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 languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

''malaxare'', related to

Greek Greek may refer to: 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 of all kno ...

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

Agriculture

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

, malaxation is the action of slowly churning or mixing milled

olive The olive, botanical name ''Olea europaea'' ("European olive"), is a species of Subtropics, subtropical evergreen tree in the Family (biology), family Oleaceae. Originating in Anatolia, Asia Minor, it is abundant throughout the Mediterranean ...

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) and lipophilic (mixes with other oils). Oils are usually flammable and surface active. Most oils are unsaturate ...

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

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 union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

. 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. Though inert gases have a variety of applications, they are generally used to prevent u ...

such as

nitrogen Nitrogen is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol N and atomic number 7. Nitrogen is a Nonmetal (chemistry), nonmetal and the lightest member of pnictogen, group 15 of the periodic table, often called the Pnictogen, pnictogens. ...

carbon dioxide Carbon dioxide is a chemical compound with the chemical formula . It is made up of molecules that each have one carbon atom covalent bond, covalently double bonded to two oxygen atoms. It is found in a gas state at room temperature and at norma ...

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 separati ...

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 (from Ancient Greek ἔντομον (''éntomon''), meaning "insect", and -logy from λόγος (''lógos''), meaning "study") is the branch of zoology that focuses on insects. Those who study entomology are known as entomologists. In ...

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. Whethe ...

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