CARRAGEENAN MANUFACTURING

Carrageenan is a hydrocolloid extracted from some red seaweeds belonging to the Gigartina, Hypnea, Eucheuma, Chondrus and Iridaea species. It is used in a wide variety of applications in the food industry as a thickening, gelling, stabilizing and suspending agent in water and milk systems.

Carrageenan is a multifunctional ingredient and it behaves differently in water and in milk systems. In water it shows typical hydrocolloid properties of thickening and gelling, while in milk systems it also has the property of reacting with proteins to furnish additional stabilizing abilities.

Carrageenan has a unique ability to form a wide variety of gel textures at room temperature: rigid or elastic, clear or turbid, tough or tender, heat stable or thermally reversible, low or high melting/gelling temperatures. It may also be used as a suspending, gelling, emulsifying, stabilizing and water retaining agent in other industrial applications.

Carrageenan can be classified according to its structure and chemical properties or according to its production process:

Structure and Chemical Property

KAPPA – rigid and brittle gel, thermo-reversible, high gel strength, showing syneresis.

IOTA – elastic gel, thermo-reversible, no syneresis, thixotropic.

LAMBDA – cold soluble, non gelling, high viscosity.

Production Process

SEMI-REFINED – opaque gel containing high cellulose and fiber levels, low degree of purity.

REFINED – clear, transparent gel, with a high degree of purity.

Carrageenans or carrageenins are a family of linear sulfated polysaccharides that are extracted from red edible seaweeds. They are widely used in the food industry, for their gelling, thickening, and stabilizing properties. Their main application is in dairy and meat products, due to their strong binding to food proteins. There are three main varieties of carrageenan, which differ in their degree of sulphation. Kappa-carrageenan has one sulphate group per disaccharide, Iota-carrageenan has two, and Lambda-carrageenan has three.

Gelatinous extracts of the Chondrus crispus (Irish moss) seaweed have been used as food additives since approximately the fifteenth century. Carrageenan is a vegetarian and vegan alternative to gelatin in some applications or may be used to replace gelatin in confectionery.

INTRODUCTION
STRUCTURE AND CHEMICAL PROPERTY
TABLE: COMPARISON OF PROPERTY BETWEEN GELATIN, CARRAGEENAN
AND AGAR
STRUCTURE AND PROPERTIES
PROPERTIES
SOLUBILITY
HOT WATER
COLD WATER
HOT MILK
COLD MILK
SUGAR SOLUTION
SALT SOLUTION (BRINE)
GELLING
GELLING MECHANISM
TEXTURE
VISCOSITY
STABILITY
REACTIVITY WITH PROTEINS
INTERACTIONS WITH OTHER GUMS
THIXOTROPY
THERE ARE THREE MAIN COMMERCIAL CLASSES OF CARRAGEENAN:
USES AND APPLICATION
FOOD INDUSTRY
OTHER INDUSTRIAL APPLICATIONS
DAIRY PRODUCTS
WATER-BASED FOODS
MEAT PRODUCTS
PET FOOD
AIR FRESHENER GELS
TOOTHPASTE
IMMOBILIZED BIOCATALYSTS
REFINED GRADE VS. NATURAL GRADE
FOOD APPLICATIONS
NONFOOD APPLICATIONS
RAW MATERIALS
SEA WEED
TABLE: RED ALGAE SPECIES
TYPES OF CARRAGEENAN
TABLE-DATA ON THE TYPE AND YIELD OF CARRAGEENAN OBTAINED
FROM INDIAN RED ALGAE
USES OF CARRAGEENAN
CHEMISTRY OF CARRAGEENAN
VISCOSITY OF CARRAGEENAN SOLUTIONS:
GELATION OF CARRAGEENAN:
SENSITIVITY TO CATIONS:
PROTEIN REACTIVITY:
COMPATIBILITY WITH OTHER INGREDIENTS AND GUMS:
INTERACTION OF CARRAGEENAN WITH PARTICULATES:
INTERACTION BETWEEN CARRAGEENAN AND POLYOL:
PRODUCTION METHODS OF CARRAGEENAN
REFINED CARRAGEENAN AND FILTERED CARRAGEENAN
SEMI-REFINED CARRAGEENAN AND SEAWEED FLOUR
COMPARISON OF CARRAGEENAN WITH OTHER GUMS
APPLICATION METHODS OF CARRAGEENAN
DISPERSION TECHNIQUES:
HYDRATION OF CARRAGEENAN:
PROCESS CONSIDERATIONS:
STABILITY OF CARRAGEENAN POWDER:
MARKET SURVEY
CARRAGEENAN MARKETS
FUTURE PROSPECTS
INDUSTRIAL PROCESSING
OF CARRAGEENAN AND ITS GRADES
THERE ARE THREE TYPES OF INDUSTRIAL PROCESSING:
SEMI-REFINED
REFINED
MIXED PROCESSING
GRADES
TECHNICAL ASPECTS OF CARRAGEENAN
MANUFACTURING PROCESS OF CORRAGEENAN
PROCESS FLOW DIAGRAM
COMMERICIAL EXTRACTION OF CARRAGEENAN
THE ALCOHOL PREPARATION EXTRACTION METHOD:
THE GEL-PRESS EXTRACTION METHOD:
THE SEMI-REFINED/PES EXTRACTION METHOD:
SEQUENCES IN CARRAGEENAN MANUFACTURE
LAMBDA CARRAGEENAN
LOTA CARRAGEENAN
SEMI PROCESS/SEMI REFINED CARRAGEENAN
PROCESSING TECHNOLOGY FOR KAPPA-CARREENAN PRODUCTION
PROCESSING TECHNOLOGY FOR LOTA     AND LAMBDA CARRAGEENAN PRODUCTION
PROCESSING TECHNOLOGY FOR SEMI-PROCESSED CARRAGEENAN
PROCESSING TECHNOLOGY FOR CRUDE CARRAGEENAN
PROCESSING TECHNOLOGY FOR SEMI-REFINED CARRAGEENAN
SUPPLIERS OF RAW MATERIALS
SODIUM HYDROXIDE
LABORATORY CHEMICALS
PACKAGING MATERIALS (HDPE WOVEN SACKS)
SUPPLIERS OF PLANT AND MACHINERY
ROTARY WASHER
EXTRACTOR
PRESSURE LEAF FILTER
EVAPORATORS
CENTRIFUGE
ROTARY VACUUM DRYER
PULVERISER
MIXER
BOILERS
LABORATORY EQUIPMENTS
PACKAGING MACHINE
MATERIAL HANDLING EQUIPMENTS
INSTRUMENTATION AND PROCESS CONTROL EQUIPMENTS
D.G. SETS

APPENDIX – A:

1.      COST OF PLANT ECONOMICS
2.      LAND & BUILDING
3.      PLANT AND MACHINERY
4.      FIXED CAPITAL INVESTMENT
5.      RAW MATERIAL
6.      SALARY AND WAGES
7.      UTILITIES AND OVERHEADS
8.      TOTAL WORKING CAPITAL
9.      COST OF PRODUCTION
10.      PROFITABILITY ANALYSIS
11.      BREAK EVEN POINT
12.      RESOURCES OF FINANCE
13.      INTEREST CHART
14.      DEPRECIATION CHART
15.      CASH FLOW STATEMENT
16.      PROJECTED BALANCE SHEET