Characterisation of the Wetting Behaviour of Poor Wetting Food Powders and the Influence of Temperature and Film Formation

Abstract

Characterisation of the wettability of five poor wetting food powders was performed using static immersion and contact angle measurements. The effect of temperature (20, 50 and 70 °C) on wettability showed varying effects on the powders. Higher temperatures majorly improved the wettability of chocolate and high fat powders but worsened the wettability of sodium caseinate and milk protein isolate. Rate-limiting regime testing was performed by pouring a fixed mass of powder on to the surface of water in an agitated beaker and visually assessing what was rate-limiting rehydration after 1 minute. The rate limiting regime tended to be floating at lower agitation speeds and dispersed clumps of varying sizes at higher speeds. However, there were major differences observed between the powders. Some of the powders formed strong films at powder/water interfaces, that could act as a barrier to water penetration and wettability. Consequently, force displacement testing was performed on a layer of powder on the water surface to assess the strength of any powder film formed. Some of the powders formed strong films that may in-part explain their poor wetting behaviour and their propensity to form strong clumps that were difficult to disrupt.