Rheological behavior of mango juice throughout the production process

Abstract

The need for studying the flow behavior of the treated juice in the three main parts of the process (After mixing, after Pasteurization and after cooling) is essential in predicting the pumping power requirement. In the present paper, the rheological properties of mango juice are determined at the end of three steps in the production line: First, after the mixing step, second after homogenization and finally after cooling. The following properties determined, Brix concentration, Acidity of solution, and the rheological properties. Mixed juice showed Bingham behavior with values of yield stress decreasing with increased temperature. The activation energy was determined to equal about 24 kJ.mol-1. Samples collected after the homogenization step exhibited shear thinning behavior with an almost constant flow index of 0.525. The activation energy was determined as 10.93 kJ.mol-1. The juice samples collected from that step exhibited a mild thixotropic behavior. The results of the third step involving cooling of the homogenized juice revealed that the liquid reverted to Bingham behavior with values of consistency index decreasing with increased temperatures. The calculated activation energy equals 11.22 kJ.mol-1.