CHEMICAL AND FUNCTIONAL PROPERTIES OF VARIOUS BLENDS OF PHOSPHATES

ABSTRACT Chemical and functional properties of various blends of phosphate were examined and compared with the conventional phosphate (M‐CP: a mechanical blend [50:50] of sodium tripolyphosphate [STPP] and tetrasodium pyrophosphate [TSPP]). Regardless of solution temperature and brine concentration, the solubilities of various blends of phosphates, especially M‐1 (a mechanical blend [50:50] of tetrapotassium pyrophosphate and STPP), M‐LC (a long‐chained sodium hexametapolyphosphate [SHMP] treated with trisodium phosphate [TSP]) and M‐MC (a middle‐chained SHMP treated with TSP), except for C‐S (a chemical blend [50:50] of STPP and TSPP for faster/higher solubility) and C‐V (a chemical blend [50:50] of STPP and TSPP for higher viscosity), were higher than that of M‐CP. The scanning electronic microscopic image revealed that the structures of various blends of phosphate were quite different. Comparing with M‐CP, C‐V was superior in viscosity, water retention ability (WRA), emulsifying activity and cooking stability. M‐1 was superior in WRA compared to M‐CP. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS Conventional blending for phosphates is typically made through simple mechanical mixing. In our study, we featured chemically blended phosphates and found that some of them demonstrated superior functional properties. With this advantage, the use of chemically blended phosphate could reduce the usage level while achieving a similar or better performance.