Simulation of Continuous Thermal Sterilization Process in the Presence of Solid Particles

Abstract

Abstract Simulation of Continuous Thermal Sterilization (CTS) process is investigated for both laminar and turbulent flow regimes. Various heuristics are considered for reliable estimation of sterility (F-value) and quality (C-value) parameters. It is proved for laminar condition that using a mixer at the entrance of holding zone can drastically increase the sterility of food product while reducing its quality degradation. For turbulent flow regime, the effect of trajectories and thermal resistances of solid particles are investigated on the performance of the CTS process. It is clearly shown that the thermal resistances of relatively large particles have crucial effect on computed values of both sterility and quality parameters.

Key words: Simulation, Thermal sterilization, Laminar, Turbulent, Lethality, Quality, Solid Particles.