High pressure phase equilibria engineering

Abstract

High pressure separation and reaction processes have opened a wide range of new alternatives for the expansion of food technology. Their most attractive advantage is the application of food substances (carbon dioxide, water, ethanol) as solvents which can process both lipophilic and hydrophilic raw matters. This is currently of particular interest, since during the first decade of the twenty-first century the food industry has clearly focused on generating products with proved health benefits. Since meeting the targets of green processing and green products is a requirement in the production of functional foods, the use of high pressure green solvents is appropriate and desirable as they guarantee safe and high quality products. Part I of this book presents the basics of the synthesis and design of high pressure processes, which are strongly dependent on the phase equilibrium scenario, which in turn, is highly sensitive to changes in the operating conditions. Part I also outlines recent advances in mass transfer models for representing supercritical fluid extraction kinetics, which are essential for the scaling-up of one of the first-born but still very important areas of application and current commercialization, i.e., the extraction of solid vegetal raw matters. Part II of the book is devoted to some of the most recent but not less successful technological developments in high pressure food technology, while Part III collects a wide number of highly promising applications in the field of food processing innovation. The book is addressed primarily to graduate students and scientists involved in education and research in food engineering. Additionally, Part III of the book offers broad and comprehensive information on current applications of high pressure technology to develop special foods and food ingredients, particularly attractive to persons related to the food producing systems and food market. This book is a result of the consorted efforts of a team of chemical engineers, chemists, and food technologists who have extensive experience in research and development of high pressure processes for innovation in food technology. It has been a privilege and an honor for the editors to work with them and they thank each and every one of the authors, experts from all around the world, for their outstanding contributions.