Compositions of low sodium salt and methods of making and using
View Patent ↗The present invention is directed to salt compositions and methods used to make them. Embodiments may include methods for preparing salt compositions that include aerosolizing a melted salt composition to form droplets, where the droplets form rounded particles. Embodiments may further include solid compositions, including rounded salt particles, where the particles are formed by aerosolizing a melted salt composition. The particles can have semisolid interiors with void spaces.
1. A method for preparing a salt composition, the method comprising:
heating a salt composition to yield a melted salt composition;
aerosolizing the melted salt composition to form droplets; and
cooling the droplets to yield rounded particles defining internal voids,
wherein the salt composition, the melted salt composition, and the rounded particles comprise a salt selected from the group consisting of sodium salts, potassium salts, magnesium salts, and calcium salts.
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the salt composition comprises a sodium salt, a potassium salt, or a combination thereof.
3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the salt composition comprises a chloride salt.
4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the salt composition comprises sodium chloride.
5. The method of claim 4 , wherein the salt composition further comprises a non-sodium chloride salt.
6. The method of claim 5 , wherein the non-sodium chloride salt is selected from the group consisting of potassium chloride, magnesium chloride, calcium chloride, and combinations thereof.
7. The method of claim 5 , wherein the non-sodium chloride salt comprises potassium chloride.
8. The method of claim 7 , wherein the salt composition comprises between about 1 wt % and about 100 wt % sodium chloride and between about 0 wt % and about 99 wt % potassium chloride.
9. The method of claim 7 , wherein the salt composition comprises between about 30 wt % and about 70 wt % sodium chloride and between about 30 wt % and about 70 wt % potassium chloride.
10. The method of claim 7 , wherein the salt composition comprises between about 35 wt % and about 55 wt % sodium chloride and between about 45 wt % and about 65 wt % potassium chloride.
11. The method of claim 1 , wherein the rounded particles are semisolid particles.
12. The method of claim 1 , wherein the aerosolizing comprises treating the melted salt composition in at least one of a nebulizer, an ultrasonic atomizer, an electrospray atomizer, a centrifugal atomizer, and a gas atomizer.
13. The method of claim 1 , further comprising sieving the rounded particles to isolate a particle size range.
14. The method of claim 1 , wherein the rounded particles have a diameter from about 1 micron to about 1000 microns, or from about 3 microns to about 150 microns.
15. The method of claim 1 , further comprising grinding the rounded particles.
16. The method of claim 1 , wherein the temperature of the melted salt composition before aerosolizing is from about 650° C. to about 1000° C.
17. The method of claim 1 , further comprising combining the rounded particles with at least one additive.
18. The method of claim 17 , wherein the additive is selected from the group consisting of an antioxidant, a dietary supplement, a phosphate, an anti-caking agent, a colorant, a salt enhancer, an organic acid, an amino acid, an amino acid derivative, a sugar, a sugar derivative, and combinations thereof.
19. The method of claim 1 , further comprising producing a salt substitute comprising the rounded particles.
20. The method of claim 1 , wherein heating the salt composition comprises heating the salt composition in a furnace to yield the melted salt composition.
21. The method of claim 20 , further comprising conveying the melted salt composition to at least one of a nebulizer, an ultrasonic atomizer, an electrospray atomizer, a centrifugal atomizer, and a gas atomizer.
22. The method of claim 1 , wherein the salt composition contains less than about 1 wt %, 10 wt %, 20 wt %, 30 wt %, 40 wt %, 50 wt %, 60 wt %, 70 wt %, 80 wt %, 90 wt % or 100 wt % of sodium chloride.
23. A solid composition comprising rounded salt particles defining internal voids and consisting essentially of chloride salts.
24. A food product comprising:
a food material; and
rounded salt particles produced from molten salt, wherein the rounded salt particles define internal voids and comprise sodium chloride, potassium chloride, or a combination thereof.