A citrate anti-caking method

Abstract

The invention belongs to the field of sodium citrate production, and particularly relates to a method for preventing citrate from caking. The method comprises the following steps: adding anhydrous citrate to citrate in an amount of 0.3%-0.5% of the mass of the citrate; the free water content of the anhydrous citrate is less than or equal to 0.5%. The method adds a specific amount of anhydrous citrate to the anhydrous citrate, and effectively prevents the citrate product from caking without adding an additive and without affecting the quality of the citrate product.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention belongs to the field of sodium citrate production, and particularly relates to a method for preventing citrate from caking. Background Art

[0002] Citrate is an organic acid salt widely used in food, beverage, chemical and pharmaceutical fields. It is an organic compound with the appearance of white to colorless crystals and no odor.

[0003] During long-term storage and transportation, citrate products will encounter high temperature environments. When the temperature drops, water vapor will be generated in the packaging bag. Especially during long-distance transportation, they will even pass through tropical high-temperature and low-temperature areas. Citrate products absorb moisture when exposed to heat in high-temperature environments, and re-condense in low-temperature environments, resulting in agglomeration. The agglomeration of citrate products brings many inconveniences to use, which directly leads to the inability to carry out production in an orderly manner. If equipment needs to be purchased to meet production needs, the products need to be re-dissolved and crystallized, which is time-consuming and labor-intensive, increases costs, and affects normal production, causing economic losses. At present, people in need buy citrate products on the market. Generally, agglomeration occurs during use, which affects use. Generally, the citrate products are returned to the manufacturers of citrate products. This causes great economic losses to the manufacturers of citrate products, which is not conducive to the production, promotion and application of citrate products.

[0004] At present, in order to prevent the citrate products from agglomerating, they are mainly packaged in kraft paper bags or woven plastic bags, which are sealed, but they cannot completely isolate the products from agglomerating due to moisture absorption. Nowadays, a method for solving the agglomeration problem of citrate is urgently needed. Summary of the invention

[0005] In view of the existing problems, the present invention provides a method for preventing citrate from caking, wherein a specific amount of anhydrous citrate is added to anhydrous citrate to effectively prevent the citrate product from caking.

[0006] The technical solution of the present invention is as follows:

[0007] A method for preventing citrate from caking comprises the following steps: adding anhydrous citrate to citrate in an amount of 0.3%-0.5% of the mass of the citrate; the free water content of the anhydrous citrate is ≤0.5%. Adding too much anhydrous citrate will increase the amount of anhydrous citrate used and increase the cost; adding too little anhydrous citrate cannot completely prevent the citrate product from caking.

[0008] Preferably, the preparation method of anhydrous citrate is: the citrate is slowly dried to obtain anhydrous citrate; further preferably, in the preparation method of anhydrous citrate, the drying temperature is maintained at 40°C-50°C, and the drying time is 12-24h. The inventor has found through long-term front-line work experience that there are more and larger pore structures in the structure of the anhydrous citrate obtained by drying at this temperature and time; the drying process of sodium citrate is equivalent to a decomposition reaction. When it is slowly dried, the rate is very slow and gradually changes, first on the surface and then slowly extending to the center to form pores. If the high temperature is carried out quickly, the structure of sodium citrate will be destroyed.

[0009] Preferably, the amount of anhydrous citrate used is 0.4%-0.5% of the mass of citrate, and further preferably, the amount of anhydrous citrate used is 0.4% of the mass of citrate. The free water in existing citrate products is controlled at 0.3%-0.5%, and the addition of 0.4% anhydrous sodium citrate can better absorb free water.

[0010] Preferably, the total moisture content of the citrate is 11.0%-13.0%, and the free water content is 0.1%-0.6%.

[0011] Preferably, the citrate salt is sodium citrate dihydrate or potassium citrate monohydrate.

[0012] Preferably, the anhydrous citrate is anhydrous sodium citrate or anhydrous potassium citrate.

[0013] Preferably, the particle size of the citrate salt and the anhydrous citrate salt is the same.

[0014] Preferably, the particle size of citrate or anhydrous citrate is 12-100 mesh.

[0015] Sodium citrate dihydrate (C6H5Na3O7·2H2O) contains two crystal waters, while the anhydrous sodium citrate (C6H5Na3O7) prepared by the present invention does not contain crystal water and has larger and more pores; 0.1%-0.6% of free water will be attached to the sodium citrate dihydrate, and water vapor will be generated in the packaging bag during long-term storage and transportation. These flowing free waters can migrate outwards by osmosis and migrate to the anhydrous sodium citrate with larger pores, so they will not gather on the surface of the sodium citrate dihydrate to absorb moisture and form lumps; similarly, this method can also prevent potassium citrate from Agglomeration during packaging and transportation: Potassium citrate monohydrate (C6H5K3O7·H2O) is a hygroscopic crystalline powder. Under the influence of the environment and its own characteristics during storage and transportation, it is easier to absorb water than sodium citrate, causing crystal agglomeration. The anhydrous potassium citrate prepared by directly adding the potassium citrate monohydrate to the potassium citrate using the same method can absorb free water and effectively prevent problems such as agglomeration and weathering. If ordinary anhydrous citrate products are directly added, their anti-agglomeration ability is relatively weak, which is obviously not as good as the anti-agglomeration ability of the anhydrous citrate prepared by the method of the present invention.

[0016] Since citrate is used in the fields of food, beverage, chemical industry and medicine, the application fields are relatively special. Usually, other additives such as anticaking agents are not added to citrate products, which are similar to those added to other products. Once anticaking agents and other additives are added, the quality of citrate products will be affected and the subsequent use will be affected. At present, people pay more attention to the ingredient list and are more willing to choose "zero-addition" products. For safety and health, this is also the goal constantly pursued in the technical fields of food, medicine and other fields. The inventor effectively solved the problem of product agglomeration by adding anhydrous citrate to citrate products. In the case of "zero addition", the quality of the product is guaranteed, and no additional equipment or process is needed. It is truly achieved at low cost to ensure that the product quality is not affected and achieve the goal of "zero addition". The technical solution of the present invention has made a breakthrough in the problem of agglomeration of citrate products, and also provides a new idea for solving the anti-caking problem in the fields of medicine and food.

[0017] The beneficial effects of the present invention are as follows:

[0018] (1) Anhydrous citrate with larger pores and more pores is obtained by slowly drying the citrate, so that the free water in the citrate migrates to the anhydrous sodium citrate with larger pores, effectively preventing agglomeration;

[0019] (2) Anhydrous citrate and citrate are both citrate salts and can be added directly. The addition method is simple, convenient, and easy to operate;

[0020] (3) Compared with other anti-caking agents, the added anhydrous citrate does not contain any foreign substances and does not affect the quality of the citrate product, making it safer and healthier. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0021] Figure 1 This is a microscope image of anhydrous sodium citrate prepared by the present invention;

[0022] Figure 2 This is the agglomeration condition of sample 0d;

[0023] Figure 3 This is the agglomeration condition of sample 7d;

[0024] Figure 4 This is the agglomeration condition of sample 15d;

[0025] Figure 5 This is the agglomeration condition of the sample at 30 days;

[0026] Among them, Example 1 is numbered 2, Example 2 is numbered 3, Example 3 is numbered 4, and Comparative Example 1 is numbered 1. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0027] The following is a further detailed description of the above contents of the present invention by means of specific implementation methods in the form of embodiments, but the present invention is not limited in any way. All technologies realized based on the above contents of the present invention belong to the scope of the present invention, and unless otherwise specified, the following embodiments are all completed using conventional existing technologies.

[0028] The particle sizes of the following sodium citrate dihydrate and sodium citrate anhydrous are both 12-40 meshes, the total moisture content of sodium citrate is 11.0%, and the content of free water is 0.5%. The total moisture content of potassium citrate is 11.0%, and the content of free water is 0.5%.

[0029] The preparation method of anhydrous citrate is as follows:

[0030] The citrate is slowly dried in a vacuum drying oven, the drying temperature is maintained at 40°C-50°C, and the drying time is 12-24 hours, and finally anhydrous citrate is obtained.

[0031] The specific preparation method is as follows: Preparation of anhydrous sodium citrate: Sodium citrate dihydrate is slowly dried in a vacuum drying oven at 45°C for 12 hours to finally obtain anhydrous sodium citrate, the free water content of anhydrous sodium citrate is ≤0.5%, as shown in the specific diagram Figure 1 The structure of anhydrous sodium citrate has larger and more holes.

[0032] Preparation of anhydrous potassium citrate: Potassium citrate monohydrate is slowly dried in a vacuum drying oven at 40° C. for 15 hours to obtain anhydrous potassium citrate, wherein the free water content of the anhydrous potassium citrate is ≤0.5%.

[0033] The anhydrous potassium citrate and anhydrous sodium citrate used below were prepared by the above method.

[0034] Example 1

[0035] A citrate anti-caking method:

[0036] Add 1.5 g of anhydrous sodium citrate to 498.5 g of dihydrate sodium citrate, mix well, put into a sample bag, and seal.

[0037] Example 2

[0038] A citrate anti-caking method:

[0039] Add 2.0 g of anhydrous sodium citrate to 498.0 g of dihydrate sodium citrate, mix well, put into a sample bag, and seal.

[0040] Example 3

[0041] A citrate anti-caking method:

[0042] Add 2.5 g of anhydrous sodium citrate to 497.5 g of dihydrate sodium citrate, mix well, put into a sample bag, and seal.

[0043] Example 4

[0044] A citrate anti-caking method:

[0045] Add 2.0 g of anhydrous potassium citrate (30-100 mesh) to (498.0) g of monohydrate potassium citrate (30-100 mesh), mix well, put into a sample bag, and seal.

[0046] Comparative Example 1

[0047] Put 500.0 g of sodium citrate dihydrate into a sample bag and seal it.

[0048] test

[0049] A 5 kg weight was placed on the four sample bags containing sodium citrate, the temperature was 38°C, and the humidity was 35% RH. After 7 days, 15 days, and 30 days, the changes in the samples in the sample bags were observed. The results are shown in the following table, where Example 1 is numbered 2, Example 2 is numbered 3, Example 3 is numbered 4, and Comparative Example 1 is numbered 1; the agglomeration of the specific samples is shown in Figure 2-5 shown.

[0050]

[0051] It can be known from the above test that the anti-caking effect of Examples 1-3 of the present invention is significantly better than that of Comparative Example 1. The present invention slowly dries the citrate to obtain anhydrous citrate with larger cavities and more cavities, so that the free water in the citrate migrates to the anhydrous citrate with larger pores, effectively preventing the phenomenon of caking; anhydrous citrate and citrate are both citrates, which can be directly added, and the adding method is convenient, simple, convenient and easy to operate; the added anhydrous citrate, compared with other anti-caking agents, has no addition of foreign substances, and does not affect the quality of citrate products, which is safer and healthier; in the case of "zero addition", the quality of the product is guaranteed, and no additional equipment or process is needed, which truly realizes the goal of "zero addition" under low cost, ensuring that the product quality is not affected. The technical scheme of the present invention has made a breakthrough in the problem of citrate product agglomeration, and also provides a new idea for solving the anti-caking problem in the fields of medicine and food.

Claims

1. A method for preventing citrate from caking, characterized in that: The following steps are involved: Add anhydrous citrate to the citrate in an amount of 0.4%-0.5% of the mass of the citrate; the free water content of the anhydrous citrate is ≤0.5%; The citrate is sodium citrate dihydrate or potassium citrate monohydrate, and the anhydrous citrate is anhydrous sodium citrate or anhydrous potassium citrate; The preparation method of the anhydrous citrate is as follows: the citrate is slowly dried to obtain the anhydrous citrate; the drying temperature is maintained at 40° C.-50° C., and the drying time is 12-24 hours; The total moisture content of the citrate is 11.0%-13.0%, and the free water content is 0.1%-0.6%; After adding anhydrous citrate to the citrate, the mixture was used at a temperature of 38°C and a humidity of 35%RH.

2. The citrate anti-caking method according to claim 1, characterized in that: The particle size of the citrate salt is the same as that of the anhydrous citrate salt.

3. The citrate anti-caking method according to claim 1, characterized in that: The particle size of the citrate and anhydrous citrate is 12-100 meshes.

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