Foam preparation at high-throughput using a novel packed bed system

We investigated the formation of food foams using a novel packed bed system at different operating pressures.The foaming process was based on simultaneous injection of continuous (whey protein solution) and dispersed(nitrogen gas) phases into a column containing a packed bed of glass beads. Bubbles were produced by entrapmentof nitrogen by thin films of continuous phase inside the porous medium. Initial results show a proof of principle thatthe proposed system can be an effective method for the controlled production of foams at overruns of up to 600%.The entire window of operation regarding all process and formulation possibilities is expected to be much wider butneeds to be established in future research.