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Article history: Response surface methodology (RSM) was used to study the effects of feed moisture content (16–18%),
Received 30 January 2009 screw speed (250–320 rpm), and barrel temperature (150–170 °C) on extruder system parameters (prod-
Accepted 23 July 2009 uct temperature, die pressure, motor torque, specific mechanical energy, SME) and physical properties
(expansion, bulk density, hardness) of a chickpea flour-based snack. Second-order polynomials were used
to model the extruder responses and product properties as a function of process variables. Product tem-
Keywords: perature and die pressure were affected by all three process variables, while motor torque and SME were
Chickpeas
only influenced by screw speed and barrel temperature. All three variables affected product responses
Extrusion
System parameters
significantly. Desirable products, characterized by high expansion ratio and low bulk density and hard-
Physical properties ness, were obtained at low feed moisture, high screw speed and medium to high barrel temperature. It
Response surface methodology was demonstrated that chickpeas can be used to produce nutritious snacks with desirable expansion
and texture properties.
Crown Copyright Ó 2009 Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
0963-9969/$ - see front matter Crown Copyright Ó 2009 Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.foodres.2009.07.016
X. Meng et al. / Food Research International 43 (2010) 650–658 651
Physical characteristics such as expansion, density, and hardness plate had two circular dies, each with one hole. The diameter of
are important parameters to evaluate the consumer acceptability each hole was 2.5 mm.
of the final product (Patil, Berrios, Tang, & Swanson, 2007). The extruder was powered by a 36.6 kW motor with speeds var-
The effects of ingredient properties and processing conditions iable from 0 to 350 rpm. The screw configuration is shown in Fig. 1.
on final product quality are also reflected by their influence on pro- The extruder was equipped with a torque indicator, which showed
cess responses or extruder system parameters such as motor tor- percent of torque in proportion to the current drawn by the drive
que, die pressure, product temperature, and specific mechanical motor. Die pressure was measured using a Dynisco pressure trans-
energy (SME). As they are a result of different combinations of ducer (PT415D-3M-6, Dynisco, Sharon, MA, USA).
extrusion conditions such as feed moisture, screw speed, and bar- Raw materials were metered into the extruder with a twin-
rel temperature, system parameters can be used to describe or screw volumetric feeder (T-35, K-Tron Corp., Pitman, NJ, USA).
compare extrusion process under different operating conditions The feed rate was kept constant at 56.8 kg/h for all experiments.
(Moraru & Kokini, 2003). It has been shown that SME correlates The moisture content of the feed was varied by injecting water
well with extrudate properties such as expansion, density and tex- (approximately 50 °C) into the extruder with a triple action piston
ture characteristics (Altan, McCarthy, & Maskan, 2008; Dogan & pump (P33, Bran and Lubbe, Delavan, WI, USA). A variable speed
Karwe, 2003; Ilo, Tomschik, Berghofer, & Mundigler, 1996; Meuser die face cutter with one blade was used to cut the extrudates.
& Van Lengerich, 1992; Onwulata, Konstance, Smith, & Holsinger,
2001a). The objective of this study was to investigate the effects 2.3. Sample collection and determination of process responses
of extrusion conditions, feed moisture content, screw speed, and
barrel temperature, on the extrusion system parameters and phys- Samples were collected for 5 min after the extruder system
ical properties of a chickpea flour-based extruded snack using re- parameters (product temperature, die pressure, and motor torque)
sponse surface methodology. reached a steady-state. Product temperature, die pressure, and mo-
tor torque shown on the extruder control panel were recorded
twice, at the start and the end of product collection. Average values
2. Materials and methods were reported. Extrudate samples were cooled to room tempera-
ture and then packed in sealed plastic bags until measurements
2.1. Materials were taken.
Specific mechanical energy (W h/kg) was calculated from rated
Chickpea flour (desi type) was obtained from Diefenbaker Seed screw speed (350 rpm), motor power rating (36.6 kW), actual
Processors (Elbow, Saskatchewan, CA). The chickpea flour had a screw speed, % motor torque, and mass flow rate (kg/h) as the fol-
protein, fat, and fiber content of 22.0%, 6.7%, and 11.0% (wet basis), lowing formula (Pansawat et al., 2008):
respectively. HilmarÒ 8200 heat stable/gelling whey protein con-
actual screw speed ðrpmÞ % motor toque
centrate (82% protein) was obtained from NutraBlend Foods (Cam- SME ¼
bridge, Ontario, CA). Whey protein is a high-quality, complete
rated screw speed ðrpmÞ 100
protein that delivers all the essential amino acids needed by the motor power rating ðkWÞ
human body (Burrington, 2004; Davis, 2004; Onwulata, Smith, mass flow rate ðkg=hÞ
Konstance, & Holsinger, 2001b). Incorporation of whey protein in
the formulation would enhance the nutritional profile of the prod-
2.4. Experimental design
uct. Potato starch and lecithin were obtained from Blends (Edmon-
ton, Alberta, CA). Baking powder was purchased from a retail store.
Response surface methodology was used to investigate the ef-
Moisture content of chickpea flour, whey protein concentrate, and
fects of extrusion conditions on the process and product responses
potato starch was measured prior to the extrusion experiments so
of the chickpea flour-based snack. Results from preliminary trials
as to adjust the feed moisture content according to the experimen-
were used to select suitable extruder operating window. The inde-
tal design. The feed blend was prepared according to the formula-
pendent variables considered for this study were feed moisture
tion given in Table 1.
content (16.0–18.0%, wet basis), screw speed (250–320 rpm), and
barrel temperature of the last zone (150–170 °C). A Rotatable, Cen-
tral Composite Design (Myers, 1971) was employed to determine
2.2. Extruder and processing conditions
the extrusion conditions (Table 2). Experiments were randomized
in order to minimize the systematic bias in the observed responses
Extrusion experiments were performed on a co-rotating and
due to extraneous factors.
intermeshing twin-screw extruder (ZSK-57, Werner & Pfleiderer,
Ramsey, NJ, USA). The barrel diameter and its length to diameter
ratio (L/D) were 57 mm and 24:1, respectively. The extruder had 2.5. Determination of product responses
3 barrel zones. Temperatures of the first two zones were main-
tained at 50 and 90 °C, respectively, throughout the experiments, 2.5.1. Expansion ratio
while the temperature at the last zone (compression and die sec- To determine the expansion ratio (ER), the cross-sectional
tion) was varied according to the experimental design. The die diameter of the extrudates was measured with a Vernier digital
caliper. The expansion ratio was calculated as the cross-sectional
diameter of the extrudate divided by the diameter of the die open-
Table 1 ing (Ding, Ainsworth, Tucker, & Marson, 2005; Onwulata et al.,
Feed formulation used in the extrusion experiments. 2001b). The ER values were obtained from 15 random samples
Ingredient % (w/w, wet basis) for each extrusion condition.
Chickpea flour 60.0
Potato starch 23.0 2.5.2. Bulk density
Whey protein concentrate 15.0 Bulk density (g/cm3) of extrudates was determined by a volu-
Soy lecithin 1.0
metric displacement procedure as described by Hwang and Hayak-
Baking powder 1.0
awa (1980) and Patil et al. (2007). Glass beads, with a diameter of
652 X. Meng et al. / Food Research International 43 (2010) 650–658
Table 2
Experimental design for the extrusion experiments.
1 mm, were used as a displacement medium. Five measurements hardness in N by measuring the maximum force required to break
were made for each extrusion condition. Twelve pieces of extru- the extruded samples. A 50 kg load cell was used. The test speed
dates were pre-cut into short segments of about 1.5 cm long and was 2 mm/s and the distance between the two supports was
the total weight (Wex) was recorded. Glass beads were first poured 48 mm. A force–time curve was recorded and analyzed by a Tex-
into a 250-mL (Vc) graduate cylinder to form a 0.5–1.0 cm thick ture Exponent 32 software program (version 4.0). Ten randomly
layer. Three pieces of extrudates were placed on top of the glass collected samples were measured for each extrusion condition.
beads and enough glass beads were poured in to cover the extru-
dates. The contents were gently tapped 12 times with a stainless 2.6. Statistical analysis
steel spoon. Three more pieces were placed in the cylinder, covered
with more glass beads and again tapped 12 times. This procedure Process responses (product temperature, die pressure, motor
was repeated until all 12 extrudate pieces were used. Again, glass torque, SME) and product responses (expansion ratio, bulk density,
beads were poured into the cylinder until they reached the 250 mL hardness) obtained as a result of the proposed experimental design
mark. Excess beads were removed with a spatula. The weight of were subjected to regression analysis in order to assess the effects
the glass bead displaced (Wgbd, weight of glass bead and extrudates of feed moisture content, screw speed, and barrel temperature. A
in the cylinder less weight of extrudates) was recorded. The weight second-order polynomial regression model
of glass beads required to fill the cylinder (Wgb) was determined by
X
3 X
3 X
3
following the same procedure as for the samples, except that yi ¼ b0 þ bi X i þ bij X i X j
extrudates were not used. Extrudate density was calculated as i¼1 i¼1 j¼i
Canonical analysis of the predicted model was performed to locate pressure is positively related to melt viscosity at a constant feed
extrusion conditions where the snack would have a minimum den- rate (Jin et al., 1994).
sity and hardness and maximum expansion ratio. The interaction effect was also reflected on the surface plot
(Fig. 3B). The influence of screw speed on die pressure was most
noticeable at low barrel temperatures; at high barrel temperatures
3. Results and discussion
the effect was minor. Die pressure ranged from 4.83 to
6.41 Pa 106 (Table 3). High die pressure was obtained at low feed
Effects of extrusion conditions on process and product re-
moisture content, screw speed, and barrel temperature combina-
sponses are shown in Table 3. Extrudates of different physical
tion (Fig. 3). Similar results have been reported (Altan et al.,
properties were obtained at different processing conditions (Table
2008; Pan, Zhang, & Jane, 1998; Pansawat et al., 2008).
3). Results of the regression analysis are shown in Table 4. The
regression models for product temperature, die pressure, expan-
3.1.3. Motor torque and SME
sion ratio, bulk density, and hardness were highly significant
Similar regression results were obtained for motor torque and
(P < 0.001), with a high coefficient of determination (R2 = 0.97,
SME (Table 4). Screw speed and barrel temperature had significant
0.97, 0.87, 0.99, and 0.91, respectively). Although relatively lower
linear effects on motor torque (P < 0.01) and SME (P < 0.05). As ex-
R2 was noted for motor torque (0.79) and SME (0.78), their regres-
pected, torque decreased with increasing screw speed and barrel
sion models were significant (P < 0.05). Moreover, none of the
temperature, while SME increased with increasing screw speed
models showed significant lack of fit (P > 0.05), indicating that all
and decreasing barrel temperature (Table 4, Figs. 4 and 5). How-
the second-order polynomial models correlated well with the mea-
ever, feed moisture had no effect on SME and torque. The measured
sured data and were statistically significant (P < 0.05).
torque values ranged from 19 to 24% and calculated SME from 87.9
to 115.8 Wh/kg (Table 3). Low torque was observed at high screw
3.1. Process responses speed and barrel temperature and high SME at high screw speed
and low temperature on the surface plots (Figs. 4 and 5).
3.1.1. Product temperature Any variable affecting the viscosity of the food melt in the ex-
Product temperature values ranged between 164.1 and 182.4 °C truder would correspondingly affect motor torque and SME (Akdo-
(Table 3), which were higher than the barrel temperatures set at gan, 1996). The decreases in motor torque and SME with increasing
the last zone of the extruder (Table 3). This was expected, because barrel temperature at the die could be attributed to the changes in
heat was generated during extrusion through viscous dissipation of melt viscosity. Increasing barrel temperature and screw speed
the mechanical energy, which caused an increase of product would both cause a decline in the melt viscosity and consequently,
temperature. a decrease in SME and torque. The torque required to turn the ex-
The predicted response model (Table 4) indicated that linear ef- truder screw is also related to degree of fill in the extruder barrel
fects of all three variables and quadratic effects of screw speed and (Jin et al., 1994). At a constant feed rate, an increase in screw speed
barrel temperature were the primary determining factors for prod- decreased the length of filled flights. This resulted in a decrease in
uct temperature, and there was no significant interaction between the load on the screw shaft motor. Thus, the extruder torque was
the independent variables. Among the three variables, feed mois- reduced. However, as shown in the surface plot (Fig. 5), SME in-
ture content had the least effect on product temperature. The re- creased proportional to the screw speed, although a decrease in
sponse surface plots (Fig. 2) showed that increased screw speed SME was also expected because melt viscosity would decrease
and barrel temperature led to an increase in product temperature. with increasing screw speed. This result indicated that the effect
However, increased feed moisture content caused a decrease in of screw speed dominated the effect of melt viscosity, as reported
product temperature. High product temperature was observed at in other studies (Akdogan, 1996; Bhattacharya, 1997; Jin et al.,
high screw speed and barrel temperature, and low feed moisture 1994). On the contrary, increasing feed moisture content and
content. hence lowering the melt viscosity did not result in a lower SME
The dependence of shear or mechanical energy on screw speed and torque. This could be due to the relatively narrow moisture
is well known. A higher screw speed generates a greater amount of range (16.0–18.0%) used in the study.
mechanical energy or frictional heat, which leads to an increase of The amount of mechanical energy delivered to the extruded
product temperature. As shown in Fig. 2, increasing the screw material plays an important role in starch conversion. Higher
speed from 226 to 344 rpm increased the product temperature SME usually results in greater degree of starch gelatinization and
approximately 15 °C. Della Valle, Tayeb, and Melcion (1987) and extrudate expansion. Hence, increased SME is desired for expand-
Jin, Hsieh, and Huff (1994) reported similar temperature increases ing products.
during extrusion of corn meal or corn starch based materials. Prod- The SME values were lower than those observed for extrusion
uct temperature or melt temperature plays an important role in cooking of cereals (Ilo et al., 1996; Jin et al., 1994; Singh & Smith,
changing the rheological properties of the extruded melts, which 1997), most likely due to the feed composition. In our study, the
in turn affect the degree of expansion. feed blend had a fat, protein, and starch content of approximately
Inversely, water acts as a plasticizer in the extruder, and 5%, 25%, and 47–53% (calculated values), respectively, while cereal/
increasing feed moisture reduces melt viscosity and the mechani- grain-based direct expanded snacks usually contain much less pro-
cal energy dissipation (Ilo et al., 1996). Thus, product temperature tein and more starch. Onwulata and Konstance (2006) suggested
was lower. that a higher protein content of the feed resulted in a lower melt
viscosity and reduced extrudate expansion. They found a large
3.1.2. Die pressure reduction in paste viscosity, which represented the melt viscosity
The regression analysis results (Table 4) indicated that feed in the extruder, when a whey protein concentrate was added to
moisture content, screw speed, and barrel temperature had nega- a corn meal. Moreover, Della Valle, Colonna, and Patria (1996)
tive linear effects on die pressure (P < 0.001) followed by the inter- found that viscous behavior highly depended on starch content,
action effect of screw speed and barrel temperature (P < 0.05). The and melt viscosity decreased with decreasing starch content.
response surface plot (Fig. 3A) indicated that die pressure de- Therefore, the high protein and low starch content of the feed
creased with increasing feed moisture content. This may be attrib- blend may result in a low melt viscosity, which could account for
uted to the reduced melt viscosity at high moisture levels, as die the low SME observed in our study. This is supported by Onwulata
654 X. Meng et al. / Food Research International 43 (2010) 650–658
Table 3
Effects of extrusion conditions on process and product responses.
Table 4
Results of regression analysis (calculated on coded levels where all independent variables are in the range ±1).
et al. (2001a), who observed a significant reduction in SME input of ER at low moisture levels, whereas the effect was minor at high
into the extrudates when the protein content of a corn meal was moisture levels.
increased by incorporation of dairy proteins. The significant quadratic effect of barrel temperature was also
reflected on the surface plot (Fig. 6B) with a curved surface. Expan-
3.2. Product responses sion ratio of extrudates increased with barrel temperature before it
reached a critical level, approximately 168 °C, after which ER de-
3.2.1. Expansion ratio clined. Similar findings have also been reported by others (Dogan
The regression analysis results (Table 4) showed that feed mois- & Karwe, 2003; Ilo et al., 1996). They suggested the existence of
ture content had a negative linear effect (P < 0.001), while screw temperature plateau for expansion, between 150 and 170 °C,
speed and barrel temperature had positive linear effects depending on the type of food material. This phenomenon may
(P < 0.01) on ER followed by an interaction effect (P < 0.01) of mois- be caused by excessive structure breakdown and starch degrada-
ture and screw speed and a quadratic effect (P < 0.01) of barrel tion under high temperature, which weakened the extrudate struc-
temperature. It was observed on the response surface plot ture and therefore caused it to collapse. On the other hand, the
(Fig. 6A) that increased screw speed led to a significant increase decreased expansion at high temperature could also be a result
X. Meng et al. / Food Research International 43 (2010) 650–658 655
iability than the other types of expansion. This agrees with the re-
sults of our study (Table 3), where smaller variations were reported
SME (Wh/kg)
113 for density compared to ER. Patil et al. (2007) also indicated that 30
104 replicates were required for determining ER of pulse-based extru-
95 dates, while only 5 measurements were sufficient to estimate bulk
86 density.
77
3.2.3. Hardness
Hardness of extrudates was significantly (P < 0.01) affected by
linear effects of all 3 independent variables. Feed moisture content
177 344 and barrel temperature had also significant quadratic effects
169 315 (P < 0.05) on extrudate hardness (Table 4). Response surface plots
160 285 (Fig. 8) showed that hardness decreased with decreasing feed
152 256
143 226 moisture content, whereas with increasing screw speed and barrel
temperature. The hardness of extrudates ranged from 184 to 550 N
Barrel temperature (°C) Screw speed (rpm) (Table 3). Low hardness, which is also a favored property of extru-
dates, was observed at low feed moisture, high screw speed and
Fig. 5. Effect of feed moisture content, screw speed, and barrel temperature on
specific mechanical energy (SME, feed moisture content had no influence on SME). barrel temperature. The canonical analysis results showed that
the minimum hardness (184 N) was predicted at 15% feed
moisture, 299 rpm screw speed, and 157 °C barrel temperature.
The hardness of expanded extrudates is a perception of the hu-
A man being and is associated with expansion and cell structure of
the product. The hardness is the peak force required for a probe
5.6
or parallel blades (e.g. Kramer Shear Cell) to penetrate the extru-
Expansion ratio
4.9
date. The higher the value of maximum peak force required, the
4.1 higher the hardness of the sample. Previous studies also reported
3.4 that the hardness of extrudates increased as the feed moisture con-
2.6
A
Bulk density (g/cm3)
0.31
344 18.7
315 17.9 0.26
285 17.0 0.21
256 16.1
226 15.3 0.16
Screw speed (rpm) Feed moisture (%) 0.11
B
Expansion ratio
B
Bulk density (g/cm3)
0.31
177 344
169 315 0.27
160 285 0.22
152 256
143 226 0.17
Barrel temperature (°C) Screw speed (rpm) 0.13
Fig. 6. Effect of feed moisture content, screw speed, and barrel temperature on
expansion ratio.
177 226
169 256
Bulk density also describes the degree of expansion undergone 160 285
by the melt as it exits the extruder. The sectional ER considers only 152 315
143 344
in the direction perpendicular to extrudate flow, while bulk density
considers expansion in all directions (Altan et al., 2008; Ilo et al.,
Barrel temperature (°C) Screw speed (rpm)
1996). Due to an inverse relationship between sectional and longi-
tudinal expansion (Dogan & Karwe, 2003; Ilo et al., 1996), bulk Fig. 7. Effect of feed moisture content, screw speed, and barrel temperature on bulk
density as a measure of volumetric expansion, would have less var- density.
X. Meng et al. / Food Research International 43 (2010) 650–658 657
344 18.7
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