RATIONAL PARAMETERS OF THERMAL VACUUM EXTRUSION OF A MIXTURE OF WHEAT GRAIN AND MILK THISTLE SEEDS

Abstract

Science-intensive technologies in the food industry contribute to improving the quality of a particular type of product, as well as to improving the functional and technological properties of agricultural raw materials during their production and preparation for use. The purpose of this research is to develop a mathematical model that allows for assessing the influence of the moisture content of the extruded mixture, as well as the magnitude of the vacuum and the duration of its effect (the time spent by the processed raw material in the vacuum chamber), on the temperature of the resulting extrudate. The analysis of the obtained model confirmed a high degree of explanation of the influence of these factors on the final result and showed that the rational values of the temperature of the resulting extrudate (19-20 °C) are achieved at a moderate moisture content of the processed mixture (18-21 %), pressure in the vacuum chamber of the extruder (45-55 kPa), and exposure time of 14-18 s. The developed model can be used to control the thermovacuum extrusion process in order to improve the quality of the resulting product and the overall energy efficiency of the technology.