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Prediction of temperature distribution in a horizontal high pressure food processing vessel and its impact on process uniformity
Author(s) -
Salvi Deepti,
Khurana Meenakshi,
Karwe Mukund V.
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
journal of food process engineering
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.507
H-Index - 45
eISSN - 1745-4530
pISSN - 0145-8876
DOI - 10.1111/jfpe.12547
Subject(s) - materials science , thermal , inlet , environmental science , process (computing) , thermal insulation , sterilization (economics) , pressure vessel , compressibility , composite material , mechanics , petroleum engineering , mechanical engineering , computer science , thermodynamics , geology , engineering , physics , layer (electronics) , monetary economics , foreign exchange , economics , foreign exchange market , operating system
The temperature distributions in HPP vessels should be of particular concern for pressure assisted thermal sterilization (PATS) processes because in PATS temperature plays a major role in microbial inactivation. Numerical simulations were carried out to predict thermal transport in a horizontal HPP vessel with and without insulation. The results showed that the temperature of water added to compensate for the compression of water in the pressure vessel and the addition of insulation on the inner surface of vessel had significant impact on the temperature distribution and on the predicted inactivation of Clostridium botulinum spores. It was concluded that adding insulation to the vessel lead to higher temperature levels but more non‐uniform temperature distribution as compared with without insulation. It was also observed that the water added to compensate for compression did not impact the flow pattern in the vessel significantly due to low inlet velocity but the temperature of added water had a significant impact on the temperature and Clostridium botulinum spore inactivation distributions. The temperature distribution was close to uniform when the temperature of the inlet water was the same as the initial temperature for the process. Practical applications The results obtained from this research will be useful in the evaluation of process performance in terms of process validation and process filing with regulatory agencies to develop guidelines for producing high pressure processed foods using PATS, which are safe to consume. The results will also be important for food processors and equipment manufacturers to understand the effects of non‐uniform thermal treatment on foods processed using PATS.