Modeling high-pressure processes: Equipment design, process performance evaluation, and validation

Abstract

A common issue in high-pressure processing (HPP), both at low and high temperatures (also referred to as high-pressure thermal processing (HPTP)), is the nonuniformity of some aspects of the treatment. These issues are limited for low-temperature HPP but can be significant for HPTP, in particular with respect to nonuniformities in temperatures throughout the equipment, processing chamber, and food products. This chapter will highlight the advances that were made in recent years in modeling HPP and in particular HPTP. The importance of CFD simulations will be discussed and the underlying equations required to develop such models presented. The importance of material properties for the accuracy of the model predictions will be emphasized. Innovative approaches on expressing process uniformity and performance as well as predicting microbial and enzyme inactivation will be highlighted. Considerations and approaches on equipment scale-up and optimization will be presented.