Dispersing and homogenising dairy products
Controlled preparation of recombined dairy products
Recombined dairy products bring together milk powder, water and milk fat in a defined formulation. Uniform powder wetting, sufficient hydration and a finely distributed fat phase are essential. These steps determine how reliably downstream homogenisation and heat treatment perform.
Cavitron rotor-stator systems provide intensive dispersion and pre-emulsification in the product stream. Equipment is selected to suit the raw materials, total solids content and quality requirements, from liquid dairy blends to concentrated intermediates for further processing.
What determines product quality?
- Wetting and hydration: Powder lumps wetted only on the surface can contain dry cores. Mechanical dispersion supports preparation; the hydration time required depends on the powder and process conditions.
- Fat distribution: A uniform pre-emulsion supports subsequent processing to the specified fat droplet size.
- Viscosity and temperature: High total solids content changes flow behaviour, pumping requirements and energy input. Temperature and residence time must suit the formulation.
- Hygiene: Cleanability, materials and seals must match the product and cleaning procedure. Microbiological safety requires a validated overall process.
Dispersion as a defined process stage
Within the rotor-stator system, shear and turbulent flow break down wetted agglomerates and distribute ingredients throughout the liquid stream. The fat phase is pre-emulsified. Tool configuration, rotational speed and throughput jointly determine mechanical energy input.
Depending on the formulation, the machine is integrated into a continuous process or a vessel recirculation loop. Powder addition, hydration time and temperature management are designed as connected process steps.
The product specification determines whether the rotor-stator stage achieves the required emulsion quality or whether downstream high-pressure homogenisation is needed. Pasteurisation and UHT treatment remain separate process steps requiring validation.
Benefits at a glance
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Uniform powder wetting
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Targeted deagglomeration
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Defined fat pre-emulsion
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Reproducible process conditions
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Integration into existing lines
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Formulation-specific design
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Coordinated hygiene concept
Benefits for your production
Uniform wetting and fewer agglomerates: Targeted mechanical processing improves the starting conditions for hydration and subsequent treatment.
Defined pre-emulsion: Uniform fat distribution supports reproducible feeding of downstream homogenisation stages.
Measurable quality: Defined formulation, temperature and operating parameters allow results to be assessed by dispersion quality, viscosity and fat droplet size distribution.
Production line integration: Inline processing can be combined with dosing, a hydration vessel, cooling and further homogenisation. The appropriate plant concept depends on throughput and product changeovers.
Design for formulation and hygiene: Product-contact materials, seals and cleaning procedures are specified together with the requirements of the dairy blend.
Design based on your product specification
Machine selection depends on powder composition and wettability, fat and total solids content, viscosity at processing temperature and required throughput. Hydration, fat droplet size and downstream processing requirements must also be considered.
Tool configuration, drive power, permissible operating conditions and hygienic design are agreed for each project. General machine limits are not recommended processing temperatures for dairy products.
Suitability is assessed using representative formulations and agreed quality criteria. For information on the machine range, see the Cavitron datasheet.
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