A leading manufacturer of a wide range of food products, including peanut butter, fruit spreads, ice cream toppings, and health beverages, faced a persistent challenge in their pectin premix application. Despite using traditional methods for years, they struggled with inconsistent hydration, long mixing times, and suboptimal product quality. That all changed when they switched to high shear mixing with the Rotosolver®.
The Challenge: Outdated Mixing Methods and Inconsistent Results
The manufacturer had been using an eductor and turbine mixer to hydrate pectin into water, a method that had been in place for years. However, this process had several drawbacks:
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Pectin was never fully hydrated, resulting in inconsistent quality.
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Operators had to filter out fisheyes, leading to wasted time and resources.
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The mix time was prolonged, as the turbine mixer continued to recirculate the mixture until the pectin was "close enough" to fully hydrated.
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They were stuck in a cycle of "this is the way it’s always been done," despite the ongoing inefficiencies.
To make matters more complicated, multiple grades of pectin were used in their recipes, each reacting to shear forces differently. With varying inputs and no simple way to control the process, they were losing out on product consistency and operational efficiency.
The Solution: High Shear Mixing with the Rotosolver
After discovering the customer’s frustration with their existing process, Admix introduced the Rotosolver as a solution. The customer was initially skeptical about this new technology but was intrigued by the potential benefits. The Rotosolver, a high shear mixer, could efficiently hydrate the pectin in a fraction of the time while delivering the consistent results they had been seeking.
To ensure the solution would meet their needs, we ran several tests in our lab using the customer's toughest recipes. We even tested the process at lower temperatures, which would result in significant energy savings. The results were impressive, even beyond their expectations. The pectin hydrated faster, with fewer lumps and fisheyes, and the final product was more consistent.
However, the customer still had one final request: they wanted to see how the Rotosolver would perform at a larger scale. To address this, we conducted tests on a 100-gallon scale, using raw materials provided by the customer. The Rotosolver continued to perform at a high level, confirming that scaling up the process would not affect the quality or efficiency of the mix.
The Results: Faster Mixing, Better Quality, and Energy Savings
Once they transitioned to the Rotosolver high shear mixing process, the customer saw remarkable improvements:
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Quicker Mix Times: Their pectin premix batches, which previously took hours, were now completed in less than 30 minutes on the production scale (400 gallons).
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Improved Product Quality: The end product was more consistent, with fully hydrated pectin and fewer imperfections.
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Energy Savings: Mixing at lower temperatures meant less energy usage, reducing operational costs.
Why High Shear Mixing Works for Pectin Premix
The Rotosolver excels in high shear mixing because of its ability to apply uniform shear forces, which helps to:
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Hydrate pectin faster and more effectively, reducing the need for extended mixing times.
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Eliminate fisheyes and achieve a smoother, more consistent product.
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Improve overall process control, allowing operators to focus on quality rather than continually adjusting the mix.
By switching to high shear mixing, the manufacturer not only improved the consistency of their pectin premix but also reduced energy consumption and improved production efficiency. The result was a better product at a lower cost, all thanks to the power of high shear mixing.