OHMIC HEATING

Assignment under the course :

ADVANCED FOOD PROCESS ENGINEERING
PFE (503)
Presented by :
ANJALI SUDHAKAR
(01
PFE/15)

OUTLINES
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Introduction
Principle
Parts of ohmic heating
Mechanism
Advantage
Application
Disadvantage
Suggestion for improvements
Case study

INTRODUCTION

Ohmic heating, a thermal electrical

heating method, is also termed as
resistance heating.

Ohmic heating is direct heating method

where food is in contact with the
electrodes.

The concept of ohmic heating is quite

simple. The passage of electric current
through an electrically conductive food
material obeys Ohms law (V = IR); and

Almost all electric power is transformed

into heat.

It is possible to heat the product containing

large particles upto 2.5 cm in size which
would be damaged in conventional
equipment, to sterilization temperature of
upto 140C in less than 90 sec.

It is regarded as Green process.

PRINCIPLE
Ohmic heating works on the principle of
Ohms law of electricity.

V=I*R
Where V is the voltage (volts)
I is the amperage (amperes)
R is the resistance (ohms)

MAIN PARTS OF OHMIC HEATING SYSTEM

Contains mainly 3 parts:

1. Power supply
2. Heater assembly
3. Control panel

OHMIC HEATING PROCESS DIAGRAM

MECHANISM

The interaction between the local field strength

and local electrical conductivity will govern the
local heat generation according to
Q = Ek = J
Where Q is heat generation rate per unit volume
(W/m)
E is the electric field strength (V/cm)
k is the electrical conductivity (S/m)
is the resistivity (ohm-meter)
J is the current density (A/m)

The actual heating rate for the substance can

then be calculated from the equation:

dT /dt = Q/ C
Where T is temperature in degree Celsius
t is the time in second
is the density (kg/m)
C is the specific heat capacity(kJ/kg-C)
C is the volumetric heat capacity

FACTORS INFLUENCING HEAT GENERATION RATE

Electrical field strength

- can be adjusted by changing voltage.
Electrical conductivity
- practically possible only between the range
of (0.01 -10 S/m) and it works optimally in
the range (0.1 - 5 S/m).
Temperature
- depend on the electrical conductivity.

ADVANTAGES

Temperature required for UHT processing can

be achieved.
No problem of surface fouling or over heating
of the product.
Useful in pre-heating products before canning.
Energy conversion efficiencies are very high.
Suitable for continuous processing.
Lower capital investment as compared to
microwave heating and conventional heating.

Large-scale process can be carried out in

heavy-duty ohmic cookers or batch ohmic
heaters.
It has a high solid-loading capacity.
Causes less nutrient loss.
It provides rapid, uniform treatment of liquid and
solid phases with minimal heat damage.
Less maintenance cost.
Eco-friendly.

APPLICATIONS
.

BLANCHING

EXTRACTION

DEHYDRATION

FERMENTATION

EVAPORATION

The ohmic heating system allows for the production

of new, high-added-value, shelf-stable products with
a quality previously unattainable with alternative
sterilization techniques, especially for particulate
foods.

Ohmic methods offer a way of processing particulate

food at the rate of HTST processes, but without the
limitation of conventional HTST on heat transfer to
particulates.

MICROBIAL INACTIVATION DURING OHMIC

HEATING
Microbial inactivation

PHYSICAL AND CHEMICAL

CHANGES
Nutritional
Larger
particle
(smaller
surface to
volume ratio)

effect

Shorter time
Reduction
in solute
loss

Protein Coagulation / Denaturation

- High molecular weight proteins are
more susceptible to heating.
- Coagulate protein and partially purify
proteolytic enzymes in fish.
- Mild ohmic heating (55C for 3 min at
90 volt) is the efficient step for
concentrating the proteinase.

SPECIFIC FOOD PRODUCTS

Complex
food
Muscle fiber
Uniform
heating

No
change
in water
soluble
protein

Effective
pasteurization
with no
additional
protein
destruction

Juice
extraction
Juice
preservation

Blanching
Pasteurize
egg
Reduce
fouling

ECONOMICS OF OHMIC PROCESSING

Economically attractive & sustainable

DISADVANTAGES
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Lack of generalized information.

Requested adjustment according to the
conductivity of dairy products.
Narrow frequency band.
Difficult to monitor and control.
Complex coupling between
temperature and electrical field
distribution.
Limited to DC current.

SUGGESTIONS FOR
IMPROVEMENT

Develope predictive, determinable and

reliable models of ohmic heating.
Reliable feedback control to adjust the supply
power according to the conductivity change
of the dairy liquid.
Developing real time-temperature monitoring
techniques for locating cold-spots and
overheated regions during ohmic heating.
Developing adequate safety and qualityassurance
protocols
in
order
to
commercialization
of
ohmic
heating
technology.

CASE STUDY
Tomato peeling by ohmic heating with
lye-salt combinations:
Effects of operational parameters
on peeling time and skin diffusivity
The Ohio State University, Department of Food, Agricultural and
Biological Engineering, 590 Woody Hayes Drive, Columbus,
OH 43210, USA

CONTENTS
Introduction
Objective
Materials and methods
Results and discussion
Conclusion

INTRODUCTION
LYE
Base

(NaOH/KOH).
Provides smooth surface of peeled
tomato.
Generate environmental problem.
Difficult and costly to treat.

OBJECTIVE
1.

To determine the effects of field

strength and salt-lye composition on
the time required for peeling, and

2.

To determine the effect of electric field

and temperature on the diffusivity of
sodium hydroxide through tomato peel.

MATERIALS AND METHOD

1). Experimental setup

Power supply- 60 Hz , 0-1000 volt

Ohmic heater- L= 0.201 m, D= 0.051
m
Titanium electrode- gap= 6.2 cm
Thermocouple
Data logger

2. Experimental procedure
Receive local tomato of
same variety

Heating starts at 251C/

record parameters

Power supply off when peel

cracked

Tomato was peeled by

washing in water

2.1. Effect of electric field strength and type of fluid

medium

NaCl /
NaOH
Mixture(%
w/v)

Field strength (V/m)

0.01/0.01

3230

4840

6450

0.01/0.05

3230

4840

5650

0.01/0.1

1610

2420

3230

0.01/0.5

1210

1610

0.01/1.0

645

806

1130

1450

0.03/0.01

3230

4840

0.01/0.5

806

1210

1610

2020

0.01/1.0

806

1130

1290

NaCl / KOH
mixture

Table: Experimental treatments for studying effects of electric field

strength, and concentrations of NaCl/NaOH and NaCl/KOH mixtures on

2.2. Diffusion analysis during tomato lye and ohmic

peeling
Peel preparation
(t= 0.02 cm,
d=1.8cm)

Check cell leakage/

Kept in water bath

Kept in diffusivity
cell
(2 reservior :
1250cm)

Continuously stir
solution

Pre-assigned temp.
(50 & 65C) is
recorded

Pour 950 cm preheated 7% NaOH

and 0.01% NaCl .

Withdraw 5 ml of
NaCl at every 1
minute

Continue it until
diffusivity rate gets
steady

Diffusivity is
measured by a
software FLUENT

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Effects of electric field strength and concentrations of media NaCl/NaOH mixt

Relationships between the total amounts of NaOH diffusing through

the tomato skin (Q) and time (t) during ohmic and control treatments
(At 50C)

(At 65C)

Diffusivity values of NaOH diffusing through the tomato skin over

time during ohmic and control treatments

(At 50C)

(At 65C)

CONCLUSION

Ohmic tomato peeling treatments of 0.01/0.5%

NaCl/NaOH at 1610 V/m and 0.01/1.0% NaCl/NaOH at
1450 V/m were the conditions that required the
shortest time for cracking.
For NaCl/KOH mixtures, 0.01/0.5% NaCl/KOH at 2020
V/m and 0.01/1.0% NaCl/KOH at 1450 V/m required the
shortest time for cracking.
Following an initial period, diffusivities for lye peeling
with ohmic heating were greater than those without
ohmic heating at both 50 and 65 C.
The electric field enhances the diffusion of NaOH
through the tomato skin during the peeling process.

REFERENCE

Nagasri, Pisit Wongas & Sastry, Sudhir.K., (2016).

Tomato peeling by ohmic heating with lye-salt
combinations: Effects of operational parameters on
peeling time and skin diffusivity. Journal of Food
Engineering. 186: 10-16.
Andrew Proctor, 2011. Alternatives to Conventional
Food Processing. Royal Society of Chemistry. 307334.

Thank
you