The use of high pressure homogenization (HPH) to reduce consistency of concentrated orange juice (COJ)

• The high pressure homogenization (HPH) was used on concentrated orange juice (COJ).
• The HPH was successfully applied to reduce COJ consistency.
• The HPH process can reduce the energy amount during COJ production.
• The COJ colour is not affected by the HPH.
• The flow behaviour, thixotropy, PSD and Arrhenius activation energy were also evaluated.

Concentrated orange juice (COJ) was processed by high pressure homogenization (HPH) up to 150 MPa. The HPH decreased the product consistency, with a reduction up to 50% on its apparent viscosity (4.02 to 2.06 Pa·s) and 64% on its consistency index (17.96 to 6.48 Pa·sn) at − 10 °C. The flow behaviour index increased 11% (0.67 to 0.74). The COJ thixotropy was also affected, with a decrease of both initial (47%, 1075.34 to 567.98 Pa) and equilibrium (53%, 855.30 to 456.13 Pa) stresses (− 10 °C), whereas the kinetic parameter was unaffected. HPH reduced the mean particle diameter up to 12% of its original value (232 to 28 μm). The product colour was unaffected by HPH. The Arrhenius activation energy of the consistency index was evaluated and results showed an increase in its value as pressure increased (17 to 33 kJ/mol). HPH can be used to reduce the consistency of COJ and the friction loss, thus minimizing the amount of energy required to flow during processing and distribution.Industrial relevanceOrange juice is the most consumed juice in the world, being frequently obtained from the concentrated orange juice (COJ). The COJ production is, therefore, very large. Due to its high concentration, the COJ consistency is very high, as well as the amount of energy for processing and handling it. In the present work, the high pressure homogenization (HPH) technology was successfully proposed to be used in order to reduce the COJ consistency. By reducing the friction losses during flow, this alternative allows minimizing the energy during COJ processing and distribution.