Effect of processing conditions as high-intensity ultrasound, agitation, and cooling temperature on the physical properties of a low saturated fat.

The objective of this work was to evaluate the effect that agitation rate, crystallization temperature, and sonication have on the physical properties of a soybean-based fat with low levels of saturated fatty acids crystallized in a scraped surface heat exchanger (SSHE). The sample was crystallized at two temperatures (20 and 25 °C) and agitation rates (344/208 rpm in the barrels/pin worker-high agitation HA and 185/71 rpm barrels/pin worker-low agitation LA), and a constant flow of 11 L/hr. High-intensity ultrasound (HIU - 12.7 mm-diameter tip, 50% amplitude, 5 s pulses) was coupled to a water jacketed flow-cell and placed at three different positions within the SSHE. The combination of all those parameters affected samples' physical properties. Higher oil binding capacity (OBC) and elasticity (G') were obtained at 20 °C compared to 25 °C (77% vs. 63.78% for OBC and 30.4 kPa vs. 6 kPa for G', respectively) due to the smaller crystals formed at 20 °C. Fewer or no differences were observed due to agitation alone, but LA conditions allowed for more secondary nucleation to form due to sonication and resulted in a higher improvement on the properties of the fat. PRACTICAL APPLICATION: Fat crystallization in a scrapped surface heat exchanger (SSHE) combined with a high-intensity ultrasound (HIU) gives a realistic idea of how the HIU would work in an industrial line under continuous flow, shaved shear, and different supercooling. Results from this research will provide industry with tools on how and where to incorporate HIU in their processing line. Moreover, will give information on how to combined crystallization conditions and sonocrystallization in order to obtain improved physical properties.