You may or may not have noticed this before, but protein can have a mind of its own! I recently took a heaped scoop of protein from the tub to notice that individual particles of powder were covering my desk. Now my hand isn’t that unsteady, so I looked a little closer. There were what looked like hundreds of tiny miniature icicles protruding from the outsides of the scoop. Having done a bit of chemistry during my studies I was confident that this resembled the effects of static electricity. So why on earth was there static in the protein, and why was this protein jumping around so much?
Static in processed powders
Powders are generally poor conductors of electricity, this means that electrostatic charges are allowed to accumulate on them. Static may be highest in isolate powders i.e. powders that have been mixed, sieved, micronized or ultra-filtered.
Surrounding environmental factors can influence the extent of static, and the fact that I have my scoop near my computer may explain this. The presence of static in a protein powder appears to be harmless, if not a little bit annoying when the powder jumps on your black jeans #stain #awkward
Reference
Newson- gale.co.uk. (2014). Controlling static electricity in powder handling operations. Retrieved 12th August, 2-014, from Discount Supplements