To bring off a stable emulsion, homogenization has been practiced to transfigure fluids in order to improve texture and appearance. However, despite being an accomplished system in food industry, it still has some perturbations like cost efficiency and nutritional concerns. To address these drawbacks, microfluidization (MF) has been introduced as a novel technique and an upgrade to existing conventional homogenization practices. Specialized pressure profiles are generated through MF that perform cavitation and build shear, velocity, and turbulence through a high-performing pump and an interaction chamber that has been carefully constructed. The combination of these forces in turn offers a lower droplet size at uniform pressure compared to homogenization. It can offer a much lower droplet size than homogenization, which progresses to 0.1 μm. MF has been found to alter structure of macromolecules in food matrix, which influences different properties consisting of water and oil holding capacity, gelling, emulsification, foaming, and rheological properties. These changes have been linked with processing parameters, i.e., number of passes, solvent used, its concentration, type of food used, and pressure. To bring off further improvements, MF can be integrated with several processing techniques. The microfluidizer’s tiny reaction chamber and poor processing capacity limit its practical use in the food processing industry, hence more advancements in this technology are required. This chapter provides a basic introduction to MF by laying out an overview of MF, its working mechanism, components of a microfluidizer, and MF-induced modifications in bioactives in different foods. The article also discusses applications of MF in various food commodities, how this technology outperforms homogenization along with advantages and disadvantages.

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Introduction to Microfluidization

  • Abhishek Rana,
  • Pravashi Katelia,
  • Atul Dhiman,
  • Rajni Saini

摘要

To bring off a stable emulsion, homogenization has been practiced to transfigure fluids in order to improve texture and appearance. However, despite being an accomplished system in food industry, it still has some perturbations like cost efficiency and nutritional concerns. To address these drawbacks, microfluidization (MF) has been introduced as a novel technique and an upgrade to existing conventional homogenization practices. Specialized pressure profiles are generated through MF that perform cavitation and build shear, velocity, and turbulence through a high-performing pump and an interaction chamber that has been carefully constructed. The combination of these forces in turn offers a lower droplet size at uniform pressure compared to homogenization. It can offer a much lower droplet size than homogenization, which progresses to 0.1 μm. MF has been found to alter structure of macromolecules in food matrix, which influences different properties consisting of water and oil holding capacity, gelling, emulsification, foaming, and rheological properties. These changes have been linked with processing parameters, i.e., number of passes, solvent used, its concentration, type of food used, and pressure. To bring off further improvements, MF can be integrated with several processing techniques. The microfluidizer’s tiny reaction chamber and poor processing capacity limit its practical use in the food processing industry, hence more advancements in this technology are required. This chapter provides a basic introduction to MF by laying out an overview of MF, its working mechanism, components of a microfluidizer, and MF-induced modifications in bioactives in different foods. The article also discusses applications of MF in various food commodities, how this technology outperforms homogenization along with advantages and disadvantages.