Hydrodynamic Cavitation Technology for Food Processing and Preservation

Abstract

This chapter focuses on the fundamentals of hydrodynamic and hydrothermo-dynamic cavitation and also their working principles. It deals with the procedure of several hydrodynamic cavitation (HD) reactors and how the design parameters of orifice and venture and fluid characteristics affect the HD. The scope of this chapter also includes its application in food industries to disintegrate the cells, pasteurize, and sterilize the liquid foods. The mechanical erosion of contact surfaces is the main issue concerned to HD which involves the entrance of high-velocity liquid at cavitation zone, thus inducing the local turbulence resulting in the generation of multiphase cavitation bubbles. The cavitation effects are of two kinds: physical (shock waves generation, hammer effect, and radial bubble motion) and chemical (free radicals formation). Recently developed technology – hydro-thermodynamic cavitation is based on the principle of cavitation that is beneficial for crushing, homogenization, and pasteurization of whole food simultaneously.