Carrageenan is a natural polysaccharide hydrophilic colloid extracted from red algae and is widely used in the food, pharmaceutical, and personal care industries. Due to its high toughness and heat-sensitive nature, conventional mechanical grinding methods often struggle to achieve carrageenan ultrafine grinding without damaging its chemical structure.
A large Brazilian food additive manufacturer aimed to enhance the solubility and uniformity of its carrageenan products for high-end markets such as instant beverages and precision coating applications. The customer required a stable solution capable of achieving d90 ≤ 150 µm with a throughput of no less than 40 kg/h.
Key Challenges
- Heat Sensitivity: Carrageenan can degrade or scorch at elevated temperatures.
- High Toughness: Its fibrous structure results in low efficiency with conventional grinding equipment.
- Particle Size Control: A narrow particle size distribution is required, avoiding excessive fines or oversized particles.
Technical Solution: Epic Powder Fluidized Bed Jet Mill System for Carrageenan Ultrafine Grinding
Based on the material characteristics, Epic Powder supplied a customized Fluidized Bed Jet Mill (laboratory / small-scale production model).
1. Equipment Configuration and Parameters
- Model: MQW Series Fluidized Bed Jet Mill
- Grinding Principle: Supersonic air streams accelerate particles to collide, rub, and shear at high speed in the jet intersection zone, achieving size reduction.
- Classification System: Built-in high-precision vertical turbine classifier, enabling accurate control of d90 by adjusting rotational speed.
2. Process Advantages
- Low-Temperature Grinding: The cooling effect generated by adiabatic expansion of compressed air offsets grinding heat, ensuring stable physical and chemical properties of carrageenan.
- Contamination-Free: Ceramic lining or high-purity stainless steel contact parts meet Brazilian and international food safety standards.
- High Efficiency: Optimized nozzle arrangement significantly improves energy utilization, easily exceeding the 40 kg/h capacity target.
Test and Production Results
After installation and commissioning at the Brazilian customer’s site, the following performance was achieved:
| Key Parameter | Customer Requirement | Actual Result |
|---|---|---|
| Product size d90 | ≤150 µm | 128 µm |
| Hourly capacity | ≥40 kg/h | 55–60 kg/h |
| Moisture change | <1% variation | 0.2% (almost no thermal effect) |
| Particle size distribution | Narrow | Typical normal distribution, no coarse particles |