Coarse-Lump Tablet Manufacturing for Nutrient-Retaining Milk Substitutes
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing milk replacement products based on plant parts suffer from nutrient and vitamin degradation and lack of freshness due to grinding, and there is a need for improved methods to maintain these components during storage and preparation.
Innovation Solution
The method involves pressing plant parts into lumps larger than 1 mm, air-drying or freeze-drying them, and adding binders and emulsifiers to create tablets that retain freshness and nutrients, which are then comminuted to form a beverage.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If plant parts are ground into flour for milk replacement products, then dissolution and distribution in water is improved, but vitamins and nutrients degrade within hours
Solution Approach 1:
The plant parts are not ground into fine flour but are segmented into coarse lumps with particle sizes greater than 1 mm. This segmentation maintains the macroscopic structure of the plant parts, preserving vitamins and nutrients while still allowing for proper dissolution and distribution in water during beverage preparation.
2Manufacturing precision
If plant parts are pressed into fine powder for dosing, then dosing precision is improved, but freshness and nutrient content are lost
Solution Approach 1:
The invention uses coarse lumps rather than fine powder, segmenting the plant material into larger particles that maintain freshness and nutrients while still enabling precise dosing through controlled lump formation in the tablet structure.
3Quantity of substance
If plant parts are stored as fine powder, then storage density is improved, but vitamin and nutrient degradation accelerates
Solution Approach 1:
Plant parts are stored as coarse lumps with particle sizes greater than 1 mm rather than fine powder. This segmentation reduces the surface area exposed to degradation factors while maintaining efficient storage density in the tablet formulation.
4Productivity
If plant parts are mechanically comminuted before storage, then processing efficiency is improved, but macroscopic structure and freshness are destroyed
Solution Approach 1:
The plant parts undergo minimal mechanical comminution, being processed only to the extent of creating coarse lumps with particle sizes greater than 1 mm. This limited segmentation maintains the macroscopic structure and freshness of the plant parts while still improving processing efficiency compared to complete grinding.
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
The solution maintains the freshness and nutrients of plant parts by preserving their macroscopic structure, enhances taste through decomposition, and improves storage stability with a moisture-repelling shell, ensuring easy distribution in water during beverage preparation.
Implementation Method 1
the method according to the invention air dries the plant parts
Implementation Method 2
Alternatively, other drying methods, in particular, freeze drying, can be used
Implementation Method 3
The plant parts swell in the pulp thus created and can therefore be processed more easily
Implementation Method 4
The swelling can be supported by heating the pulp to 50-60 degrees C
Implementation Method 5
The plant parts are advantageously dried in an inert atmosphere, in particular under nitrogen
Implementation Method 6
at least a portion of the plant parts is decomposed before pressing. Thus, insoluble contents of the plant parts are modified so that they distribute in water more easily
Implementation Method 7
starch and long-chain sugars, like glucose, can be decomposed by enzymes in the plant parts and converted into short-chain sugars like fructose
Data Source
AI summary
A method for producing a tablet configured to be combined with water to produce a milk substitute beverage, the method comprising: pressing plant parts of real nuts, kernels, cereals, and/or other seeds into a shape of the tablet, wherein a major portion of the plant parts is provided as lumps with a lump size exceeding 1 mm; and drying the tablet, so that vitamins and nutrients are preserved in the plant parts