Mixing Unit for Production of Flour Baking Mixes with High Protein Content

Introduction. Semi-finished products help food industry enterprises to meet the population's need for high-quality and nutritious foods. Popular semi-products are loose mixes enriched with vitamins, minerals, and biologically active substances. The world is currently experiencing a shortage of food protein, and its deficiency is likely to continue in the coming decades. Therefore, loose high-protein baking mixes are one of the promising directions of healthy nutrition industry. Multicomponency of such mixes makes it possible to balance their composition and develop products that have a useful comprehensive effect on the human body and strengthen protective functions. Study objects and methods. In order to ensure a balanced composition of mixes and high-quality food production, the authors propose a new design of a continuous action vibration mixer. Experimental and industrial tests were carried out as part of a technological line for production of baking mixes with increased protein content. Trials included idling and serviceability check under load, quality tests of the obtained high-protein baking mix, as well as vibration and noise level tests. The tests provided the following rational operation parameters: amplitude of vibration A = 0.0045 m; angle of vibration β = 45°; frequency of vibration f = 33.33 Hz; number of revolutions n = 4; diameter of perforations d = 0.007 m. Biological value was determined according to the results of amino-acid analysis. Results and discussion. The new mixing unit had the average value of the non-uniformity coefficient Vc = 6.86%, which indicated the high quality of the obtained high-protein baking mixes. The biological value of the finished food product showed a higher nutritional value than in the control sample. Conclusions. The new vibration type mixing unit made it possible to obtain baking mixes of specified quality at the ratio of mixed components 1:60. This simple but reliable device had relatively low material and energy costs.