High-Fibre Flour Production from Beverage Waste via RF Drying
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Solution Overview
Problem
The challenge lies in effectively recovering and reusing production waste from beverages like beer, spirits, citrus fruit distillates, cider, sake, and soy sauce, which are unstable due to high water and organic content, making storage and reuse difficult, and current processes for converting brewers' grains into animal feed are inefficient.
Innovation Solution
A method involving the addition of an enzyme to break down gluten, boiling to reduce bacterial content, centrifugation to remove water, radio frequency drying to maintain organoleptic properties, and milling to produce a high-fibre flour from waste materials such as brewers' grains and citrus fruit peelings, which can be used in food preparation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Duration of action of stationary object
If waste materials with high water and organic content are stored for later reuse, then storage and reuse become possible, but the materials become unstable and easily putrescible
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by immediately processing waste materials through enzymatic treatment, boiling, and drying right after separation from the production line. This prevents the materials from entering the unstable storage phase by completing all necessary transformations before storage becomes necessary, thereby maintaining reliability while enabling extended duration through proper preservation.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent fundamentally changes the parameters of waste materials by reducing water content from 70-80% to 14-2% through enzymatic breakdown, boiling, centrifugation, and radio frequency drying. This parameter transformation converts unstable, putrescible material into stable, storable flour that can be kept for extended periods without degradation.
2Productivity
If current processes for converting brewers' grains into animal feed are used, then waste utilization occurs, but the process is inefficient and does not produce human consumable products
Solution Approach 1:
The patent converts what was previously considered waste (unpalatable brewers' grains and citrus peelings) into a beneficial human consumable product. By applying enzymatic treatment with proteases and lipases, followed by boiling and drying, the process transforms these rejected materials into a nutritious, high-fibre flour that can be incorporated into human food products, thereby converting harm into benefit.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies comprehensive parameter changes to transform waste materials into human-grade products. This includes enzymatic breakdown of proteins and fats, thermal treatment through boiling to eliminate anti-nutritional factors, and controlled drying to achieve optimal moisture content. These parameter transformations elevate the material from animal feed quality to human consumable quality, expanding adaptability while maintaining high productivity.
3Manufacturing precision
If waste materials are processed through multiple steps including enzymatic treatment, boiling, centrifugation, and drying, then high-fibre flour is produced, but processing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies segmentation by dividing the processing into distinct, sequential stages: enzymatic treatment phase, boiling phase, centrifugation phase, and drying phase. Each stage performs a specific function and can be independently optimized or controlled. This segmentation enables precise control over flour quality parameters while making the overall complex process more manageable and systematic.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent achieves universality by using a multi-functional processing system where the same equipment sequence can handle different types of waste materials (brewers' grains, citrus peelings, spent hops). The enzymatic treatment, boiling, centrifugation, and drying steps form a universal platform that can process various fibrous waste materials to produce different types of high-fibre flour, thereby reducing device complexity through standardized multi-functional equipment rather than requiring specialized equipment for each material type.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This method enables the production of high-fibre food products that promote satiety, intestinal health, and reduce cardiovascular disease risk, while enhancing environmental sustainability by reducing waste disposal and allowing for easy, cost-effective processing of production line waste into human consumable products.
Implementation Method 1
adding an enzyme to said waste materials that is suitable for breaking down possible gluten residues
Implementation Method 2
boiling said waste materials for at least 20 minutes to reduce to zero the bacterial content
Implementation Method 3
cooling and centrifuging said waste materials to eliminate most of the water present
Implementation Method 4
drying at a temperature comprised between and 70 and 100° C. for a time comprised between 60 and 120 minutes, by a radio frequency dryer
Data Source
AI summary
A method for obtaining a food product from a wet mass of waste materials arising from production processes for producing products like beer, whisky, vodka, gin, tequila, liqueurs or citrus-fruit based distillates, cider, sake, soy sauce is provided. An enzyme is added to the waste materials that is suitable for breaking down possible gluten residues in the materials and making the enzyme act for a period between 15 and 30 minutes. The waste materials are boiled for at least 20 minutes. The waste materials are cooled and centrifuged to eliminate most of the water present in the waste materials. The materials are dried at a temperature between 70° C. and 100° C. for a time between 60 and 120 minutes, by a radio frequency dryer so as to obtain, at the end of drying, a product with relative humidity between 14 and 2%. A food product is provided that includes a percentage by weight between 1% and 60% of at least one flour obtainable from waste materials arising from the production processes for producing products like beer, whisky, vodka, gin, tequila, liqueurs or citrus-fruit based distillates, cider, sake, soy sauce, and at least one cereal flour, or vegetable flour, or animal flour, in a percentage by weight between 40% and 99%.