Extrusion Flashcards
Describe extrusion process
Where moistened starch and/or protein materials are plasticised and cooked in a tube by a combination of pressure, heat and mechanical shear
What effect does it have on starch and protein
Starch - Gelatinisation
Protein - denaturation, stretching and structuring
Basic principles (3)
1) Granular or flour materials are fed into an extrusion cooker in a continuous manner at controlled rates
2) The material may be pre-conditioned with steam at moderate temperatures (80 degrees)
3) Moisture is added to meal or flour before extrusion or in the feed zone before the product enters the extrusion screw region
What does changing the die do?
Alter the final shape of the product
Describe the 3 extrusion zones of a single screw extruder
1) Transport section - Atmospheric pressure
2) Compression section - Low pressure
3) Holding section - High pressure
Describe the process
In the barrel the food material is forced under high temperature and pressure against a restricting die by means of a rotating screw
How can you enable different temperature zones in the barrel
By water jacketing the barrel
Describe the first and second sections
First - melt zone - 100 degrees C - the dough is converted to a colloid
Second - pump and compression zone - the temperature is increased by propulsion and friction heat to 100-175 degrees C to cook and expand the product
What is the term for the material that has been extruded through a die?
Extrudate
The movement of material from a region of high pressure to atmospheric pressure is equivalent to?
applying a vacuum
As the product is extruded what happens to the water content?
Water in the hot material leaving the extruder flashes off as steam, creating an expanded spongy product, which dries to about 8% moisture.
What is the term to describe the setting of the extrudate within a few seconds of final extrusion?
Thermo-setting
What are the two classifications of extruders?
Heat generated or Pressure developed
Describe heat generated extruders?
a) Autogenous extruders which generate their own heat
b) Isothermal extruders in which constant temperature is maintained by cooling
c) In between the two
Name the two types of pressure developed extruders
Direct or positive displacement type and Indirect or viscous drag type
Describe Direct of Positive displacement extruders
- Piston type - e.g. sausage stuffing
- Intermeshing twin screw (higher shear) subjects material to shear and drag e.g. chocolate and chewing gum manufacture
Describe Indirect or viscous drag type
- Extruder develops viscous drag, low pressure
- Roller extruder for sticky substances e.g. confectionery
- Single screw extruder
- Non-meshing twin screw extruders for dough sheeting
What is the most important part?
The screw
What is the material subjected to as it is conveyed along the screw channel?
mixing, shearing and heating
Describe the material in two words
Thermoelastic and viscoelastic
What assumptions are made for the equations used to predict the response of processing condition to changes in operating variables (3)
1) Extruder is isothermal - constant temp
2) Screw geometry is simple and constant
3) No leaks in the system
Describe 2 types of screw design
a) Full flighted screw with either a constant or a varying pitch and either a constant or varying channel depth
b) Torpeado type screw with either a constant pitch, a smooth pitch or a varying pitch
The net flow or output Q may be divided into two components
Q = QD + QP
What does the pitch of the screw mean?
Constant pitch = the same distance between the grooves on the screw / decreasing pitch = grooves getting closer together
What does QD mean:
QD - represents drag flow, the forward component
The drag rate is:
- proportional to the average velocity in the channel
- dependent on the screw speed and geometry
- independent of pressure and velocity
What effect does cooling have on the drag flow?
Cooling generally retards drag flow and reduces output whereas heating increases drag flow
The output increases when :
Drag flow is larger then pressure flow
What does QP mean:
Pressure flow - can be visualised as a non-rotating screw with fluid flowing backwards from the high pressure discharge end (can be used to emulsify)
What does pressure rate depend on?
The pressure gradient that is sometimes encouraged for homogenisation
Q = Net output - What is the formula?
Q = k1 x A x N - k2 x W x h3 x P