SUBCRITICAL GAS ASSISTED DRYING OF BIOPOLYMER MATERIAL

• Main Authors: SMITS, PETER JAN, GIUSEPPIN, MARCO LUIGI FEDERICO, HOFLAND, GERARD WILLEM
• Format: Patent
• Language: English; French
• Published: 25.08.2011
• Subjects: CHEMISTRY; COMPOSITIONS BASED THEREON; COMPOSITIONS OF MACROMOLECULAR COMPOUNDS; DERIVATIVES THEREOF; FOODS OR FOODSTUFFS; FOODS, FOODSTUFFS, OR NON-ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES, NOT COVERED BYSUBCLASSES A23B - A23J; HUMAN NECESSITIES; METALLURGY; ORGANIC MACROMOLECULAR COMPOUNDS; POLYSACCHARIDES; PRESERVATION OF FOODS OR FOODSTUFFS, IN GENERAL; THEIR PREPARATION OR CHEMICAL WORKING-UP; THEIR PREPARATION OR TREATMENT, e.g. COOKING, MODIFICATION OFNUTRITIVE QUALITIES, PHYSICAL TREATMENT; THEIR TREATMENT, NOT COVERED BY OTHER CLASSES

A method is provided for producing a dehydrated biopolymer powder, said method comprising the successive steps of: a) providing a filter cake comprising biopolymer material and 30 to 60 wt.% of water; b) contacting said filter cake with a pressurised gas to extract water from the filter cake, said pressurised gas having a pressure and a temperature below the critical point of the gas; c) separating water-containing pressurised gas from the dehydrated filter cake; and d) collecting a dehydrated biopolymer powder wherein the pressurised gas has a pressure of at least 0.6 MPa (6 bar) and up to 6 MPa (60 bar), and a temperature of 10 to 40 0C. L'invention concerne un procédé de préparation d'une poudre biopolymère déshydratée qui comprend les étapes successives suivantes : a) se procurer un gâteau de filtration comprenant un matériau biopolymère et 30 à 60 % en poids d'eau ; b) mettre ledit gâteau de filtration en contact avec un gaz sous pression pour en extraire l'eau, ledit gaz ayant une pression et une température le plaçant en dessous de son point critique ; c) séparer le gaz sous pression contenant l'eau du gâteau de filtration déshydraté ; et d) collecter une poudre biopolymère déshydratée. Le gaz utilisé a une pression d'au moins 0,6 MPa (6 bars) et jusqu'à 6 MPa (60 bars), et une température de 10 à 40 °C.