Solid Milk Tablet Crust Formation for Solubility and Strength
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for producing solid milks, such as tablets, face challenges with solubility, strength, and microbial contamination due to long processing times and high free fat content, which affect shelf life and production efficiency.
Innovation Solution
A method involving compressing milk powder at specific compaction ratios and pressures, followed by controlled moistening and short-wavelength infrared drying to create a crust/core structure with a dense shell, enhancing solubility and hardness while minimizing microbial risk and production time.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If the tablet is made harder to improve strength, then the solubility decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by creating a crust with different properties than the core. The crust is formed by controlled humidification that crystallizes lactose on the surface, creating a dense, hard outer layer that provides mechanical strength while the interior remains amorphous and soluble. This spatial differentiation of material properties resolves the contradiction between overall tablet hardness and solubility.
2Strength
If compression pressure is increased to improve tablet strength, then free fat content increases due to agglomerated fat release
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by performing controlled humidification and lactose crystallization on the tablet surface before the fat can agglomerate and release during high-pressure compression. The crust formation in advance creates a stable structure that allows subsequent compression without excessive free fat release, as the crystallized lactose network prevents fat particle movement and coalescence.
3Strength
If moistening time is extended to improve tablet strength through crust formation, then microbial contamination risk increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies skipping by rapidly forming the crust through controlled humidification followed by immediate drying. The process is rushed through quickly (humidification for 1-60 seconds followed by drying) to establish the protective lactose crust before microbial contamination can occur, then immediately removing excess moisture to eliminate the microbial growth risk.
4Reliability
If drying time is extended to reduce microbial contamination risk, then production capacity decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies parameter changes by optimizing the drying conditions to achieve rapid moisture removal. By controlling drying temperature, air flow, and duration parameters, the process achieves sufficient drying (reducing microbial risk) in 1-60 seconds, maintaining high production capacity of 200,000 tablets per day while ensuring product safety.
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 method produces solid milks with a shell thickness of 150-1000µm, achieving excellent solubility and hardness, reducing production time to at least 750 solids per minute, and maintaining low microbial contamination risks.
Implementation Method 1
drying the solid unit by applying short-wavelength infrared (IR) for a time between 1 to 20 s
Implementation Method 2
drying the humidified compressed powdered milk
Implementation Method 3
compressing milk powder at a compaction ratio between 50 % and 80 % and at a compaction pressure between 1 and 40 MPa
Data Source
Figure 1
AI summary
The present invention relates to a method for producing solid milks and to the products obtained with the aid of this method. The method for producing solid milks according to the invention comprises the following steps: - compressing milk powder at a compression speed between 110 and 200 mm/s to obtain a solid unit, - moistening the solid unit by spraying an amount of water between 0.1 and 8 mg/cm2, then - drying the solid unit.