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US 7,874,824 B2Granted
Equipment
AssigneeFMC Corporation
InventorsThomas Reid Kelly, Bryan Edwin Barwick, Vijay Arjun Sawant
Life of this patent
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AssigneeFMC Corporation
InventorsThomas Reid Kelly, Bryan Edwin Barwick, Vijay Arjun Sawant
Estimating the term…
Problems with incipiently gelling alginate or low-methoxy pectate sols in a bath of an aqueous solution containing calcium ions are reduced by having in the bath a perforated support surface which can be oscillated. The surface is preferably oscillated horizontally and vertically and preferably these oscillations are synchronised. Transport means to remove the product from the bath can be provided at one end of the bath. It is advantageous to ensure that at the beginning of the vertical oscillation the horizontal oscillation is in the direction of such transport means. Portions of the sol can be formed by extrusion either below or above the surface of the bath. The process is particularly useful for sols which have a sugar content greater than 10%. The invention also provides equipment comprising such a perforated support surface. Although the equipment is particularly useful for preparing alginate and low-methoxy pectate products it can also be used advantageously for other products which are formed in a bath and are susceptible to damage before they solidify adequately.
A system suitable for use in preparing products which are formed in a bath and are susceptible to damage before the products solidify adequately, comprising a bath, a perforated support surface in the bath for the products, an oscillating assembly adapted and structured to oscillate the support surface, and a transport assembly provided at one end of the support surface and structured to remove the products from the bath, wherein the oscillating assembly is structured (i) to be able to oscillate the support surface vertically and horizontally and (ii) when each vertical oscillation begins horizontal oscillation is towards the transport assembly.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.