Product-oriented process synthesis and development: Creams and pastes

A systematic procedure is presented for the synthesis and development of manufacturing processes for creams and pastes. The procedure integrates the skills of a chemist and a chemical engineer to produce a product with specified properties. The desired functional and sensorial performance of the product is first identified in terms of quality factors. Then, the requisite ingredients are selected, and the process flowsheet, as well as the operating conditions, is synthesized. There are four steps in the procedure: identification of product quality factors, product formulation, flowsheet synthesis, and product and process evaluation. Design guidelines, as well as physical models describing relevant phenomena, are used to assist decision-making at each step of the procedure.