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.