Malaxation (sometimes Malaxate or Malax) refers to the action of kneading, rubbing or massaging a substance to softness. The term is applied differently in various fields. The term " malaxator" may refer to a malaxating mill or to a substance added to assist in the process.

Etymology

The word derives from 17th - 18th century

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

''malaxare'', related to

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

''μαλακος'' (''malakos'') meaning "soft".

Agriculture

olive oil extraction Olive oil extraction is the process of extracting the oil present in olive drupes, known as olive oil. Olive oil is produced in the mesocarp cells, and stored in a particular type of vacuole called a lipo vacuole, i.e., every cell conta ...

, malaxation is the action of slowly churning or mixing milled

olive The olive, botanical name ''Olea europaea'', meaning 'European olive' in Latin, is a species of small tree or shrub in the family Oleaceae, found traditionally in the Mediterranean Basin. When in shrub form, it is known as ''Olea europaea'' ...

s, typically for 20 to 40 minutes. The churning allows the smaller droplets of

oil An oil is any nonpolar chemical substance that is composed primarily of hydrocarbons and is hydrophobic (does not mix with water) & lipophilic (mixes with other oils). Oils are usually flammable and surface active. Most oils are unsaturated ...

released by the milling process to aggregate and be more easily separated. The paste is normally heated to around 27 °C during this process. Oil yield is proportional to the temperature and mixing time. However, the use of higher temperatures and longer mixing times increases

oxidation Redox (reduction–oxidation, , ) is a type of chemical reaction in which the oxidation states of substrate change. Oxidation is the loss of electrons or an increase in the oxidation state, while reduction is the gain of electrons or a d ...

of the oil and therefore decreases shelf life, so a compromise must be struck. Also, the usage of higher temperatures does not allow for the labelling of the oil as "cold extracted", a term used widely in marketing, especially in the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...

. It is now possible with newer equipment to use a blanket of

inert gas An inert gas is a gas that does not readily undergo chemical reactions with other chemical substances and therefore does not readily form chemical compounds. The noble gases often do not react with many substances and were historically referred to ...

such as

nitrogen Nitrogen is the chemical element with the symbol N and atomic number 7. Nitrogen is a nonmetal and the lightest member of group 15 of the periodic table, often called the pnictogens. It is a common element in the universe, estimated at se ...

carbon dioxide Carbon dioxide (chemical formula ) is a chemical compound made up of molecules that each have one carbon atom covalently double bonded to two oxygen atoms. It is found in the gas state at room temperature. In the air, carbon dioxide is transpar ...

over the olive paste, which greatly reduces oxidation. This allows for an increased yield without compromising the quality of the oil. After malaxation is complete, the paste is sent to a phase separator. Nearly all producers use a

decanter centrifuge A centrifuge is a device that employs a high rotational speed to separate components of different densities. This becomes relevant in the majority of industrial jobs where solids, liquids and gases are merged into a single mixture and the separation ...

for this process. Traditionally, the olive oil was separated from the paste using a large press that was either screwed down or weighted with rocks.

Entomology

entomology Entomology () is the science, scientific study of insects, a branch of zoology. In the past the term "insect" was less specific, and historically the definition of entomology would also include the study of animals in other arthropod groups, such ...

malaxation refers most often to processes of kneading or chewing for softening something. Typical use of the word is in referring to chewing prey to prepare it for consumption by larvae. This is most often done by certain

hunting wasp Hunting wasps are members of various taxa of the insect order Hymenoptera. Their habits and affinities vary in many ways, but all practise parental care of their larvae in that they capture prey, usually insects, to feed their larvae. Whether ...

s. If the prey survives at all, its nervous system and muscles are likely to suffer such damage that it poses no threat to the larva.

Massage and physiotherapy

In massage, malaxation refers to kneading techniques aimed at "softening" or relaxing muscles, especially to relieve hard spasms.Graham, Douglas. A Treatise on massage, theoretical and practical: Its History, Mode of Application and Effects. Publisher: Vail. 1890. May be downloaded from: http://www.archive.org/details/atreatiseonmass00grahgoog

Pharmacology

In pharmacology, the kneading and squeezing of ingredients into a mass for making pills and plasters. A mill for such processes is called a malaxator. When a substance such as a thinning agent, solvent or lubricating agent is added to assist in the softening process, the added material often is called a malaxator as well.

References

{{Reflist Food industry Industrial processes