Preface

The 9th International Conference “Refrigeration and Food Technologies in the 21st Century” 13 – 15 November, 2019 in the School of Biotechnology and Cryogenic Systems of ITMO University. The conference has been held biennially since 2001 and has become a significant event for the Russian and European professional community in the last decade. The traditional format of the event is presentations and discussions of scientists and engineers working in the field of low-temperature and food technologies, as well as reports by specialists in the field of innovations in the food industry. The purpose of the conference is to present modern approaches and methods for solving current scientific problems, and to exchange the latest research results obtained by Russian scientists working in higher education institutions, research institutes (including the Russian Academy of Sciences) and leading industry organizations, as well as scientists from universities in Ukraine, Kazakhstan, the Czech Republic and Finland. In 2020, the conference was held under the auspices of the Saint Petersburg Committee of science and higher education and the Ministry of science and higher education of the Russian Federation. The organizing Committee of the conference includes representatives of leading academic organizations and industrial enterprises in Russia, as well as representatives of specialized foreign organizations. The conference sessions were prepared by the staff of the School of Biotechnology and Cryogenic Systems. The information and organizational sponsor of the conference was the International Academy of Refrigeration. Within the framework of eleven sections, reports were presented on a wide range of issues in the following areas: low - temperature equipment and low-grade energy systems; reliability of materials for biotechnological equipment and low-temperature systems; automation of processes and production; cryogenic equipment and technologies of liquefied natural gas; air conditioning and life support systems; heat and cold engineering for the food industry, industrial ecology and technosphere safety, economic and administrative aspects of food quality assurance. The conference was attended by 365 participants, including 125 representatives from 27 institutions of higher education, 16 participants from 7 research institutes (including the Russian Academy of Sciences) and leading sectoral organizations. During the conference, 193 reports were heard: 4 at the plenary session; 189 at the sessions of sections. The conference helped Russian specialists to get acquainted with research works carried out in many regions of the country and abroad. In this collection, the best of the reported works were selected based on the results of the single-blind review. The main criteria for selecting articles were the relevance of the problem, the originality of the results obtained and their reliability. With the kind regards, Chair of the Committee Igor V. Baranov