Extrusion of wheat gluten plasticized with glycerol: Influence of process conditions on flow behavior, rheological properties, and molecular size distribution

Gluten-glycerol dough was extruded under a variety of processing conditions using a corotating self-wiping twin-screw extruder. Influence of feed rate, screw speed, and barrel temperature on processing parameters (die pressure, product temperature, residence time, specific energy) were examined. Use of flow modeling was successful for describing the evolution of the main flow parameters during processing. Rheological properties of extruded samples exhibited network-like behavior and were characterized and modeled by Cole-Cole distributions. Changes in molecular sizes of proteins during extrusion were measured by chromatography and appeared to be correlated to molecular size between network strands, as derived from the rheological properties of the materials obtained. Depending on operating conditions, extrudates presented very different surface aspects, ranging from very smooth-surfaced extrudates with high swell to completely broken extrudates. The results indicated that extrudate breakup was caused by increasing network density, and some gliadins may have acted as cross-linking agents. Increasing network density resulted in decreasing mobility of polymeric chains, and "protein melt" may no longer have been able to support the strain experienced during extrusion through the die. Increasing network density was reflected in increased plateau modulus and molecular size of protein aggregates. Increasing network structure appeared to be induced by the severity of the thermomechanical treatment, as indicated by specific mechanical energy input and maximum temperature reached.