CHAPTER 1

BASIC PRINCIPLES OF FOOD PROCESS ENGINEERING

Introduction

The study of process engineering is an attempt to combine all forms of physical processing into a small
number of basic operations, which are called unit operations

Process is the set of activities or industrial operations that modify the properties of raw materials with
the purpose of obtaining products to satisfy the needs of a society. Such modifications of natural raw
materials are directed to obtain products with greater acceptance in the market, or with better
possibilities of storage and transport.

Food process engineering is defined as “the science of conceiving, calculating, designing, building, and
running the facilities where the transformation processes of agricultural products, at the industrial level
and as economically as possible, are carried out.

Important unit operations in the food industry are fluid flow, heat transfer, drying, evaporation, contact
equilibrium processes (which include distillation, extraction, gas absorption, crystallization, and
membrane processes), mechanical separations (which include filtration, centrifugation, sedimentation
and sieving), size reduction and mixing.

Conservation of Mass and Energy

The law of conservation of mass states that mass can neither be created nor destroyed. Thus, in a
processing plant, the total mass of material entering the plant must equal the total mass of material
leaving the plant, less any accumulation left in the plant.

For example, when milk is being fed into a centrifuge to separate it into skim milk and cream, under the
law of conservation of mass the total number of kilograms of material (milk) entering the centrifuge per
minute must equal the total number of kilograms of material (skim milk and cream) that leave the
centrifuge per minute.

The law of conservation of energy states that energy can neither be created nor destroyed. The total
energy in the materials entering the processing plant plus the energy added in the plant must equal the
total energy leaving the plant.

In the case of the pasteurizer, the energy affecting the product is the heat energy in the milk. Heat
energy is added to the milk by the pump and by the hot water passing through the heat exchanger.
Cooling water then removes part of the heat energy and some of the heat energy is also lost to the
surroundings

The heat energy leaving in the milk must equal the heat energy in the milk entering the pasteurizer plus
or minus any heat added or taken away in the plant.

Heat energy leaving in milk = initial heat energy + heat energy added by pump+ heat energy added in
heating section- heat energy taken out in cooling section- heat energy lost to surroundings.

Overall View of an Engineering Process

Using a material balance and an energy balance, a food engineering process can be viewed overall or as
a series of units. Each unit is a unit operation. The unit operation can be represented by a box as shown
in Fig below.

Into the box go the raw materials and energy, out of the box come the desired products, byproducts,
wastes and energy. The equipment within the box will enable the required changes to be made with as
little waste of materials and energy as possible. In other words, the desired products are required to be
maximized and the undesired by-products and wastes minimized. Control over the process is exercised
by regulating the flow of energy, or of materials, or of both.

Steady and Unsteady States

A system is said to be under steady state when all the physical variables remain constant and invariable
along time, at any point of the system; however, they may be different from one point to another. On the
other hand, when the characteristic intensive variables of the operation vary through the system at a
given moment and the variables corresponding to each system’s point vary along time, the state is called
unsteady. The physical variables to consider may be mechanical or thermodynamic.
DIMENSIONS AND UNITS
Physical entity, which can be observed and/or measured, is defined qualitatively by a dimension. For
example, time, length, area, volume, mass, force, temperature, and energy are all considered
dimensions.

A measurement consists of three parts: the dimension of the quantity, the unit which represents a
known or standard quantity and a number which is the ratio of the measured quantity to the standard
quantity.

For example, if a rod is 1.18 m long, this measurement can be analysed into a dimension, length; a
standard unit, the metre; and a number 1.18 that is the ratio of the length of the rod to the standard
length, 1 m.

Dimensions
It has been found from experience that everyday engineering quantities can all be expressed in terms of
a relatively small number of dimensions. These dimensions are length, mass, time and temperature. For
convenience in engineering calculations, force is added as another dimension.

Dimensions are represented as symbols by: length [L], mass [M], time [t], temperature [T] and force [F]
Note that these are enclosed in square brackets: this is the conventional way of expressing dimensions.

All engineering quantities used in this book can be expressed in terms of these fundamental dimensions.
All symbols for units and dimensions are gathered in Appendix 1.

Units

Dimensions are measured in terms of units. For example, the dimension of length is measured in terms
of length units: the micrometre, millimetre, metre, kilometre, etc.

So that the measurements can always be compared, the units have been defined in terms of physical
quantities. For example:

the metre (m) is defined in terms of the wavelength of light;

• the standard kilogram (kg) is the mass of a standard lump of platinum-iridium;

• the second (s) is the time taken for light of a given wavelength to vibrate a given number of times;

• the degree Celsius (°C) is a one-hundredth part of the temperature interval between the freezing point
and the boiling point of water at standard pressure;

• the unit of force, the newton (N), is that force which will give an acceleration of 1 m sec-2 to a mass of
1kg;

• the energy unit, the newton metre is called the joule (J), and

• the power unit, 1 J s-1, is called the watt (W).

Dimensional Consistency

All physical equations must be dimensionally consistent. This means that both sides of the equation
must reduce to the same dimensions. For example, if on one side of the equation, the dimensions are
[M] [L ]/[T], the other side of the equation must also be [M] [L]/[T]2 with the same dimensions to the
same powers. Dimensions can be handled algebraically and therefore they can be divided, multiplied, or
cancelled. By remembering that an equation must be dimensionally consistent, the dimensions of
otherwise unknown quantities can sometimes be calculated.
EXAMPLE 1.1. Dimensions of velocity

In the equation of motion of a particle travelling at a uniform velocity for a time t, the distance travelled
is given by L = vt. Verify the dimensions of velocity

Knowing that length has dimensions [L] and time has dimensions [t] we have the dimensional equation:

[v] = [L]/[t]

the dimensions of velocity must be [L][t]-1

The test of dimensional homogeneity is sometimes useful as an aid to memory. If an equation is written
down and on checking is not dimensionally homogeneous, then something has been forgotten.

Unit Consistency and Unit Conversion

Example 1

Convert 10 grams into pounds. Given 1lb=0.4536kg

EXAMPLE 2. Velocity of flow of milk in a pipe.

Milk is flowing through a full pipe whose diameter is known to be 1.8 cm. The only measure available is a
tank calibrated in cubic feet, and it is found that it takes 1 h to fill 12.4 ft3. What is the velocity of flow of
the liquid in the pipe in SI units?

Velocity is [L]/[t] and the units in the SI system for velocity are therefore m s-1:

v = L/t where v is the velocity.

Now V = AL where V is the volume of a length of pipe L of cross-sectional area A

i.e. L = V/A
Example 3

The viscosity of water at 60°F is given as 7.8 x 10-4lb ft-1s-1. Calculate this viscosity in N s m-2

Given 1lb=0.4536kg

1ft=0.3048m
 CHAPTER 2
SEPARATION PROCESSES
Introduction
Several operations involved in the processing of foods involve the separation of selected components
from the food product. Often these operations must be conducted on a large scale to meet the demands
of a large manufacturing plant. Mass transfer is the basic process involved in one group of these
separation operations, which are normally referred to as contact equilibrium separations.

These equilibrium processes normally include (a) gas absorption such as hydrogenation of oil or
carbonation of beverages; (b) liquid-solid extraction as involved in the removal of edible oil from soy
beans; (c) liquid extraction, commonly used in removing sucrose from cane or beets; and (d) distillation,
used in removal of oil from solvents or in manufacturing of alcoholic beverages. All these processes are
similar in that the separation of absorption process involves the transfer of mass from a component or
phase of the product to a secondary phase or component. Due to the many factors which influence this
transfer of mass, a fundamental understanding of the process is required.

Basic principle of Contact equilibrium separation

One of the basic principles involved in any contact equilibrium process is the equilibrium conditions to
be attained between the two phases or two insoluble components of the mixture. The equilibrium
condition can be described in terms variation of in component concentrations in each phase of a
function of time. At equilibrium, net transfer of given component between phases will not exist and the
components concentrations in a phase will be constant with time. The equilibrium conditions can be
attained in any type of separation system including liquid-liquid, liquid-gas, liquid, or gas-solid types.
Examples are

1) Distillation 2) Extraction 3) Adsorption 4) Absorption 5) Filtration 6) Ion exchange 7) Gas separation 8)

Crystallization

Concentration

Concentration is a measure of the amount of dissolved substance contained per unit of volume. The
term concentration can be applied to any kind of chemical mixture, but most frequently it refers to
solutes and solvents in solutions. Several types of mathematical description can be distinguished: mass
concentration, molar concentration, number concentration, and volume concentration. The term
concentration can be applied to any kind of chemical mixture, but most frequently it refers to solutes
and solvents in solutions. The molar (amount) concentration has variants such as normal concentration
and osmotic concentration.

Mole fraction(X)

The mole fraction, X , of one component, A, of a mixture is defined as the number of moles of that
component divided by the sum of all moles in the solution
The three dots means in the denominator means that we must also added in the moles for any
additional components of the solution. The mole fraction does not distinguish the solute from the
solvent. For any solution, we can calculate the mole fraction of the each components of the mixture. The
mole fraction always has a value from 0.00 to 1.00 and the sum of the mole fractions all the compounds
in a solution must added up to 1.00. A solution with mole fraction units is prepared by carefully
measuring the desired number of the moles of each of the components and then mixing.

Example

What is the mole fraction of CO2 when 14 g of CO2 is dissolved in 250 g of water?

Example 2

solution of ethanol in water contains 30% of ethanol (C 2H5OH), by weight. Calculate the mole fractions of
ethanol and water in the solution.

APPLICATIONS

Distillation

Distillation is a physical separation process used to separate the components of a solution (mixture) that
contains more components in the liquid mixture, by the distribution of gas and liquid in each phase. The
principle of separation is based on the differences in composition between a liquid mixture and the
vapor formed from it, because each substance in the mixture has its own unique boiling point.

Crystallization

Crystallization processes can be used to separate a liquid material from a solid. Crystallization separates
materials and forms solid particles of defined shape and size from a supersaturated solution by creating
crystal nuclei and growing these nuclei to the desired size. Crystallization is often used in a high-
resolution, polishing, or confectioning step during the separation of biological macromolecules.
Crystallization can be affected by either cooling or evaporation to form a supersaturated solution in
which crystal nuclei formation may occur. Sometimes, it is necessary to seed the solution by addition of
solute crystals. Batch and continuous operations of crystallization processes are used in commercial food
production.

Extraction

Solvent extraction is a method for a solvent–solvent or solvent–solid contacting operation.

Solid–Liquid Extraction, e.g., Organic–Aqueous Extraction. The solid is contacted with a liquid phase in
the process called solid–liquid extraction or leaching in order to separate the desired solute constituent
or to remove an unwanted component from the solid phase. Solid–liquid extraction or leaching is a
separation process affected by a fluid involving the transfer of solutes from a solid matrix to a solvent. It
is an operation extensively used to recover many important high-value food components such as oil from
oilseeds, protein from soybean meal, phytochemicals from plants, etc. Solid–liquid extraction is also
used to remove undesirable contaminants or toxins from food materials.

Liquid–Liquid Extraction, e.g., Two-Phase Aqueous Extraction. Liquid–liquid extraction separates a

dissolved component from its solvent by transfer to a second solvent, mutually non miscible with the
carrier solvent. The liquid–liquid extraction as a technology has been used in the antibiotics industry for
several decades and now is recognized as a potentially usefully separation step in protein recovery on a
commercial production.

Membrane separation

Membrane separation techniques utilize selectively permeable membranes to separate components

based on their size, shape, or chemical properties. Processes such as reverse osmosis, ultrafiltration, and
nanofiltration are employed for desalination of water, concentration of solutions, and purification of
proteins and enzymes. Membrane separation processes are known for their energy efficiency and find
applications in water treatment, the dairy industry for milk and whey processing, and the biotechnology
field for separation and purification of biomolecules

Adsorption

Adsorption involves the attachment of molecules or particles to the surface of a solid material, known as
an adsorbent. This technique exploits differences in adsorption affinities to separate components from a
mixture. Adsorption processes are utilized in gas separation, such as the removal of carbon dioxide from
natural gas, the purification of drinking water by removing organic and inorganic contaminants, and the
removal of pollutants from industrial effluents
 CHAPTER 3

MECHANICAL SEPARATION

Introduction

Mechanical separation refers to the process of isolating or removing components from a mixture based
on physical properties and mechanical forces. This method relies on the differences in size, shape,
density, or other physical characteristics of the components to achieve separation. Mechanical
separation is widely employed in various industries for purification, concentration, and particle removal.
Several common techniques fall under the category of mechanical separation:

In the mechanical separations studied, the forces considered are gravity, combinations of gravity with
other forces, centrifugal forces, pressure forces in which the fluid is forced away from the particles, and
finally total restraint of solid particles where normally the fluid is of little consequence. The velocities of
particles moving in a fluid are important for several of these separations

Mechanical separations can be divided into four groups - sedimentation, centrifugal separation, filtration
and sieving.

Sedimentation:

Principle: Sedimentation relies on gravity to settle particles in a mixture, with heavier particles settling
faster than lighter ones.

Applications: Commonly used in wastewater treatment, mining, and mineral processing to separate solid
particles from liquid.

Centrifugation:

Principle: Centrifugation utilizes centrifugal force generated by rapid rotation to separate components of
different densities in a mixture.

Applications: Widely used in laboratories for sample preparation, as well as in industries such as
biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, and food processing.

Filtration:

Principle: Filtration involves passing a mixture through a porous medium, such as a filter or sieve, to
separate solid particles from a liquid or gas.

Applications: Commonly used in water treatment, industrial processes, and laboratories to remove
impurities and particles from fluids.

Sieving:

Principle: Sieving involves passing a mixture through a mesh or sieve with specific openings, allowing
particles of a certain size to pass through while retaining larger or smaller particles.

Applications: Commonly used in industries such as agriculture, mining, and construction to separate
particles based on size.
 The Velocity of Particles Moving in a Fluid

Under a constant force, for example the force of gravity, particles in a liquid accelerate for a time
and thereafter move at a uniform velocity. This maximum velocity which they reach is called
their terminal velocity. The terminal velocity depends upon the size, density and shape of the
particles, and upon the properties of the fluid.
When a particle moves steadily through a fluid, there are two principal forces acting upon it, the
external force causing the motion and the drag force resisting motion which arises from frictional
action of the fluid. The net external force on the moving particle is applied force less the reaction
force exerted on the particle by the surrounding fluid, which is also subject to the applied force,
so that

Substituting this value for C and rearranging, we arrive at the equation for the terminal velocity

eq 10.1
This is the fundamental equation for movement of particles in fluids.
 SEDIMENTATION
Sedimentation uses gravitational forces to separate particulate material from fluid streams.
In sedimentation, particles are falling from rest under the force of gravity. Therefore, in
sedimentation, eqn. (4.1) takes the familiar form of Stokes' Law

eq 10.2

Stoke's Law applies only in streamline flow and strictly only to spherical particles. In the case of
spheres, the criterion for streamline flow is that (Re) = 2, and many practical cases occur in the
region of streamline flow, or at least where streamline flow is a reasonable approximation
Example

Centrifugal Separations
The centrifugal force on a particle that is constrained to rotate in a circular path is given by

eq 10.5
Example
Example
A dispersion of oil in water is to be separated using a centrifuge. Assume that the oil is dispersed
in the form of spherical globules 5.1 x 10-5 m diameter; its density is 894 kgm-3. If the
centrifuge rotates at 1500 rev/mm and the effective radius at which the separation occurs is
3.8cm, calculate the velocity of the oil through the water. Take the density of water to be
1000kgm-3and its viscosity to be 0.7 x 10-3Nsm-2

Liquid Separation

Example
If a cream separator has discharge radii of 5 cm and 7.5 cm and if the density of skim milk is
1032kgm-3 and that of cream is 915 kgm-3, calculate the radius of the neutral zone so that the
feed inlet can be designed.

SIZE REDUCTION AND MIXING

Introduction
Size reduction is a mechanical process and an important unit operation, in which large particles
are changed to smaller size.
Size reduction is a widespread, multipurpose operation. Its may serve a number of different
objectives, such as:
 Accelerating heat and mass transfer (flaking of soybeans or grinding coffee in preparation
to extraction, atomization of milk as a fine spray into hot air in spray-drying)
 Facilitating separation of different parts of a material (milling wheat to obtain flour and
bran separately, filleting of fish)
 Obtaining a desirable product texture (refining of chocolate mass, meat grinding)
 Facilitating mixing and dispersion (milling or crushing ingredients for dry mixing,
homogenization of liquids to obtain stable emulsions)
 Portion control (slicing cold-cuts, bread, cakes)
 Obtaining pieces and particles of defined shapes (cubing meat for stew, cutting pineapple
to obtain the familiar wheel-shaped slices, cutting dough to make cookies)
Size Reduction Mechanism
1. Compression/Crushing
When a material is subjected to an external force that is greater than its strength, the material
fails because it ruptures in numerous directions. Due to this, crushing produces irregularly
shaped and sized particles. However, the features of particles and new surfaces also depend on
the type of material being compressed and how compression is applied. Crushers are used for
flour, grits, meal from grains, and size reduction of sugars, salt, and mineral stones. Crushing of
oilseeds increases the surface area and is an important step in the expression and solvent-based
extraction of oil.
2. Impact
If a large sudden force is applied over the material beyond its strength, it fails. A material fails
when it experiences a quick blow of force that is greater than its strength. The impact is used to
create very fine powder from a wide range of feed. The example of application of impact force
includes cracking of nut with hammer. Combined with shearing force, impact force is used for
the size reduction of fibrous food
3 Cutting
Cutting involves a hard, sharp, and thin knife which is forced through the material at high speed.
Cutting is used to create smaller pieces from the large ones making them suitable for further
processing. The forces acting on the various faces of cutting devices are compression force,
frictional force, deformation force, and separation force

4 Shearing
The shearing force combines the action of cutting and crushing. The equipment used to cause
shearing contains both a knife and a bar. e thickness of edges of knife decides material will fail to
cutting or crushing. Cutting dominates if a sharp and thin edged knife is used for the size
reduction, whereas crushing occurs if a thick and dull edged knife is used.
5 Attrition
Attrition involves shear and compression which cause rubbing or wearing action due to friction.
The material to be reduced is kept between two metal disks which rotate in opposite direction. To
increase the shear and rubbing, the speed of disks is kept different from each other. It is used to
create very fine particles from friable and non-abrasive feed.
Table below shows forces used in size reduction of agricultural products
Factors Affecting Size Reduction Process
The nature of materials affecting the size reduction process are listed below

Energy Used in Grinding

The energy required to reduce the size of solid foods is calculated using Rittinger’s equation.
Rittinger’s law states that the energy required for size reduction is proportional to thechange in
surface area of the pieces of food.

KR= Rittinger’s constant.

D2=is mean diameter of product
D1 =is mean diameter of feed

Example
Food is milled from 6 mm to 0.0012 mm using a 10 hp motor. Would this motor be adequate to
reduce the size of the particles to 0.0008 mm? Assume Rittinger’s equation and that 1 hp 745.7
W.
 MIXING and FORMING
Introduction
Mixing is a process of combining all ingredients (solid, liquid, gas, or a combination of the three)
to obtain a homogenous mixture, which aids in food processing. The quality of the final products
and its attributes usually depends on mixing performance.
Forming (molding) is a size enlargement process carried out immediately just after the mixing
process. It also aids in processing, where foods with higher viscosity or foods with dough-like
texture are formed (molded) in different sizes and shapes in order to increase the handling
convenience and to have varieties of bakery, confectionery, and snack products.
Objective
There are a number of aspects for which mixing operation is carried out in food products, which
include:
• To obtain a uniform distribution of components.
• For reduction of non-uniformities.
• For reduction of stagnation zone.
• For efficient heat transfer.
• To aid in processing.
• To alter the eating quality of food.
• To obtain desired product characteristics.

Mixing Mechanism
There are three mechanisms by which mixing behavior can be described:
• Convective mixing (macro-mixing): It involves the displacement of a large mass of particles
together from one zone to another in the mixture by using mechanical agitation such as blades or
screw or paddle elements. Due to the rotational motion of agitating impellers, a circulatory flow
is induced.
• Shear mixing: It involves momentum exchange of particles having different velocities. This
velocity distribution takes place around the vessel walls and the agitating impeller due to
extension and compression of bulk powders. Shearing force occurs in this type of mixing, where
a group of particles are mixed thoroughly by the formation of slipping of planes.
• Diffusive mixing (micro-mixing): It involves the random movement of particles that changes
its position relative to one another; hence, it is referred to as random walk phenomenon.
Diffusive mixing is suitable for fragile agglomerates that require gentle and slow mixing, but is
not preferable for cohesive powders.