Abstract
The agglomeration process controls the structure characteristics and end-use properties of the agglomerates.Understanding the mechanisms involved in the structuration of the food agglomerates still representsa real scientific stake. The objective of the present study is to improve the knowledge of theprocess–structure–properties relationships for the agglomeration of the durum wheat semolina. Pneumaticand mechanical agglomeration technologies were selected to generate different hydro–thermo–mechanical stresses during process. The agglomerates were characterized by their structures (electronmicroscopy, compactness, X-ray micro-tomography, starch gelatinization) and functional properties (colors,flowability, swelling, water solubility index). The results demonstrate specific effects of shear rate,process duration, and temperature on the physicochemical mechanisms occurring during processing. Afunctional mechanistic model was proposed to improve the description of the agglomeration mechanismsby considering the reversible and irreversible changes. This offers innovative potential to designnew agglomeration processes by considering the physicochemical reactivity of the food powders.