Evaporation

Evaporation is a type of vaporization of a liquid that occurs from the surface of a

liquid into a gaseous phase that is not saturated with the evaporating substance. The
other type of vaporization is boiling, which is characterized by bubbles of saturated
vapor forming in the liquid phase. Steam produced in a boiler is another example of
evaporation occurring in a saturated vapor phase. Evaporation that occurs directly from
the solid phase below the melting point, as commonly observed with ice at or below
freezing or moth crystals (naphthalene or paradichlorobenzine), is called sublimation.
With sufficient temperature, the liquid would turn into vapor quickly. When the
molecules collide, they transfer energy to each other in varying degrees, based on how
they collide. Sometimes the transfer is so one-sided for a molecule near the surface that
it ends up with enough energy to 'escape'.
For molecules of a liquid to evaporate, they must be located near the surface, be
moving in the proper direction, and have sufficient kinetic energy to overcome liquid-
phase intermolecular forces. When only a small proportion of the molecules meet these
criteria, the rate of evaporation is low. Evaporation also tends to proceed more quickly
with higher flow rates between the gaseous and liquid phase and in liquids with
higher vapor pressure. Three key parts to evaporation are heat, atmospheric
pressure (determines the percent humidity) and air movement.
On a molecular level, there is no strict boundary between the liquid state and the
vapor state. Instead, there is a Knudsen layer, where the phase is undetermined.
Because this layer is only a few molecules thick, at a macroscopic scale a clear phase
transition interface can be seen.
Liquids that do not evaporate visibly at a given temperature in a given gas (e.g.,
cooking oil at room temperature) have molecules that do not tend to transfer energy to
each other in a pattern sufficient to frequently give a molecule the heat energy
necessary to turn into vapor. However, these liquids are evaporating. It is just that the
process is much slower and thus significantly less visible.

Factors influencing the rate of evaporation

Note: Air used here is a common example: however, the vapor phase can be other
gasses.

 Concentration of the substance evaporating in the air

If the air already has a high concentration of the substance evaporating, then the
given substance will evaporate more slowly.
 Concentration of other substances in the air
If the air is already saturated with other substances, it can have a lower capacity
for the substance evaporating.
 Flow rate of air
This is in part related to the concentration points above. If "fresh" air (i.e., air
which is neither already saturated with the substance nor with other substances)
is moving over the substance all the time, then the concentration of the
substance in the air is less likely to go up with time, thus encouraging faster
evaporation. This is the result of the boundary layer at the evaporation surface
decreasing with flow velocity, decreasing the diffusion distance in the stagnant
layer.
 Inter-molecular forces
The stronger the forces keeping the molecules together in the liquid state, the
more energy one must get to escape. This is characterized by the enthalpy of
vaporization.
 Pressure
Evaporation happens faster if there is less exertion on the surface keeping the
molecules from launching themselves.
 Surface area
A substance that has a larger surface area will evaporate faster, as there are
more surface molecules per unit of volume that are potentially able to escape.
 Temperature of the substance
the higher the temperature of the substance the greater the kinetic energy of the
molecules at its surface and therefore the faster the rate of their evaporation.

Evaporators

OPEN PAN
The most elementary form of evaporator
consists of an open pan in which the liquid is
boiled. Heat can be supplied through a steam
jacket or through coils, and scrapers or paddles
may be fitted to provide agitation. Such
evaporators are simple and low in capital cost, but
they are expensive in their running cost as heat
economy is poor.
 HORIZONTAL-TUBE EVAPORATORS
The horizontal-tube evaporator is a
development of the open pan, in which the
pan is closed in, generally in a vertical
cylinder. The heating tubes are arranged in a
horizontal bundle immersed in the liquid at
the bottom of the cylinder. Liquid circulation
is rather poor in this type of evaporator.

VERTICAL-TUBE EVAPORATORS
By using vertical, rather than
horizontal tubes, the natural circulation of the
heated liquid can be made to give good heat
transfer. Recirculation of the liquid is through
a large “downcomer” so that the liquors rise
through the vertical tubes about 5-8 cm
diameter, boil in the space just above the
upper tube plate and recirculate through the
downcomers.

LONG-TUBE EVAPORATORS
Tall slender vertical tubes may be used for evaporators as shown in Fig. 8.4(b). The
tubes, which may have a length to diameter ratio of the order of 100:1, pass vertically upward
inside the steam chest. The liquid may either pass down through the tubes, called a falling- ilm
evaporator, or be carried up by the evaporating liquor in which case it is called a climbing-film
evaporator. Evaporation occurs on the walls of the tubes. Because circulation rates are high and
the surface films are thin, good conditions are obtained for the concentration of heat sensitive
liquids due to high heat transfer rates and short heating times.
Generally, the liquid is not recirculated, and if sufficient evaporation does not occur in
one pass, the liquid is fed to another pass. In the climbing-film evaporator, as the liquid boils on
the inside of the tube slugs of vapour form and this vapour carries up the remaining liquid which
continues to boil. Tube diameters are of the order of 2.5 to 5 cm, contact times may be as low
as 5-10 sec. Overall heat- transfer coefficients may be up to five times as great as from a
heated surface immersed in a boiling liquid. In the falling-film type, the tube diameters are rather
greater, about 8 cm, and these are specifically suitable for viscous liquids.

PLATE EVAPORATORS
The plate heat exchanger can be
adapted for use as an evaporator. The spacings
can be increased between the plates and
appropriate passages provided so that the much
larger volume of the vapours, when compared
with the liquid, can be accommodated. Plate
evaporators can provide good heat transfer and
also ease of cleaning.
 Extrusion

Extrusion is defined as a process in which material is pushed through an orifice

or a die of given shape. The pushing force is applied using a piston or a screw. In food
applications, screw extrusion is predominant.
Food extrusion is a form of extrusion used in food processing. It is a process by
which a set of mixed ingredients are forced through an opening in a perforated plate
or die with a design specific to the food, and is then cut to a specified size by blades.
The machine which forces the mix through the die is an extruder, and the mix is known
as the extrudate. The extruder consists of a large, rotating screw tightly fitting within a
stationary barrel, at the end of which is the die.
Extrusion enables mass production of food via a continuous, efficient system that
ensures uniformity of the final product. Food products manufactured using extrusion
usually has high starch content. These include some pasta, breads (croutons, bread
sticks, and flat breads), many breakfast cereals and ready-to-eat snacks, confectionery,
pre-made cookie dough, some baby foods, full-fat soy, textured vegetable protein,
some beverages, and dry and semi-moist pet foods.
In the extrusion process, raw materials are first ground to the correct particle size,
usually the consistency of coarse flour. The dry mix is passed through a pre-conditioner,
in which other ingredients are added depending on the target product; these may be
liquid sugar, fats, dyes, meats or water. Steam is injected to start the cooking process,
and the preconditioned mix (extrudate) is then passed through an extruder. The
extruder consists of a large, rotating screw tightly fitting within a stationary barrel, at the
end of which is the die. The extruder's rotating screw forces the extrudate toward the
die, through which it then passes. The amount of time the extrudate is in the extruder is
the residence time.
The extruded product usually puffs and changes texture as it is extruded
because of the reduction of forces and release of moisture and heat. The extent to
which it does so is known as the expansion ratio. The extrudate is cut to the desired
length by blades at the output of the extruder, which rotate about the die openings at a
specific speed. The product is then cooled and dried, becoming rigid while maintaining
porosity.
The cooking process takes place within the extruder where the product produces
its own friction and heat due to the pressure generated (10–20 bar). The process can
induce both protein denaturation and starch gelatinization, depending on inputs and
parameters.
Many food extrusion processes involve a high temperature over a short
time. Important factors of the extrusion process are the composition of the extrudate,
screw length and rotating speed, barrel temperature and moisture, die shape, and
rotating speed of the blades. These are controlled based on the desired product to
ensure uniformity of the output.
Moisture is the most important of these factors, and affects the mix viscosity,
acting to plasticize the extrudate. Increasing moisture will decrease viscosity, torque,
and product temperature, and increase bulk density. This will also reduce the pressure
at the die. Most extrusion processes for food processing maintain a moisture level
below 40% that is low to intermediate moisture. High-moisture extrusion is known
as wet extrusion, but it was not used much before the introduction of twin screw
extruders (TSE), which have a more efficient conveying capability. The most
important rheological factor in the wet extrusion of high-starch extrudate is temperature.
The amount of salt in the extrudate may determine the colour and texture of some
extruded products. The expansion ratio and airiness of the product depend on the
salt concentration in the extrudate, possibly as a result of a chemical reaction between
the salt and the starches in the extrudate. Colour changes as a result of salt
concentration may be caused by "the ability of salt to change the water activity of the
extrudate and thus change the rate of browning reactions". Salt is also used to distribute
minor ingredients, such as food colours and flavours, after extrusion; these are more
evenly distributed over the product's surface after being mixed with salt.
The first extruder was designed to manufacture sausages in the
1870s. Packaged dry pasta and breakfast cereals have been produced via extrusion
since the 1930s,[2] and the method was applied to pet food production in the 1950s. [4] It
has also been incorporated into kitchen appliances, such as meat grinders, herb
grinders, coffee grinders, and some types of pasta makers. A similar functional process
occurs when using pastry bags.

Extrusions

COLD EXTRUSION
The main application of cold extruders is in pasta production, although similar machines
are used to form biscuit dough into different shapes. A pasta extruder is used to make many
different types of pasta using dough made from durum wheat flour. Coloured pasta can also be
made by adding tomato puree or spinach past.
In cold extruders the material is not heated but simply formed into shapes, when it is
forced through openings in a “die” at the discharge end of the barrel.
 HOT EXTRUSION
Extruder-cookers may be single- or twin-screw machines. Twin-screw machines have
approximately twice the capital and maintenance costs of single screw machines and are
unlikely to be affordable by most small-scale processors. Single-screw extruders are therefore
described in the figure above. Processors, who wish to make extruded products such as or
chocolate-filled snack foods, gums and jellies, marshmallows, corn flakes, or instant rice or
noodles, should discuss their requirements with manufacturers of twin-screw extruder-
cookers.
Extruder-cookers the material is heated by friction and/or supplementary heaters in the
barrel and it merge from the dies under pressure. Some snack food products expand rapidly
and have a light, crisp texture, caused by steam being flashed off due to the sudden pressure
drop when they emerge from the die.

Advantages of Extruders

The principal advantages of the extrusion technology as compared to the other

traditional foods/feed processing methods include:

 Adaptability: An ample variety of products are feasible by changing the minor

ingredients and the operation conditions of the extruder. Extrusion process is
remarkably adaptable in being able to accommodate the demand by consumers
for new products.

 Product characteristics: A variety of shapes, texture, color and appearances

can be produced, which is not easily, formed using other production method.
  Energy efficient: Extruders operate at relatively low moisture while cooking food
products, so less re-drying is required.

 Low cost: Extrusion has lower processing cost than other cooking and forming
processes. We can save 19% raw material, 14% labor, and 44% capital
investment.

 Less space: Extrusion processing need less space per unit of operation than
other cooking system.

 New foods: Extrusion can modify protein (vegetable and animal), starches
(almost all sources), and other food material to produce a variety of new and
unique snack food products.

 High productivity and automated control: An extruder provides a continuous

high throughput processing and we can have a fully automated control for theses’
extruders.

 High product quality: Since extrusion is HTST heating process, it minimizes

degradation of food nutrients, while improving the digestibility of proteins (by
denaturing) and starches (by gelatinizing). Extrusion cooking at high temperature
also destroys the anti-nutritional compound, i.e. trypsin inhibitors, and
undesirable enzymes, such as lipases, lipoxidases and microorganisms.

 No effluent: No or very few process effluents are produced.

Effects of extrusion in the product

Extrusion enables mass production of food via a continuous, efficient system that
ensures uniformity of the final product. This is achieved by controlling various aspects of
the extrusion process. It has also enabled the production of new processed food
products and "revolutionized many conventional snack manufacturing processes".
The extrusion process results in "chemical reactions that occur within the extruder barrel
and at the die". Extrusion has the following effects:
 Destruction of certain naturally occurring toxins
 Reduction of microorganisms in the final product
 Slight increase of iron-bioavailability
  Creation of insulin-desensitizing starches (a potential risk-factor for
developing diabetes)
 Loss of lysine, an essential amino acid necessary for developmental growth
and nitrogen management
 Simplification of complex starches, increasing rates of tooth decay
 Increase of glycemic index of the processed food, as the "extrusion process
significantly increased the availability of carbohydrates for digestion
 Destruction of Vitamin A (beta-carotene)
 Denaturation of proteins.

The extruded food, besides its preserved and frequently even enhanced
biological value, can be characterized by physicochemical properties superior to the
original raw material.
One major advantage of extrusion cooking is the capability to produce a wide range of
finished products with minimum processing times and by using inexpensive raw material
(Riaz 2000).

Raw material to product

Snack foods
Trends in the snack-food industry are numerous and ever-changing. The modern
industrial snack was created in the early1940s with the manufacture of the first directly
expanded snack from maize. In this process raw maize grits are fed into an extruder at
low moisture to create a very hot melt within the barrel at temperatures of 140 to 180ºC.
It was found that a snack product could be created by releasing a continuous stream of
the hot melt fluid from a small hole. As the pressure is released the melt stream
generates water vapor and expands in microseconds to form foam, which can be cut
into portions by a rotating knife. The ribbon of foam is cut into short lengths of highly
expanded crispy snack known as corn curls or puffs.

Third-generation snack products or pellets are not new to the snack-food

industry. In fact, they have been very popular in many regions of the world. Extrusion
systems for the production of third-generation snacks are efficient, economical to run
and result in a product with built-in marketing flexibility due to long shelf-life and high
bulk density prior to frying or puffing.
Supercritical fluid injection, coupled with the continuous twin-screw extrusion
cooking process, opens many opportunities for new engineered processing techniques
for developing new products and product concepts. This supercritical fluid extrusion
technology is a patented process that already has resulted in new developments in
cereals, confectioneries, pastas, flavorings, pharmaceuticals, snacks and other products
left only to the imagination.

Example: Potato Chips Production

Stored potatoes are kept at a constant temperature, between 40-45°F (4.4-7.2°C), until
several weeks before they are to be used. They are then moved to a reconditioning
room that is heated to 70-75°F (21.1-23.9°C). Size and type are important in potato
selection. White potatoes that are larger than a golf ball, but smaller than a baseball, are
the best. It takes 100 lb (45.4 kg) of raw potatoes to produce 25 lb (11.3 kg) of chips.
The potatoes are fried in either corn oil, cottonseed oil, or a blend of vegetable oils. An
antioxidizing agent is added to the oil to prevent rancidity. To further insure purification,
the oil is passed through a filtration system daily. Salt and other flavoring ingredients,
such as powdered sour cream and onion and barbecue flavor, are purchased from
outside sources. Flake salt is used rather than crystal salt. Some manufacturers treat
the potatoes with chemicals such as phosphoric acid, citric acid, hydrochloric acid, or
calcium chloride to reduce the sugar level, and thus improve the product's color. The
bags are designed and printed by the individual potato chip manufacturer. They are
stored on rolls and brought to the assembly line as necessary.

The Manufacturing Process

1. When the potatoes arrive at the plant, they are examined and tasted for quality. A half
dozen or so buckets are randomly filled. Some are punched with holes in their cores so
that they can be tracked through the cooking process. The potatoes are examined for
green edges and blemishes. The pile of defective potatoes is weighed; if the weight
exceeds a company's preset allowance, the entire truckload can be rejected.

2. The potatoes move along a conveyer belt to the various stages of manufacturing. The
conveyer belts are powered by gentle vibrations to keep breakage to a minimum.

Destoning and peeling

3. The potatoes are loaded into a vertical helical screw conveyer which allows stones to
fall to the bottom and pushes the potatoes up to a conveyer belt to the automatic
peeling machine. After they have been peeled, the potatoes are washed with cold
water.
Slicing
4. The potatoes pass through a revolving impaler/presser that cuts them into paper-thin
slices, between 0.066-0.072 in (1.7-1.85 mm) in thickness. Straight blades produce
regular chips while rippled blades produce ridged potato chips.

5. The slices fall into a second cold-water wash that removes the starch released when
the potatoes are cut. Some manufacturers, who market their chips as natural, do not
wash the starch off the potatoes.

Color treatment
6. If the potatoes need to be chemically treated to enhance their color, it is done at this
stage. The potato slices are immersed in a solution that has been adjusted for pH,
hardness, and mineral content.

Frying and salting

7. The slices pass under air jets that remove excess water as they flow into 40-75 ft
(12.2-23 m) troughs filled with oil. The oil temperature is kept at 350-375°F (176.6-
190.5°C). Paddles gently push the slices along. As the slices tumble, salt is sprinkled
from receptacles positioned above the trough at the rate of about 1.75 lb (0.79 kg) of
salt to each 100 lb (45.4 kg) of chips.

Potatoes arrive daily at manufacturing plants. After they are checked for quality,
they are stored at a constant temperature unfil they are processed into potato chips.
Some manufacturers treat the potatoes with chemicals to improve the color of the final
product. To make the chips, potatoes are fried in either corn oil, cottonseed oil, or a
blend of vegetable oils. Flake salt rather than crystal salt is used to season the chips.

8. Potato chips that are to be flavored pass through a drum filled with the desired
powdered seasonings.

Cooling and sorting

9. At the end of the trough, a wire mesh belt pulls out the hot chips. As the chips move
along the mesh conveyer belt, excess oil is drained off and the chips begin to cool. They
then move under an optical sorter that picks out any burnt slices and removes them with
puffs of air.
Packaging
10. The chips are conveyed to a packaging machine with a scale. As the pre-set weight
of chips is measured, a metal detector checks the chips once more for any foreign
matter such as metal pieces that could have come with the potatoes or been picked up
in the frying process.

11. The bags flow down from a roll. A central processing unit (CPU) code on the bag
tells the machine how many chips should be released into the bag. As the bag forms,
(heat seals the top of the filled bag and seals the bottom of the next bag simultaneously)
gates open and allow the proper amount of chips to fall into the bag.

12. The filling process must be accomplished without letting an overabundance of air
into the bag, while also preventing the chips from breaking. Many manufacturers
use nitrogen to fill the space in the bags. The sealed bags are conveyed to a collator
and hand-packed into cartons.

13. Some companies pack potato chips in I O cans of various sizes. The chips flow
down a chute into the cans. Workers weigh each can, make any necessary
adjustments, and attach a top to the can.

Quality Control
Taste samples are made from each batch throughout the manufacturing process,
usually at a rate of once per hour. The tasters check the chips for salt, seasoning,
moisture, color, and overall flavor. Color is compared to charts that show acceptable
chip colors.
Preventing breakage is a primary goal for potato chip manufacturers. Companies
have installed safeguards at various points in the manufacturing process to decrease
the chances for breakage. The heights that chips fall from conveyer belts to fryers have
been decreased. Plastic conveyer belts have been replaced with wide mesh stainless
steel belts. These allow only the larger chips to travel to the fryers and the smaller
potato slivers to fall through the mesh.

Byproducts/waste
Rejected potatoes and peelings are sent to farms to be used as animal feed. The
starch that is removed in the rinsing process is sold to a starch processor.
 PRODUCT

Other Example of Products of Extrusion

Food products manufactured using extrusion usually has a high starch content.
These include
 pasta
 breads (croutons,bread sticks, and flat breads)
 many breakfast cereals
 ready-to-eat snacks
 confectionery
 pre-made cookie dough
 some baby foods
 full-fat soy
 textured vegetable protein
 some beverages
  Dry and semi-moist pet foods.

In the extrusion process, raw materials are first ground to the correct particle
size. The dry mix is passed through a pre-conditioner, in which other ingredients may be
added, and steam is injected to start the cooking process. The preconditioned mix is
then passed through an extruder, where it is forced through a die and cut to the desired
length. The cooking process takes place within the extruder where the product produces
its own friction and heat due to the pressure generated (10–20 bar). The main
independent parameters during extrusion cooking are feed rate, particle size of the raw
material, barrel temperature, screw speed and moisture content. The extruding process
can induce both protein denaturation and starch gelatinization, depending on inputs and
parameters.