Mixers for Alginates
What are alginates?
As a natural polymer, Alginates are obtained from brown seaweed and when mixed under the correct conditions, are soluble in water. They are used as stabilizing, gelling and thickening agents in the food, pharmaceutical and chemical industries. Examples of use in products are spreads, sauces and bakery products to provide the correct mouth feel in low-fat formulations. Alginates have film-forming properties when mixed at high concentrations and dried, making them suitable for use in plant-based products such as vegetarian sausage casings and skins.
Where are alginates used?
- Fillings
- Coatings
- Sauces & Dressings
- Pharmaceuticals
- Cosmetics
Difficulties in mixing alginates:
- Formation of agglomerates when agitation does not provide enough shear.
- Increase in processing times as pre-mixing with other ingredients is required
- Difficult to obtain full yield
- When combining the alginates with other gums this increases the viscosity leading to difficulties with standard agitating equipment being able to handle the viscosity increase and continue to move the product consistently around the vessel.
- Problems associated with aeration at higher concentrations where the viscosity is a lot greater.
Successful mixing for Alginates using Mixquip high shear agitators
Mixquip High Shear mixing options are the perfect solution for effectively dispersing alginates.
1. The vessel is charged with liquid and Powder Liquid Mixer is started. The alginate powder is added into the powder feed funnel and the valve is opening, drawing the alginate directly into the high velocity liquid stream.
2. The powder and liquid mix passes through into the workhead, where it is exposed to intense mechanical and hydraulic shear, ensuring complete dispersion and achieving and agglomerate free mix.
3. The product is pumped back into the process vessel.
High Shear Mixers
Advantages
- Thickening effect of the alginate is maximised.
- Increase in the yield of raw materials
- Lower raw material costs as product reformulations can reduce amounts of alginates used.
- Processing times are reduced which also reduces the risk of unintentional temperature rises
- Consistency and uniformity across batches with agglomerate free mix achieved
- No need to pre-mix the alginate
- Powder can be incorporated into the mix even with increase in viscosity.
Contact Mixquip to learn more
For more information about our high-shear mixer range and use in successful dispersion and hydration of alginates, contact our team on 1300 20 70 20 or email sales@mixquip.com. Our team look forward to discussing your application and help improve production for process demands.
