Professional Documents
Culture Documents
FOOD PROCESSING II
Thermal Processes in Food Processing
Main references:
Food Engineering Operations, 2nd Edn. J.G Brennan et. al.
Chemical Engineering, Vol 2. Coulson and Richardson
Unit Operations of Chemical Engineering, 2nd Edn, McCabe and
Smith
Chemical Engineers Handbook, 5th Edn, Perry J.H.
Principles of Food Processing, D. Heldman and R. Hartel
Introduction to Food Engineering, Singh, R.P., and Heldman, D.R.
(1984). Academic Press.
Contents
Drying/Dehydration
Evaporation
Crystallization
Irradiation
Freezing
Solvent Extraction
Main Methods:
1. Hot air drying:
Hot air is blown over the foodstuff and heat is transferred mainly by convention.
2. Direct contact drying:
The foodstuff is placed on a heated surface and heat is transferred by conduction.
3. Drying by application of energy from a radiating, microwave or dielectric source so
that the food temperature is raised and water is lost by evaporation. Very small
quantities of moisture can be reduced using these methods.
Microwave technology uses electromagnetic waves that pass through material and
cause its molecules to oscillate, generating heat. In conventional heating, the
materials surface heats first and then the heat moves inward. Microwave heating
generates heat within the material and heats the entire volume at about the same
rate.
4. Freezing drying:
The moisture in the food is first frozen and then directly sublimed to vapor, usually
by application of heat under very low pressure conditions. This method preserves
most of the attributes of food, including heat sensitive nutrients, colour and
shape.
It also results in improved rehydration characteristics and low bulk density. The
main disadvantages are high capital and running costs.
5. Osmotic dehydration:
Limited amounts of moisture can be removed from a food material by applying the
principles of osmosis whereby a given solvent (water in this case) moves from a
region of its high concentration to a low concentration one though a semipermeable membrane. It is not a very common drying method applied in
industry.
Moist air
Drying Curves
Let w represent the weight of the material, W the moisture content (dry weight basis)
in kg H2O/kg dry solids and t the time from the start of the drying process.
dW
dt
w AB
AB
dW
dt
C
Wc
B
Wo
D
D
time
time
We
Drying stages
Equilibration period: (A-B)
This is a very short period when the system is adjusting to the drying conditions. Its
trend is not clearly defined and. It is not a significant part of the drying cycle.
Constant Rate period: (B - C)
The surface of the wet solid is saturated and it behaves like an open surface liquid.
The surface temperature remains constant.
It is a useful period in that the material does not get overheated as the water
extracts the latent heat of vaporization during the phase change.
The driving force is the water partial pressure difference between the air and the
moisture in the material. At the "critical moisture content" the falling rate period
starts.
Falling rate period (C - D)
The rate of moisture evaporation at the surface is higher than its transfer from the
interior of the material. The drying rate falls continuously until equilibrium is reached
when the moisture content of the material equals the humidity of the drying air.
This moisture content is called the "equilibrium moisture".
dw
dt
k g A Ps Pa
(1)
Where;
Ps = Saturation pressure of water in the hot air
Pa = Partial pressure of water in the hot air
kg = Mass transfer coefficient
A = Heat transfer area
The rate of heat transfer from the hot air to the solid can be established as follows;
dQ
dt
hc A a s
c
Where
hc = Convective heat transfer coefficient.
a - s = Temperature gradient
(2)
dw
dQ
L
dt
dt
c
(3)
c
dw
dt
dW
dt
hc
A a s
L
hc '
A a s
L
(4)
(5)
A'
Where
A' = Area associated with 1 kg of material
1
d s
d
(6)
dW
dt
hc
a s
L s d
(7)
dt
d s L dW
hc a s
Integrating;
tc
c
d s L
0 dt hc a s w dW
0
tc
d s L
Wo Wc
hc a s
(8)
The duration of the constant rate drying period is thus given by equation (8) above.
For materials depending on the capillary movement, the equation during the falling
rate period is given by:-
dW
dt
K W We
f
dW
dt
c
Where K =
Wc We
d s L Wc We Wc We
tf
ln
hc a s
W
W
e
(9)
Equation (9) gives the duration of the falling rate period for capillary mode controlled
moisture transfer.
Food material
Shrinkage:
With low initial drying rate the resulting dry material will be of a tough texture, high
bulk density and slow reconstitutability. High initial drying rate results in low bulk
density, rapid reconstitutability and soft texture.
Low initial drying rate
- Direct combustion is the most efficient way of heating the air but problems of
contamination puts it down in many cases
- Heat exchangers can be used to avoid contamination but the efficiency is lower
- Steam heating is even less efficient but due to its availability a plant sites it is often
used.
- Air velocities used range from 2-5m/s. Too high a velocity would result in the
cooling
of the product.
Alternative layout
The hot air flow can be either co-current or counter-current to the direction of trays.
Co-current flow allows for high initial drying rates while counter-current flow results in
low initial drying rates. Product requirements determine the airflow direction.
Single stage
Multiple stage
Steam coils
6) Spray drier
Layout details
Product Recovery
This is a very difficult operation. Usually wipers can be used and sometimes air
brooms are used. For the fines in the air, Cyclones, Filters etc, are used.
Cyclone separator:
These use the principle of centrifugation to separate fine particles from the air.
The mixture enters tangentially to the separator and is whirled inside the
separator cylinder. The particles are thrown outwards because they are denser
than air. The air is displaced towards the center of the cylinder and thus separated
out via a different outlet. The powder falls under the action of gravity and is
collected separately.
Raoult's law;
PA PAo X A
Where PA is the partial pressure of the solution and PoA is the vapour pressure of the
pure solvent A at the same pressure. XA is the mole fraction of the solvent in the
solution.
It follows that, therefore, under similar pressure conditions a solution will boil at a
temperature higher than that of the corresponding pure solvent. The magnitude of
this Boiling Point Rise (BPR) will depend on the amount of solutes dissolved in the
solution, in other word it will depend on the concentration of the solution.
At a higher concentrations the BPR will be proportionally higher, as governed by the
mole fraction (XA) of the solute in the solution. This phenomenon is explained by the
Dhring's rule, which states that a linear relationship exists between the
temperatures at which two solutions exert the same vapor pressure. The rule is often
used to compare a pure liquid and a solution at a given concentration. A chart, called
the Dhring's plot, can be constructed to express the relationship between the boiling
point of a solution and that for the corresponding pure solvent.
- Hydrostatic head
At any point below its free surface, the liquid is subjected to a pressure equal to the
sum of the pressure on the surface (Po) and the pressure corresponding to the
hydrostatic head "hg" Where 'h' is the depth of the point below the free surface. The
liquid at a submerged point will boil at a temperature higher than that at the surface
due to the increased pressure at this point.
Po
h
A
Pressure at A; PA = Po + hg ,
Where is the density of the
liquid and g is the acceleration
due to gravity
hmax
25 C
T
When boiling begins vapour bubbles are formed at the hottest surface (closest to the
heating medium). These bubbles raise by convective action, creating space for colder
portions of liquid to come closer to the heating medium. As the temperature difference
between the heating medium and the cold fluid is increased more heat is transferred
and the number and rate of bubble formation increases. If this rate is further
increased the number of bubbles formed reaches a stage where collisions among
them begins to happen.
This results in bubble coalescence, a situation that creates larger bubbles. These
larger bubbles collide and coalesce and even larger bubbles are formed. Eventually
a vapour film is created between the heating surface and the bulk of the liquid. This
results in reduction of heat transfer coefficient h and the corresponding reduction in
heat transfer rate, since the film is a relatively poor conductor of heat. This happens
after hmax has been attained, at around 25 C temperature difference. Further
increase in the temperature difference increases the film thickness and hence the
fall in the heat transfer rate.
(a):Nucleate boiling, (b):Max heat flux- qmax or hmax, (c-d): qmax Leidenfrost point,
e-f: beyond the Leidenfrost point
Basic Designs
1. Horizontal tube (Steam goes inside the calandria tubes)
3. Film evaporators:
CALCULATIONS
Assumption: All the heat energy given out by the heating medium (normally steam) is
utilized in affecting the evaporation process i.e negligible heat losses.
Heat given out by the heating medium is given by the Fourier heat transfer rate
equation:
Q = UAT = heat load
Where Q = The rate of heat transfer (W)
A = Heat transfer area (m2)
U = Overall heat transfer coefficient (Wm-2 K-1)
T=The temperature difference between the heating and the boiling liquor (K)
The heat load can be obtained from energy and material balances;
V0 0 F C p t1 t f 1 V1
F P1 V1
Component:
i solids : FX f
ii Solvent :
P1 X p
F 1 X f V1 1 X p P
Multiple-effect (Quadruple-effect)
Falling film evaporator system
Multiple-effect (Triple-effect)
vertical tube evaporator system
30
Temperature [ C]
a
20
c
Solution
10
Solution + sucrose
b
0
Solution + ice
-10
c
-20
0
Ice + sucrose
20
40
60
80
Concentration of sucrose [% by weight]
From the solution region, to enter the supersaturation region (sucrose + solution) either
evaporation of the solvent [a], cooling of the solution [b] or both methods can be applied
simultaneously (adiabatic evaporation) [c].
S'
Supersaturation (S)
Where the supersaturation (S) is defined as follows:S
The curve shows that the nucleation rate is very low at low 'S' values but it increases
rapidly beyond a certain S value, at S'. The reason for this behaviour is that it can
be shown that the solubility of small crystals is higher than that of large ones. As a
consequence, at low values of S when the crystals start forming they dissolve back
into solution. At high S values (at S') bigger crystals form and since their solubility is
low they stay in that form and hence the rapid increase in nucleation rate.
Crystal growth
Subsequent to nucleation, crystals will grow in a supersaturated solution, drawing
material from the liquid phase. The rate of growth of a crystal in a solution depends
on both the mechanism of material transport to the surface of the crystal and the
mechanism of surface deposition. Stirring the solution can improve the transport of
material. Presence of impurities may affect the rate of crystal growth, in most cases
reducing it.
SELECTED APPLICATIONS
1. Winterisation of oils
Most edible vegetable oils contain some glycerides with melting points high
enough to solidify at refrigerator or winter temperatures (say 5 C). This is usually
the case particularly with cottonseed oil and highly hydrogenated soybean oil (105
Iodine value). This solidification results in turbidity in the oils. It thus impairs its
pouring characteristics and spoils its appearance.
Crystallization by cooling can be applied and later on separation of the glyceride
crystals is done by filtration. The oils become winterised and stay liquid at winter
or low temperatures.
2. Freeze concentration
This process involves fractional crystallization of ice crystals from liquid foods. It is
used to enhance the alcohol content of wines, concentration of citrus juices,
vinegar etc. Its main advantage is that heat degradation is eliminated. However,
the degree of concentration achievable is limited and the process is more
expensive than concentration by evaporation.
The separation of ice crystals from the mother liquor also poses an economic
constraint.
EQUIPMENT
1. Batch crystallizers
2. Continuous Crystallizers
a Evaporation space
b Liquid space
c Sedimentation zone
d Fluidized bed
e Recirculation pump
f Feed solution
g Crystal removal point
h Flash vapour
Continuous Crystallizers
Feed
Product
Visuals
Terminology
The following terms are used based on the specific aim and type of the process;
Radicidation is the process of radiation used to kill vegetative bacteria. The treatment
is intended to destroy organisms of public health importance. The product may not
necessarily attain commercial sterility.
Radurisation is the process in which treatment is meant to increase the shelf-life by
general reduction in the level of vegetative bacteria.
Radappertization is the process of radiation treatment applied to canned foods.
Usually a commercially sterile product is produced.
Radiation disinfestations is a treatment by radioactive ionization to prevent insect
pests from multiplying. They die out after one generation.
Sprout inhibition in stored vegetables and growth inhibition in mushrooms can also be
achieved through irradiation.
Other irradiation processes are not necessarily used for preservation but are applied to
effect desired changes in the food to improve some of its qualities. Alteration of
postharvest ripening and senescence of fruits, Polymerization or de-polymerization are
some of the functions that can be achieved by irradiation.
Radiation Sources
The most common radioactive source used in the food industry is Cobalt 60 (60Co)
but sometimes Caecium 137 (137 Cs) can also be used.
Cobalt has a half-life of 5.3 years while Caecium has 30 years.
Types of radiation
Two factors of consideration: (i) Energy, and (ii) Dose
For electron beams the energy is measured in terms of electron volts (eV)
1 eV = 1.6 x 10 19J.
This is a very small unit and hence multiples such as keV and MeV are used in
practical situations.
For X- and -rays the energy used can be worked out from the Plancks equation;
E = h
Where E = Energy
h = Plancks constant (4.13 eV), = frequency (Hertz)
If radiation intensity is limited to around 5 MeV there are no problems of nuclear
transformations that are not desirable in the food products.
The dose is a measure of the quantity of radiation. The energy absorbed from the
radiation is a measure of the dose. The unit of the dose is the Gray (Gy).
1 Gray 1Jkg-1
The doses used amount up to 10 kGy.
Measurements
Most of the radiation energy is not absorbed by the food in the same way as heat
used for heat treatment remains mostly as heat. This means that practical
measurements of energy of radiation are chemical and/or optical since calorimetric
changes in the irradiated food are very small.
Oxidation of Ferrous sulphate, under certain conditions, is linear with the dose and
hence can be used as a measure of the same under laboratory conditions.
In industrial applications, a visible change is more convenient. Colour changes on
certain materials under incident radiation can give an approximation of the dose.
An electrical readout can be obtained from an ionization chamber. The amount of
ionization produced is related to the dose if the medium is not full of ions by itself. The
radiation used in such cases must be of an electromagnetic wave and not of a particle
beam.
For particle beams like an electron beam, the fact that electrons loose their energy
when they penetrate a material, the attenuation of the beam is logarithmically related
to the amount of incident radiation.
Beam attenuation
Intensity
Depth of
penetration
More details
During the freezing process the water in the material will begin to crystallize (ice
formation) and the stable phase will be the crystalline phase if the cooling medium is
at a lower temperature (Tm > 0oC) as compared to the material temperature.
The material's concentration will increase as a result of water crystallizing out. This
results in the depression of the freezing point of the material (colligative properties). A
time will come when equilibrium is reached where the water vapour pressure of the
solution is equal to the water vapour pressure of pure water (saturation pressure) in
the ice. If cooling is continued the solid matter will concentrate to the extent that it will
form an eutectic mixture.
The usual freezing temperatures for most foods lie in the range - 18oC to - 30oC.
The proportion of fresh food preserved by freezing is highly related to the degree of
economic development in a society.
As countries become wealthier, their demand for high-valued commodities increases,
primarily due to the effect of income on the consumption of high-valued commodities
in developing countries.
The frozen food industry requires accompanying developments and facilities for
transporting, storing, and marketing their products from the processing plant to the
consumer Thus, a large amount of capital investment is needed for these types of
facilities.
Freezing time
In the freezing process, it is very important to be able to judge the time requirements
for the product to get completely frozen. This is due to the fact that the rate of
freezing has a high influence on the quality and safety attributes of the food
It is difficult to give a clear definition of the freezing time because the process goes on
and on. It is agreed upon to use the following definitions;
Nominal freezing time. This starts when the surface of the body reaches 0oC and
stops when the thermal centre of the body reaches a temperature 10oC below the
nominal freezing point.
Effective freezing time. This is the time to cool a body from a given initial average
temperature of that body until the thermal centre (the point that freezes last) has
reached a second given temperature.
The nominal freezing time indicates the period for most of the ice formation to take
place. It is not suitable for rating food freezing equipment. The effective freezing time
is a way of clearly specifying the amount of time required to effect freezing in an
industrial apparatus.
The temperature history at the thermal centre of a material undergoing freezing can
be presented as given in the following diagram;
The fall in temperature after the nominal freezing point is quite rapid because the
thermal conductivity of ice is about five times that for liquid water.
Fo
2. Kossovitch Number:
k .t
Cp l2
Ko
C p o 2
Stefan equation;
exp
erf
4 Fo
4 Fo
1
Ko
4 Fo
Where;
x
exp x dx
2
erf ( x)
2 F0
1
1
1
.... K o
2
6 Fo 90 Fo
2 F0
1
1
1
.... K o
2
6 Fo 90 Fo
If the Fourier Number, Fo, is large; 2Fo Ko ; approximate but tolerable equation for
practical purposes.
Consider a material initially unfrozen but at the freezing point and that finally the
material will freeze and cool to the temperature of the cooling medium, Then;
Heat removed during phase change = m L
Heat removed during cooling of the frozen material = m Cp
Ko
mL
L
mC p C p
Position at time t;
If the Ko Number is large heat removed during phase change is large relative to
heat remove during cooling of frozen material conditions of heat transfer
approaches steady state i.e. the freezing front is moving slowly and the quasistatic assumption can be made.
Here the assumption made is that the freezing front is moving very slowly to the
extent that it can be assumed to be stationary and the frozen material thickness x
can be assumed to be constant. This allows the application of normal conduction
equations for fixed thickness materials. Plank made the following assumptions for
the freezing time of an infinite slab initially unfrozen but at its freezing temperature.
1. The material freezes completely at the nominal freezing point so that there is a
clear latent heat of fusion 'L' released at a definite temperature 0
2. The thermal conductivity of the frozen material has a constant value 'k
3. There is a constant heat transfer coefficient 'h' at all cooled surfaces.
4. There is a constant cooling medium temperature 2.
5. The density of the material is the same in the frozen and unfrozen states and
does not change with temperature.
6. The quasi-static approximation is valid.
Plank analyzed the situation using these assumptions and came up with the
following equation for the estimation of the freezing
2 time (for an infinite slab)
L l l
tf
h 2k
Fo DK o
G
Bi
Where Bi
hl
, the Biot Number (another dimensionless number).
k
D and G are shape factors. They depend on the geometry of the material undergoing
freezing. Usually they are obtained from freezing charts. For an arbitrary shape the
principle of inscribing the body into a known geometry figure can be used for practical
estimates. D is calculated from the following equation;
The value of G is obtained from charts but it is never far away from 0.5. It depends
on the deviation of the material geometry from that of a brick shape.
Food
package
Pressure
Refrigerated plates
Visual
Food packages
Plate
Refrigerant
Packages must not be under-filled or overfilled for heat transfer reasons. If there is
under-filling then the freezing time for that particular package is drastically increased.
2. Immersion Freezing
The material is dipped directly in the freezing medium. To avoid material transfer or
exchange between the medium and the food, proper packaging is required which
will withstand the low temperatures. The packaging restricts heat transfer to a
certain extent.
4. Boiling liquid
Liquid Nitrogen (N2) is the most popular in this case. Liquid Nitrogen is called
Cryogen hence the term cryogenic freezing.
Boiling a low boiling point liquid to a gas on the surface of the material being frozen
extracts heat as phase change heat (latent heat). The refrigerant is then
condensed back of liquid.
Operations involved
The separation of product b from a feed stream A involves three stages, firstly
mixing with the solvent S with which in theory, A should be completely immiscible
though this is never the case; secondly, the settling stage in which the extract
phase (the exit solvent stream) is separated from the raffinate (the exit treated feed
stream); and thirdly, solvent recovery and recycle.
There are four ways in which this operation may be carried out;
(a) Single contact
In this system, the efficiency of mass transfer depends upon the equilibrium
conditions, the degree of agitation in the mixer and the ratio Feed/Solvent.
Fresh solvent S is introduced into the last stage where it meets a relatively depleted
raffinate R2. The extract E3 is sent to the second stage where, being low in solute, it
acts as a solvent for that stage. The extract E2 from the second stage is fed to the
first stage where it meets the fresh feed F, which is rich in solute. The extract E1 is
taken for separation and solvent recovery.