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Mechanical Properties of Hydrocolloid Gels Filled with Internally Produced CO 2 Gas Bubbles
Author(s) -
Nussinovitch A.,
VelezSilvestre R.,
Peleg M.
Publication year - 1992
Publication title -
biotechnology progress
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.572
H-Index - 129
eISSN - 1520-6033
pISSN - 8756-7938
DOI - 10.1021/bp00017a009
Subject(s) - carbon dioxide , agar , citric acid , carrageenan , chemistry , calcium carbonate , sodium alginate , chemical engineering , sodium carbonate , sodium bicarbonate , carbonic acid , chromatography , carbonate , materials science , nuclear chemistry , sodium , organic chemistry , biochemistry , bacteria , genetics , engineering , biology
Agar (2%), alginate (1% algin), and κ‐carrageenan (1.5%) gel specimens were prepared from mother solutions that contained 0–2.5 % sodium bicarbonate (agar and carrageenan) or calcium carbonate (alginate). Upon immersion in a citric acid bath (0–2%), the carbonate reacted with the diffusing acid to produce numerous carbon dioxide bubbles. The compressive strength and deformability of the gas‐filled gels so produced were determined using a Universal testing machine and compared with those of pure gels and gels containing the carbonate but not subjected to the process after various immersion times. While the agar and alginate gels retained considerable mechanical integrity even after several hours, the carrageenan gels disintegrated after about 2–5 h. Under similar conditions, the number of bubbles produced in the agar gels was about twice that in the alginate gels, an observation that cannot be explained solely by stoichiometric considerations.