Spouted Bed Drying of Milk–Blackberry Pulp: Analysis of Powder Production Efficiency and Powder Characterization

Abstract

Spouted bed drying of milk–blackberry pulp mixture at different ratios (V/V) was analyzed in this work. The effects of addition of adjuvant (maltodextrin, casein, and palm oil) in the milk–blackberry mixture and maltodextrin in the pure blackberry pulp were analyzed focusing on enhancing powder production efficiency. The best results were obtained for the paste composition of 25% concentrated milk–75% blackberry pulp (V/V) without addition of adjuvant, yielding stable fluid dynamic behavior, powder production efficiency greater than 60%, linear powder production kinetics, high anthocyanin content, and low final moisture content of the powder (3.08% wb).

Keywords:

• Blackberry pulp
• Milk
• Powder production efficiency
• Spouted bed drying