Extrusion processing with supercritical fluids
First Claim
1. Apparatus for extrusion processing of food products, comprising:
- means forming a dough for a food product;
extruder means having a cooking section, a cooling section, a mixing section, and an extrusion die;
means supplying said dough to said extruder;
means conveying said dough sequentially through said cooking section, cooling section and mixing section to said extrusion die; and
means supplying a supercritical fluid to said extruder in the region of said mixing section.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A supercritical fluid such as CO2 is injected under pressure into a fully cooked dough in an extruder. The dough is prepared and after being preconditioning with water and steam, is supplied to an extruder/cooker where it is subjected to high cooking temperatures, which may be on the order of 120° C. The cooked dough is conveyed through an optional steam vent section and is cooled to a temperature of usually less than 100° C. to prevent puffing of the extruded product by the conversion of water to steam. Supercritical CO2 is injected into the cooked and cooled dough, and under the pressure conditions existing in the extruder, the CO2 dissolves into the water phase of the dough. Since the conditions within the extruder are either subcritical or near-critical, various flavors, colorants, or other materials soluble in and carried by the supercritical CO2 are deposited and mixed into the dough before exiting the extruder. The dissolved CO2 then expands the product after exiting the die at the outlet of the extruder, resulting in a product with many regularly-shaped, unconnected pores and a smooth outer skin. Part of the injected CO2 can be vented off before the die to control the expansion of the extrudate.
95 Citations
23 Claims
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1. Apparatus for extrusion processing of food products, comprising:
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means forming a dough for a food product; extruder means having a cooking section, a cooling section, a mixing section, and an extrusion die; means supplying said dough to said extruder; means conveying said dough sequentially through said cooking section, cooling section and mixing section to said extrusion die; and means supplying a supercritical fluid to said extruder in the region of said mixing section. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 18, 19, 20)
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11. The method of extrusion processing a food product, comprising:
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supplying a dough to an extruder having cooking, cooling and mixing sections; conveying said dough through said cooking section to cook said dough; cooling said cooked dough in said cooling section; conveying said dough to a mixing section; injecting a supercritical fluid into said dough in said mixing section at a temperature and pressure which will dissolve said supercritical fluid and any additives therein into said dough; conveying said dough through an extrusion die; and expanding said dough by the release of said supercritical fluid. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 21, 22, 23)
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Specification