Homogenization is a term used in Chemistry, agricultural science, food technology and in cell biology. Chemistry (from Greek χημεία khemeia[1] meaning alchemy) is the science of matter at the atomic to molecular scale, dealing primarily with collections of atoms, such as molecules, crystals, and metals. ... Agricultural science is a broad multidisciplinary field that encompasses the parts of exact, natural, economic, and social sciences that are used in the practice and understanding of agriculture. ... The food technology room at Marling School in Stroud, Gloucestershire. ... Cell biology (also called cellular biology or cytology, from the Greek kytos, container) is an academic discipline that studies cells. ...

Chemistry

Intensive mixing of mutually insoluble phases (sometimes with addition of Surfactants) to obtain a soluble suspension or emulsion. In the physical sciences, a phase is a set of states of a macroscopic physical system that have relatively uniform chemical composition and physical properties (i. ... Surfactants are wetting agents that lower the surface tension of a liquid, allowing easier spreading, and lower the interfacial tension between two liquids. ... Flour suspended in water In chemistry, a suspension is a colloidal dispersion (mixture) in which a finely-divided species is combined with another species, with the former being so finely divided and mixed that it doesnt rapidly settle out. ... A. Two immisicble liquids, not emulsified; B. An emulsion of Phase B dispersed in Phase A; C. The unstable emulsion progressively separates; D. The surfactant (purple outline) positions itself on the interfaces between Phase A and Phase B, stabilizing the emulsion An emulsion is a mixture of two immiscible (unblendable...

In Science:

• Homogeneous — a mixture that is the same(uniform) throughout.
• Heterogeneous — a mixture that has separate parts.

Food technology

One of the oldest applications of homogenization is in milk processing, where the aim is to prevent or delay the separation of cream from the rest of the emulsion. This is done by forcing the milk at high pressure through small orifices. A glass of cows milk Milk is the nutrient fluid produced by the mammary glands of female mammals (including monotremes). ... Cream or creme is a dairy product that is composed of the higher-butterfat layer skimmed from the top of milk before homogenization. ... A. Two immisicble liquids, not emulsified; B. An emulsion of Phase B dispersed in Phase A; C. The unstable emulsion progressively separates; D. The surfactant (purple outline) positions itself on the interfaces between Phase A and Phase B, stabilizing the emulsion An emulsion is a mixture of two immiscible (unblendable...

When soft solids are milled in a liquid, this can also be seen as a form of homogenization. Among the many types of equipment that can be used for this process are extruders, hammermills and colloid mills. A grinding mill is a unit operation designed to break a solid material into smaller pieces. ... Extrusion is a manufacturing process where a billet of material is pushed and/or drawn though a die to create a shaped rod, rail or pipe. ... A hammermill is a machine, which purpose is to shred material into fine particles. ... A colloid mill is a machine that is used to reduce the particle size of a solid in suspension in a liquid, or to reduce the droplet size of a liquid suspended in another liquid. ...

Cell biology

Homogenization is a process that involves breaking apart cells - releasing organelles and cytoplasm. When the purpose is to extract organelles, it is frequently done in two steps; first using a blender to break the tissue up, and then with an ultrasonic or mechanical tissue disruptor. The organelles are then generally separated using differential centrifugation. Depending upon the subcellular fraction wanted, different processes are used to separate them. When the aim is to extract nucleic acids, the tissue is often ground in a mortar and pestle under liquid nitrogen. Organelles. ... Schematic of typical animal cell, showing subcellular components. ... The word blender has a number of meanings: A blender is a common kitchen appliance for chopping or liquefying food. ... Biological tissue is a collection of interconnected cells that perform a similar function within an organism. ... A baby in its mothers womb, viewed in a sonogram A baby, aged 29 weeks, in a 3D ultrasound Ultrasound is sound with a frequency greater than the upper limit of human hearing, this limit being approximately 20 kilohertz (20,000 hertz). ... Differential centrifugation is a procedure in which the homogenate is subjected to repeated centrifugations each time increasing the centrifugal force. ... Schematic diagram of a double-stranded nucleic acid. ... Mortar and pestle Mortar used to pulverise plant material with liquid nitrogen A mortar and pestle are two tools used in conjunction with each other to grind and mix substances. ... General Name, Symbol, Number Nitrogen, N, 7 Chemical series nonmetals Group, Period, Block 15 (VA), 2 , p Density 1. ...

Sometimes, however, a much milder procedure is followed, where the aim is to collect whole, intact cells. Homogenized cells must be kept at low temperatures to prevent autolysis and kept in an isotonic solution to prevent osmotic damage. In chemistry, autolysis is the production of a substance which catalyses the reaction it was made in, or catalyzes its own transformation into another compound. ... Categories: Wikipedia cleanup | Chemistry stubs ... Osmosis is the movement of water through a selectively permeable membrane from a region of low solute potential to a region of high solute potential (or equivalently, from a region of high solvent potential to a region of low solvent potential). ...

External links

• homogenization equipment with detailed description
• explanation of the technology along with theories on how the homogenization mechanism actually works.
• Homogenizing with Blades, Rotors and Pressure homogenizers.
• RealMilk.com - Milk Homogenization and Heart Disease