Maltodextrin Handling & Feeding

From Dry Ingredient to Liquid Phase, Engineered as One Process

Introducing powders into liquid preparation tanks is a critical step in many food processes. Maltodextrin, starches, proteins, sweeteners and other functional ingredients can differ significantly in flow behaviour, moisture sensitivity and required addition rate, making reliable powder handling essential before the ingredient reaches the liquid phase. VOLDE designs hygienic powder feeding systems that integrate bag or big bag unloading, enclosed conveying, weighing and recipe-based dosing with slurry preparation tanks. Each system is configured around the characteristics of the ingredient, production capacity and process layout, providing a reliable link between dry raw material handling and liquid preparation.

| Hygienic Raw Material Intake

Food powders must enter the process through equipment designed not only for material transfer, but also for cleanliness and product safety.

Ingredients supplied in big bags can be handled through enclosed discharge stations, while smaller-volume materials can be introduced from bags through dedicated feeding units. Product-contact parts are selected according to food-process requirements, with stainless-steel construction, smooth internal surfaces and geometries developed to reduce product retention.

Where required, hygienic design can include:

• AISI 304 or AISI 316 stainless-steel product-contact parts
• Product-contact surface finish down to Ra ≤ 0.8 μm
• Smooth, accessible internal geometries
• Food-grade seals and components
• Enclosed bag and big bag discharge
• Dust extraction at material intake points

For moisture-sensitive products such as maltodextrin, conveying-air preparation and environmental exposure are also considered as part of the process design.

| Enclosed Pneumatic Conveying to the Process

Once introduced into the system, the powder must be transferred to the preparation area without unnecessary exposure to the production environment.

In a VOLDE maltodextrin application, the ingredient is discharged from big bags and conveyed through a stainless-steel DENSPLUS dense-phase pneumatic conveying system to the process feeding section. The enclosed pipeline separates the product from the surrounding production area while allowing the raw material intake point and slurry preparation tanks to be positioned independently.

Lower conveying velocities can be used where appropriate to reduce mechanical stress on the powder and conveying line. AIRPLUS air-assist modules can support material movement along the pipeline according to route geometry and conveying requirements.

Depending on the application, the system can also incorporate dried conveying air, filtration and magnetic separation before the powder enters the downstream process.

| Recipe-Based Dosing to Slurry Tanks

Pneumatic transfer brings the ingredient to the process; accurate dosing determines how it enters the formulation.

The conveyed powder can be collected in an intermediate or weighed receiving unit and discharged to the slurry preparation tanks according to the active recipe. Load-cell weighing, gravimetric feeding or other dosing principles are selected according to required batch size, ingredient characteristics and process accuracy.

In the maltodextrin reference application, the system supplies two slurry preparation tanks, with the powder quantity managed according to the production recipe.

PLC/SCADA automation can coordinate:

• Raw material transfer
• Target and actual weights
• Tank requests
• Dosing sequences
• Batch identification
• Ingredient consumption
• Alarm and production records

This creates a direct connection between dry ingredient handling and the liquid formulation process, while reducing manual material handling around the preparation tanks.

| Hygienic & ATEX Process Design

Fine food powders require the hygienic requirements of food production and the dust-safety requirements of powder handling to be considered together.

VOLDE evaluates equipment layout, product-contact surfaces, dust extraction, electrical equipment and conveying architecture as part of one process design. Where the powder characteristics and project-specific risk assessment identify a combustible-dust hazard, the relevant sections are engineered according to the required ATEX zone classification.

The design can include Ex-rated field equipment, grounding and equipotential bonding, suitable dust extraction, enclosed material transfer and project-specific explosion-protection measures.

At the same time, the hygienic design philosophy remains focused on cleanability, reduced product retention and appropriate material selection throughout the product-contact path.

VOLDE combines hygienic raw material intake, enclosed pneumatic conveying, recipe-based dosing and ATEX-oriented engineering to create powder feeding systems developed specifically for the interface between dry food ingredients and liquid preparation processes.