Agglomeration of hydrolyzed collagen with blackberry pulp in a fluidized bed

[EN] Hydrolyzed collagen (HC) is a fine powder applied in the pharmaceutical and food industries which has shown good results in the treatment of diseases related to bones, skin and joints. In this study, HC particles were agglomerated in order to increase particle size, optimizing its use as a food ingredient, its handling and its storage. Agglomeration is a process that not only enlarge the size of fine particles, but also improves its properties, such as instantanization time and flowability. The aim of this work was the agglomeration of HC in a fluidized bed having blackberry pulp as a liquid binder. A full factorial design 22 was used to study the effect of the temperature of the fluidizing air (60, 70, 80ºC) and the flow rate of the liquid binder (0.8, 1.2, 1.6 mL/min) on the process yield, mean particle size, water activity and total anthocyanins content. It was observed that anthocyanins content from the blackberry pulp had higher values with lower temperatures. Water activity had lower values with higher temperatures, but in all conditions, it was lower than 0.6. The enlargement of the granules was observed in all conditions studied, increasing up to 275%. Process yield varied from 67,9 to 80,0%. In all conditions, the instantanization time and flowability improved compared to hydrolyzed collagen before agglomeration.