Contract Analysis | Food Industry | Elementar analysis by Combustion

At our applications lab we do several analysis. We´d like to share an interesting example with you.

Protein is a nutrient human being needs to grow and repair cells and to work properly. Protein is found in a wide range of food and it is important to get enough protein in daily diet.

The increase in consumer demand for protein-rich foods has led to increased control of their content in various products, particularly milk and its by-products.

Whey Powder is one of the best-known supplements used by athletes as it contains the essential amino acids for muscle recovery and construction.

Milk Powder is marketed because it offers preservation advantages, since it does not need to be refrigerated due to its low moisture content. Another advantage is to reduce its transport volume.

In this study, elemental analyses by combustion were performed on milk and whey powder samples to quantify its nitrogen amount and estimate the protein content in the samples.

Table 1: Carbon and nitrogen results obtain for whey powder and milk powder and their respective Protein values.

SAMPLE	C (%)	N (%)	Protein (%)
Whey Powder	40.95 ± 0.11	1.98 ± 0.02	12.6 ± 0.1
Milk Powder	45.51 ± 0.12	5.39 ± 0.06	34.3 ± 0.3

 

The instrument used was the vario MACRO cube CHNS, from Elementar®, using combustion of the sample to promote an instantaneous oxidization into simpler compounds which are then detected by thermal conductivity. For more information, please click on the brochure.

Analysis reports can be prepared in English (default), Portuguese or Spanish.

Other services can be requested on demand. They include analytical methods development and validation, route cause analysis support, reverse engineering support and technical consultancy in material characterization.