Applications of food additives in ceramic processing
Prof. Rodrigo Moreno is Research Professor of CSIC. He is co-author of more than 455 articles (345 in SCI journals), with >11600 cites in Google Academics, h-index of 51 and i10 index of 275. He has more than 500 contributions to congresses, with 100 invited lectures and participation in the committees of more than 70 conferences, being the chair of the EUROMAT 2026 Conference. Prof. Moreno is member of the Spanish and the Portuguese Ceramic Societies, President of the Spanish Society of Materials (SOCIEMAT), Board Member of FEMS and Fellow of the European and of the American Ceramic Societies. He is also at the Board of the World Academy of Ceramics. He has received several awards, either for particular papers or PhD theses, or individual awards for his long trajectory in ceramics, such as the Best Career in Materials (SOCIEMAT), the JECS Trust Award (ECERS), and the International Award of the Polish Ceramic Society. He is Senior Editor of the Journal of the European Ceramic Society, and editor in other journals. He has developed in the last years an intense activity in the dissemination of materials science with numerous talks in educational centers and others.
Dr. Rodrigo Moreno
Institute of Ceramics and Glass (ICV-CSIC), Kelsen 5, 28049 Madrid, Spain
Abstract
Most ceramic operations require the use of processing aids in order to improve the characteristics of the powders during any of the stages of the production cycle. Those processing aids have several functions, which can be classified into two main categories: additives that improve the dispersion, and additives that serve to increase viscosity, providing consistency and plasticity. Many of the additives used in ceramic processing are similar to those used in sectors as different as cement and concrete or food technology. In the production of foods a precise control of the additives is necessary in order to avoid any possible risk for the health and consequently, this sector has achieved a great advance that has been transferred to other technologies. Ceramic industry takes advantage of the strong development of the foods elaboration and many of the additives used in foods have found also applications in ceramic processing. For example, non-aqueous suspensions are dispersed with oils and fatty acid derivatives, widely used in foods. We have also taken from the alimentary sector the use of thickeners, binders, and gel formers, among others. This talk tries to establish the parallelism between both technologies through the description of the additives and some processes used in the food industry and the applications in the manufacture of ceramics.