Pectin

Pectin is a soluble gelatinous polysaccharide mostly derived from citrus peel and apple pomace, and is used as a gelling agent, stabilizer and fat substitute in food and beverage applications.

Pectin is primarily known for gelling jams, jellies and marmalades, but is used in many other food products including yogurts, ice creams, fruit-based drinks and baked goods. It is primarily sold and used as a dry powder due to ease of storage and shipping, but may be reconstituted as a gel prior to addition to other food products and cosmetics.

Pectin is produced by hydrolysis of citrus peel, apple pomace following juice removal, or from other plant residues, usually via acid extraction at elevated temperatures, followed by filtration, alcohol precipitation, washing, and drying. Several new proprietary processes to solubilize the pectin have been developed to eliminate acid waste and improve yields.

Positive displacement pumps are well suited to pectin production due to their ability to handle the fruit solids in acidic slurries with pH as low as 2.0, as well as to handle the viscous pectin solutions both during production and when reconstituted as an aqueous solution at food processors. In all cases pumps and systems must be cleanable to ensure hygiene. Flow rate is commonly controlled using variable speed drives, allowing the flow to be matched to that of the process.

Viking in the Process

Viking hygienic positive displacement pumps are used at pectin processors to transfer the shredded fruit slurries from hydrolysis to separation processes, either filtration or centrifugation, to remove solid residues. They transfer the liquid fraction to precipitation where alcohol is added to recover pectin, and then they transfer the pectin solution to final filtration and drying processes.

They are also used to meter aqueous pectin solutions into batch or continuous processes at food plants.