Treatment chamber with turbulent flow for liquid food pasteurization

Abstract

The pulsed electric field (PEF) is a suitable technological option for pasteurization but the laminar flow inside the treatment chamber is a reason for treatment inhomogeneity in most of the treatment chambers. This work was performed to measure the efficiency of PEF treatment of the liquid food by using the helical sterilization chamber. The helical shape shows significant advantages during the flow of fruit juices by disrupting the laminar flow inside the treatment zone. Thus, it provides a uniform electric field to the whole treated sample with little temperature rise and longer exposure time. The effectiveness of the chamber was determined experimentally and simulated using COMSOL Multiphysics. Three different lengths of the chamber at 30 kV/cm were used to sterilize the liquid samples of pineapple, mango, and coconut milk. The treated samples were assessed by monitoring the chemical changes and log reduction. Helical chamber length of 30 cm exhibited inactivation effects of 7.5, 5.7, and 5.55-CFU/mL for the treated samples of mango, pineapple, and coconut milk, respectively. This study provides new insight into industrial set up with multiple helical chambers in a continuous flow.