Foam preparation at high-throughput using a novel packed bed system

• Proposed foaming system consists of a porous medium of μ-scale glass beads.
• Bubbles were produced by entrapment of nitrogen by thin films of continuous phase inside the porous medium.
• An effective method for the controlled production of foams at overruns of up to 600%.

We investigated the formation of food foams using a novel packed bed system at different operating pressures. The foaming process was based on simultaneous injection of continuous (whey protein solution) and dispersed (nitrogen gas) phases into a column containing a packed bed of glass beads. Bubbles were produced by entrapment of nitrogen by thin films of continuous phase inside the porous medium. Initial results show a proof of principle that the proposed system can be an effective method for the controlled production of foams at overruns of up to 600%. The entire window of operation regarding all process and formulation possibilities is expected to be much wider but needs to be established in future research.