Super Dispersible Gums via Crosslinked Hydrogel Coating
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Solution Overview
Problem
Viscous and instant powders, such as gums and starches, tend to clump and swell rapidly in water, making them difficult to disperse without forming lumps, especially under normal mixing conditions, and existing techniques often require high-shear mixers or result in off-tastes and air entrainment.
Innovation Solution
A surface coating process using a crosslinked hydrogel coat, such as alginate-calcium hydrogel, or a slow-swelling hydrocolloid coat is applied to the powders, delaying their swelling and allowing them to disperse easily in water with minimal shear, even under low RPM mixing.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Speed
If viscous gums and instant starches are added to water under normal mixing conditions, then they rapidly swell and thicken the water, but they form lumps and clumps that are difficult to disperse
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies a surface coating to the powder particles before they contact water. This preliminary coating layer controls the water-powder interaction, allowing the particles to hydrate gradually from the outside in rather than swelling rapidly and clumping. The coating acts as a buffer that mediates the initial contact between water and the hydrocolloid particles.
Solution Approach 2:
The surface coating serves as an intermediary layer between the water and the viscous gum or starch particles. This intermediate layer controls the rate of water penetration and polymer hydration, preventing the rapid swelling that causes lumping while still allowing complete hydration to occur.
2Ease of operation
If high-shear mixers are used to disperse viscous gums and starches, then dispersion improves, but air is entrained and device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
By pre-coating the particles with a dispersion-facilitating layer before they enter the mixing system, the patent enables effective dispersion under low-shear conditions. This preliminary surface modification eliminates the need for complex high-shear mixing equipment, allowing simple spoon mixing or low-RPM stirrers to achieve adequate dispersion.
3Ease of operation
If wetting agents and surfactants are used to improve gum dispersion, then some dispersion improvement is achieved, but off-tastes and oil-soluble residuals are introduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the surface properties of the powder particles through coating rather than adding chemical surfactants to the bulk system. This surface modification approach improves wetting and dispersion without introducing the harmful off-tastes and residuals associated with traditional wetting agents and surfactants.
4Ease of operation
If non-viscous gums are used instead of viscous gums, then dispersion in water is easier, but the desired thickening and viscosity-building properties are lost
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies a surface coating with specific dispersion-facilitating properties to the outer surface of the particles, while the core material remains the viscous gum or starch that provides the desired thickening properties. This creates a particle with non-uniform structure: a coating layer optimized for dispersion and a core layer optimized for viscosity building.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates composite particles consisting of a surface coating layer and a core material layer. The coating provides dispersion-facilitating properties while the core provides the viscous thickening properties, combining the benefits of both materials in a single particle structure.
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 coated powders disperse and hydrate quickly without lumping, achieving fast thickening and maintaining clarity, without off-tastes or residual oils, and can be easily mixed with spoons or low-shear equipment.
Implementation Method 1
spraying a crosslinkable alginate solution or a solution of any crosslinkable anionic sugar acid monomer, followed by spraying a solution of a calcium salt to induce polymerization and forming an insoluble, thin hydrogel coat of crosslinked calcium-alginate gel
Implementation Method 2
forming an insoluble, thin hydrogel coat of crosslinked calcium-alginate gel on the surface of the agglomerates or granulates
Implementation Method 3
delaying their swelling and allowing them to disperse easily in water with minimal shear, even under low RPM mixing
Data Source
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AI summary
Super dispersible gums, starches, powder ingredients, and blends thereof, which disperse readily using spoon mixing are produced by surface coating of particles with a cross-linked hydrogel, or cold-water insoluble/slow-swellilng hydrocolloid. The Processes are presented for producing products with increased dispersibility. Some of the poorly-dispersing or low dispersible substrates include xanthan gum, various cellulose derivatives, various seed gums, carrageenans, pectin, carious alginates, gum Arabic and other tree exudates, larch gum, konjac, blends of gums, various instant starches, gum-starch blends, soy protein, egg solids, non-fat dry milk, certain flours, and cocoa.