Technoeconomic Feasibility and Environmental Impact of Producing Milk Protein-Rich Orally Self-Disintegrating Puffs Using Supercritical CO2 Extrusion

The present market for orally self-disintegrating puffs designed for infants is carbohydrate-based (over 85%), therefore lacking in protein and the capacity to induce prolonged satiety. This product category overlooks the dietary requirements of older adults afflicted with swallowing difficulties or lactose intolerance. To address this gap, a combination of milk protein concentrate (MPC), raspberry powder (2.5%RP), and lactose hydrolyzed skim milk powder (LHSMP) was used to produce nutritious puffs by supercritical fluid extrusion (SCFX). This study seeks to evaluate the technoeconomic feasibility of elderly and baby puffs using SCFX. A low-temperature, low-shear SCFX process with CO₂ was employed to produce orally self-disintegrating puffs, featuring protein levels of approximately 52.1% (SCFX elderly puffs) and 49.8% (SCFX baby puffs), exhibiting similar disintegration characteristics (p > 0.05) to commercial baby puffs. Through 12 h of daily production run, the margin of safety was calculated to be 29.12% for elderly and 29.20% for baby puffs where the break-even point was 0.76 years for both types of puffs. The costs of elderly and baby puffs were calculated to be $42.93/kg and $42.80/kg, respectively. These costs align favorably with carbohydrate-based commercial puffs (USD 50.24–66.88/kg). The SCFX system (1.03 kW/h) consumes similar energy as conventional extrusion (0.98 kW/h) but has a lower carbon footprint per unit extractable protein (1686.11–2438.12 kg) compared to conventional extrusion (5052.78–7313.72 kg). In conclusion, the processing and marketing of SCFX elderly and SCFX baby puffs are technoeconomically feasible, potentially profitable, nutritious, and present an attractive opportunity for entry into the consumer product market.