An anti-caking agent is an additive placed in powdered or granulated materials — table salt or confectioneries, for example — to prevent the formation of lumps (caking), and to ease packaging, transport, flowability and consumption.
Caking mechanisms depend on the nature of the material. Crystalline solids often cake by the formation of a liquid bridge and the subsequent fusion of microcrystals. Amorphous materials can cake by glass transitions and changes in viscosity. Polymorphic phase transitions can also induce caking.
We supply Tricalcium Phosphate (TCP) as our anti-caking agent.
TCP applications
Tricalcium phosphate is an ingredient used in many applications. Its food grade is commonly used as an anti-caking agent to keep powdered food free-flowing, and as a nutritional fortificant supplying both calcium and phosphorus minerals in fortified foods. Beyond food, it is used to separate materials in manufacturing and agriculture — widely available, inexpensive, and effective at keeping particles apart.
Tricalcium phosphate absorbs up to 10% of its own mass in moisture — separating particles before a liquid bridge can form and fuse them into lumps.