Spherical Tea Granules for Rapid Water Dispersibility
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Green tea powders have low dispersibility in water due to interparticle aggregation, requiring prolonged shaking and leading to packaging issues with fine powders, resulting in defects during sealing.
Innovation Solution
A particulate processed tea product with tea particles exhibiting a sphericity S10 value of 0.68 or greater, processed using a rotor-type fluidized-bed granulator to improve wetting and dispersibility, and having an average particle diameter of 100-300 μm with minimal fine powders, ensuring rapid wetting and excellent flowability.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If green tea powder is used, then the product can be conveniently packaged in disposable stick packages, but the tea powder exhibits low dispersibility in water due to interparticle aggregation
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies spheroidality by transforming the green tea powder into spherical granules with a sphericity of 0.85 or higher. This spherical shape prevents interparticle aggregation and improves dispersibility in water, while maintaining the convenience of disposable stick package formatting. The spherical morphology is achieved through fluidized bed granulation process described in the patent.
2Quantity of substance
If fine green tea powder is used, then the product can be packaged in small quantities, but the low fluidity of the fine powder causes difficulty in packaging and high probability of sealing defects
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies parameter changes by modifying the physical parameters of the tea powder through granulation. The process transforms fine powder with poor fluidity into granules with optimized size distribution (D10: 45-65 μm, D50: 85-115 μm, D90: 135-165 μm) and spherical shape, achieving both small quantity packaging capability and improved packaging process quality with reduced sealing defects.
3Device complexity
If conventional green tea powder is used, then the product can be simply packaged, but a long time is required for dispersal due to interparticle aggregation
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies spheroidality by creating spherical granules that prevent interparticle aggregation. This spherical morphology allows the tea product to disperse rapidly in water within disposable stick packages, reducing the shaking time required while maintaining packaging simplicity. The spherical shape minimizes surface area contact between particles, preventing aggregation.
4Ease of operation
If green tea powder with high sphericity is produced, then the wetting and dispersibility in water is improved, but the manufacturing process becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies pneumatics and hydraulics by using a fluidized bed granulation process that employs air flow to fluidize the tea powder and facilitate granule formation. This pneumatic approach efficiently produces spherical granules with high sphericity (0.85 or higher) and controlled size distribution, improving wetting and dispersibility while avoiding more complex manufacturing methods.
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 processed tea product achieves rapid wetting and dispersibility in water without agitation, enhances packaging convenience, and prevents agglomeration, maintaining a dispersed state over time with improved flowability and redispersibility.
Implementation Method 1
preparing tea particles from tea powder using a rotor-type fluidized-bed granulator
Data Source
AI summary
Shown are a particulate processed product of tea and a method for preparing the same. The particulate processed product of tea has a sphericity S10 value of a particle corresponding to 10% cumulative subdistribution in cumulative distribution measured for the sphericity of tea particles of 0.68 or greater. The processed product of tea is convenient to drink because it is readily wetted and dispersed in water. In addition, it can be easily packaged and used due to a low angle of repose and thus excellent flowability.