ŻYWNOŚĆ. Nauka. Technologia. Jakość, 2005, 4 (45) Supl., 120 – 131

Hanna Kowalska, Ewa Domian, Monika Janowicz, Andrzej Lenart

THE EFFECT OF AGGLOMERATION ON THE WATER VAPOUR ADSORPTION BY MULTI-COMPONENT POWDER FOODS

S u m m a r y

There were determined the isotherms and the kinetics of the process of adsorbing water vapour by mixtures of powder foods and their agglomerates produced using a method of repeated wetting in a fluidized bed that was pneumatically or mechanically generated. The mixtures were made of products in the form of powders; the products applied were: whey, isolate of milk whey protein, isolate of soya, glucose, and fat in a liquid and a powdered state. The mixtures had a composition pattern of the milk powder.

The effect of wet agglomeration in a fluidized bed on the water vapour adsorption by multi-component food powders depended on its character.

The effect of changes, aiming at decreasing the adsorption capacity of water steam by agglomerates of carbohydrate-protein mixtures and carbohydrate-protein-fat agglomerates, depended, first of all, on their compo-sitions, and, to a lower degree, on their structure coupled with the method of agglomeration.

Key words: water vapour adsorption, food powders, agglomeration