can arise:

The powder should be added at a controlled rate to reduce the formation of lumps.
Conventional agitation systems do not produce enough cuts to break down agglomerates.
Mixing powders, (usually with sugar) is often done to reduce agglomeration; this increases costs and time.
When active ingredients are prepared, the viscosity increases, making mixing more difficult.
Prolonged processing time may be required for proper dispersion of powders and complete hydration.
Incomplete hydration also reduces the production of immature substances.
Many forms contain unnecessarily high levels of these materials to compensate for poor yields and processing efficiency.

Solution

The Wahal Engineer High Shear mixer can overcome these problems. Benefits from the three-stage action mixer / Wahal Engineer rotor/stator mixer. Performance is as follows:

Stage 1

The vessel is charged with water and the mixture is started. The powder is added and immediately immersed in water. The high-speed rotation of the rotor blades creates a strong absorption that pulls the liquid and powder ingredients into the work surface.

Stage 2

The particles are agglomerated in the space between the rotor and the stator. The product is forced out of the stator and produced brilliantly back into the body of the mixture as new ingredients are extracted from the active ingredient. All the powder is quickly absorbed and dispersed.

Stage 3

In a short mixing cycle, all substances pass over the work head, gradually reducing the particle size and exposing the growing area to the surrounding fluid, speeding up the hydration process.

Benefits

Amazing reduction in mixing times.
Agglomerate-free mix.
Dry premixing is not required.
High yield.
Ability to start or stop the process quickly to process ingredients when needed.
Stable product quality and duplication.
Improved shipping.

There are several products in the Wahal Engineer range that are suitable for this application, their selection being determined by the requirements of each process including the size of the collection: