Thermal control simulation in high pressure treatment of foods

Abstract

High hydrostatic pressure (HHP) has become in the last few years a promising technology for food processing and preservation. Pressure treatment of foods always results in a temperature increase due to the work of compression. After compression, heat loss through the metal wall of the high-pressure vessel causes temperature gradients in the processed product. So, it is absolutely necessary to know how thermal exchanges in high-pressure treatments are produced and at what rate in order to establish the real conditions at which a given process is realised. In this paper, a modelling/simulation of the thermal exchanges taking place in a high-pressure pilot unit during different processes of pressurisation and depressurisation is presented. Good agreement between simulated and experimental values is found. This work involves an important advance in optimisation and regulation of high-pressure processes in food industry.