Influence of fluidized bed process parameters and material properties on plant powder characteristics and reconstitution behavior

Plant-based milk alternatives (PBMAs) are increasingly used in food applications owing to their nutritional value and lower environmental impact compared with conventional dairy products. However, their successful reconstitution remains challenging because plant proteins and dietary fibers promote lump formation, thereby impairing wetting and dissolution. Although fluidized bed agglomeration is widely applied to improve the instant properties of food powders, the combined influence of formulation composition and process parameters on the reconstitution behavior of PBMAs has not yet been systematically investigated. In this study, three representative PBMA formulations with different dominant compositional characteristics were agglomerated in a fluidized bed. A statistical Design of Experiments (DoE) approach was applied to investigate the interaction between formulation composition and fluidized bed process parameters on powder structure, wettability and lump formation during reconstitution. The results identified liquid spray rate and spray air pressure as the dominant process parameters governing agglomerate growth, while formulation composition strongly affected powder wettability. The protein- and fiber-enriched formulations exhibited larger contact angles and reduced wettability than the carbohydrate-rich reference formulation. Furthermore, contact angle correlated with lump diameter, indicating that wetting represents a rate-limiting step during powder reconstitution. The generated DoE models provide a framework for formulation-specific adjustment of fluidized bed process parameters to tailor powder structure and minimize lump formation.

Content

Subjects

Fluidized bed agglomeration

Plant-based powder

Design of experiment

Reconstitution

Lump formation

DDC Class

660.2: Chemical Engineering

Funding References

Funding(s)

Projekt DEAL

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https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Publication version

publishedVersion

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main.pdf

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