Development of enzymic time-temperature integrators with rapid detection for evaluation of continuous HTST pasteurization processes

The assessment of the thermal process impact in terms of food safety and quality is of great importance for process evaluation and design. This can be accomplished from the analysis of the residence time and temperature distributions coupled with the kinetics of thermal change, or from the use of a proper time-temperature integrator (TTI) as indicator of safety and quality. The objective of this work was to develop and test enzymic TTIs with rapid detection for the evaluation of continuous HTST pasteurization processes (70-85 degrees C, 10-60 s) of low-viscosity liquid foods, such as milk and juices. Enzymes peroxidase, lactoperoxidase and alkaline phosphatase in phosphate buffer were tested and activity was determined with commercial reflectometric strips. Discontinuous thermal treatments at various time-temperature combinations were performed in order to adjust a first order kinetic model of a two-component system. The measured time-temperature history was considered instead of assuming isothermal conditions. Experiments with slow heating and cooling were used to validate the adjusted model. Only the alkaline phosphatase TTI showed potential to be used for the evaluation of pasteurization processes. The choice was based on the obtained z-values of the thermostable and thermolabile fractions, on the cost and on the validation tests. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.FAPESP (Sao Paulo State Research Fund Agency) [2006/01628-0

Optimal configurations for plate heat exchangers.

Este trabalho visa a utilização de técnicas de otimização para a determinação da melhor configuração para trocadores de calor a placas. A configuração de um trocador a placas define a distribuição das correntes quente e fria ao longo dos seus canais e ela é definida pelo seu número de canais, pelos números de passes em cada lado e pelas localizações dos fluidos e das conexões de alimentação. É utilizado um conjunto de seis parâmetros para a caracterização da configuração. A modelagem estacionária do trocador é desenvolvida na forma de um algoritmo, já que não é possível representá-la como uma função explícita dos seis parâmetros de configuração. O sistema resultante é composto por equações diferenciais ordinárias de valor de contorno e por equações algébricas não-lineares, o qual é resolvido numericamente pelo método de diferenças finitas. Através do estudo de exemplos de simulação, verifica-se que a hipótese de constância do coeficiente global de troca térmica não é limitante para a avaliação global do trocador. A validação experimental da modelagem estacionária é realizada através da estimação de parâmetros de troca térmica para um conjunto de ensaios com diferentes configurações. É ainda apresentada a modelagem dinâmica do trocador a placas para configurações genéricas, visando a análise do seu estado transiente e a simulação de malhas de controle. É proposto um procedimento de screening para a resolução do problema de otimização da configuração do trocador. Neste procedimento, as restrições são aplicadas sucessivamente para a eliminação de elementos inviáveis ou não-ótimos. Através da identificação de configurações equivalentes e da realização de uma busca estruturada, todos os trocadores com a menor área de troca térmica podem ser obtidos com esforço computacional bastante reduzido. O funcionamento e a eficiência do método são analisados em detalhes através de dois casos de otimização. Para o caso dos processos de pasteurização, que usam trocadores com múltiplas seções, é proposto o método de branching para otimização da configuração das seções de aquecimento, resfriamento e regeneração. Este método consiste em um algoritmo de busca muito eficiente, capaz de localizar as configurações que apresentam mínimos custos fixos e operacionais realizando um número extremamente reduzido de avaliações das seções do trocador, em relação às grandes dimensões do problema e sua complexidade.The aim of this work is to develop optimization techniques for determining the best configuration of gasketed plate heat exchangers. The configuration of a plate heat exchanger defines the distribution of the hot and cold streams inside the plate-pack and it is defined by the number of channels, by the number of passes in each side and by the locations of the fluids and feed connections. A set of six parameters is used for the configuration characterization. The steady-state model of the plate heat exchanger is formulated in an algorithmic form, since it is not possible to represent it explicitly as a function of the six configuration parameters. The resulting system is composed of ordinary differential equations of the boundary value type and non-linear algebraic equations, which is numerically solved with the method of finite differences. The analysis of several simulation examples showed that the assumption of constant overall heat transfer coefficient is not limiting for the overall rating of the heat exchanger. The experimental validation of the steady-state model was accomplished through the estimation of heat transfer parameters for a set of experiments with different configurations. Moreover, the dynamic modeling of the plate heat exchanger is presented intending the simulation of unsteady-state operation and the use of controllers. A screening procedure is proposed for determining the best configuration of the exchanger. In this procedure, the constraints are successively used to eliminate unfeasible and non-optimal cases. Using a structured search method and identifying the equivalent configurations, all the exchangers with the smallest heat exchange area can be obtained employing the proposed method with very reduced computational effort. The performance of the method is studied thoroughly through two optimization example problems. For the case of the pasteurization processes, where the plate heat exchangers have multiple sections, it is proposed a branching method for selecting the best configuration for the heating, cooling and regeneration sections. This method consists of a very efficient search algorithm, able to locate the configurations with minimum fixed and operational costs requiring an extremely reduced number of exchanger evaluations, considering the large dimensions of the problem and its complexity

Validation of spectrophotometric microplate methods for polyphenol oxidase and peroxidase activities analysis in fruits and vegetables

Abstract Enzymes polyphenol oxidase (PPO) and peroxidase (POD) play important roles in the processing of fruits and vegetables, since they can produce undesirable changes in color, texture and flavor. Classical methods of activity assessment are based on cuvette spectrophotometric readings. This work aims to propose, to validate and to test microplate spectrophotometric methods. Samples of apple juice and lyophilized enzymes from mushroom and horseradish were analyzed by the cuvette and microplate methods and it was possible to validate the microplate assays with satisfactory results regarding linearity, repeatability, accuracy along with quantitation and detection limits. The proposed microplate methods proved to be reliable and reproducible as the classical methods besides having the advantages of allowing simultaneous analysis and requiring a reduced amount of samples and reactants, which can beneficial to the study of enzyme inactivation in the processing of fruits and vegetables

Inactivation kinetics of Escherichia coli O157:H7 and Listeria monocytogenes in apple juice by microwave and conventional thermal processing

The inactivation kinetics of Escherichia coli O157:H7 (CECT 4972) and Listeria monocytogenes (CECT 4032) inoculated in apple juice were evaluated under conventional isothermal treatments at four temperatures (55, 60, 65 and 70 °C) and microwave heating at four power levels (400, 600, 800 and 1000 W). For both thermal treatments, it was possible to achieve a 5-log10 reduction, as recommended by the FDA. The survival curves were non-log-linear and were well described by the Weibull model. To compare treatments, the survival ratio was calculated over the time temperature history of the microwaved samples based on the Weibull parameters for conventional heating and it was compared with the experimental data. Results show that microwave microbial inactivation was more efficient than predicted in 18 out of 28 tests, which suggests the existence of enhanced inactivation under microwave heating.Financial support from the São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP) under grants 2013/07914-8, 2014/06026-4, 2014/17534-0 and 2015/11677-7 and from the Spanish Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness co-financed with FEDER funds under the project AGL2013-48993-C2-2-R.Peer reviewe

FLOW PROPERTIES AND TUBE FRICTION FACTOR OF MILK CREAM: INFLUENCE OF TEMPERATURE AND FAT CONTENT

The rheological behavior of milk cream was studied for different fat contents (0.10 to 0.31) and for a wide temperature range (2 and 87C) using a rotational rheometer. Newtonian behavior was observed, except for fat content between 0.20 and 0.31 and temperature between 2 and 33C, where viscoplastic behavior was remarkable. The rheological parameters (Newtonian viscosity, plastic viscosity and yield stress) and density were well correlated to temperature and fat content. Tube friction factor during flow of cream was experimentally obtained at various flow rates, temperatures and tube diameters (86 < Re < 2.3 x 104, 38 < Re(B) < 8.8 x 103, 1.1 x 103 < He < 6.7 x 103). The proposed correlations for density and rheological parameters were applied for the prediction of friction factor for laminar and turbulent flow of cream using well-known equations for Newtonian and viscoplastic flow. The good agreement between experimental and predicted values confirms the reliability of the proposed correlations for describing the flow behavior of cream. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS This paper presents correlations for the calculation of density and rheological parameters (Newtonian viscosity, Bingham plastic viscosity and yield stress) of milk cream as functions of temperature (2-87C) and fat content (0.10-0.31). Because of the large temperature range, the proposed correlations are useful for process design and optimization in dairy processing. An example of practical application is presented in the text, where the correlations were applied for the prediction of friction factor for laminar and turbulent tube flow of cream using well-known equations for Newtonian and viscoplastic flow, which are summarized in the text. The comparison with experimental data obtained at various flow rates, temperatures and tube diameters showed a good agreement, which confirms the reliability of the proposed correlations.FAPESP Sao Paulo State Research Fund AgencyFAPESP[Proc. 02/02461-0

Inactivation kinetics of polyphenol oxidase and peroxidase in green coconut water by microwave processing

The inactivation kinetics of enzymes polyphenol oxidase (PPO) and peroxidase (POD) was studied for the batch (discontinuous) microwave treatment of green coconut water. Inactivation of commercial PPO and POD added to sterile coconut water was also investigated. The complete time-temperature profiles of the experimental runs were used for determination of the kinetic parameters D-value and z-value: PPO (D(92.20 degrees C) = 52 s and z = 17.6 degrees C); POD (D(92.92 degrees C) = 16 s and z = 11.5 degrees C); PPO/sterile coconut water: (D(84.45 degrees C) = 43 s and z = 39.5 degrees C) and POD/sterile coconut water: (D(86.54 degrees C) = 20 s and z = 19.3 degrees C). All data were well fitted by a first order kinetic model. The enzymes naturally present in coconut water showed a higher resistance when compared to those added to the sterilized medium or other simulated solutions reported in the literature. The thermal inactivation of PPO and POD during microwave processing of green coconut water was significantly faster in comparison with conventional processes reported in the literature. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved