Book Description

The mixing of liquids, solids and gases is one of the most commonunit operations in the food industry. Mixing increases thehomogeneity of a system by reducing non-uniformity or gradients incomposition, properties or temperature. Secondary objectives ofmixing include control of rates of heat and mass transfer,reactions and structural changes. In food processing applications,additional mixing challenges include sanitary design, complexrheology, desire for continuous processing and the effects ofmixing on final product texture and sensory profiles. Mixing ensures delivery of a product with constant properties. Forexample, consumers expect all containers of soups, breakfastcereals, fruit mixes, etc to contain the same amount of eachingredient. If mixing fails to achieve the requiredproduct yield, quality, organoleptic or functional attributes,production costs may increase significantly. This volume brings together essential information on theprinciples and applications of mixing within food processing. Whilethere are a number of creditable references covering generalmixing, such publications tend to be aimed at the chemical industryand so topics specific to food applications are often neglected.Chapters address the underlying principles of mixing, equipmentdesign, novel monitoring techniques and the numerical techniquesavailable to advance the scientific understanding of food mixing.Food mixing applications are described in detail. The book will be useful for engineers and scientists who need tospecify and select mixing equipment for specific processingapplications and will assist with the identification and solving ofthe wide range of mixing problems that occur in the food,pharmaceutical and bioprocessing industries. It will also be ofinterest to those who teach, study and research food science andfood engineering.