Better dispersion of gums in soft drinks

Pursuit Dynamics’ PDX technology is delivering dramatic process improvements and energy savings to companies that use thickening agents and stabilisers in the production of soft drinks.

Thickening agents such as xanthan gum and pectin are commonly used in the production of soft drinks, as are stabilisers such as sodium carboxyl methyl cellulose (CMC), guar gum and gum arabic. But dissolving these ingredients is often problematic as they can be slow to hydrate and often require heating.

Powders that are insufficiently hydrated can build up on vessel walls, leading to a requirement to clean the vessel, plus there is wastage through the need to overdose the ingredients to take account of the incomplete hydration.

While hard-to-wet powders can agglomerate and become difficult to disperse, some have a tendency to float on the surface of the base liquid. In addition, as the powders become hydrated the solution increases in viscosity and reduces the performance of conventional mixing equipment.

As an alternative, Pursuit Dynamics offers its PDX shockwave technology that pumps, mixes, entrains and heats, all in one easy-to-clean process that has no moving parts.

Several ingredients can be simultaneously wetted and hydrated thereby eliminating the need for pre-mixing. Agglomerations are dispersed as they pass through the supersonic region of the PDX unit. Full dissolution, consistent quality and maximised yield are achieved and the need for costly integrated stabilisers is eliminated.

The PDX system is energy-efficient and manufactured in food grade 316L stainless steel.

l BPT (Skerman) has installed the first PDX system for Premier Foods at its Histon site for dissolving sugars in solution during the manufacture of jam, marmalade and jelly.

Contact: Pursuit Dynamics, Tel: 01763 250592