Chemical composition and rheological properties of buffalo milk concentrated in a vacuum evaporator

• Grant number: 25/00784-9
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: April 01, 2025
• End date: December 31, 2025
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Food Science and Technology - Food Engineering
• Principal Investigator: Javier Telis Romero
• Grantee: Leonardo Gomes Petrucci
• Host Institution: Instituto de Biociências, Letras e Ciências Exatas (IBILCE). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de São José do Rio Preto. São José do Rio Preto , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Milk is a widely consumed food worldwide, both in its pure and concentrated forms. This project aims to investigate the effects of vacuum concentration on the chemical composition and rheological behavior of buffalo milk. The milk will be subjected to a concentration process in a vacuum evaporator. Buffalo milk will be concentrated until it reaches a total solids content of 50% w/w. Experimental samples with different solids concentrations will be prepared from the same concentrated buffalo milk by diluting it with distilled water to achieve concentrations ranging from 10.5% to 50.0% w/w. The chemical composition of the samples will be analyzed by quantifying water, protein, fat, ash, total solids, and carbohydrates, following AOAC methodologies. Rheological behavior will be evaluated using an ARG2 rotational rheometer equipped with concentric cylinders at different temperatures (10, 30, 50, 70, and 90 °C). Mathematical modeling of the data will be conducted using OriginPro 8.0 software, fitting theoretical rheological models such as Newton, Ostwald-de Waele, Bingham, and Herschel-Bulkley to the experimental shear stress and shear rate data. As a result of this project, it is expected to elucidate the impacts of the concentration process on the chemical composition and rheological behavior of concentrated buffalo milk. These findings are essential for process engineering, providing valuable information for various applications in the food industry.