Conventional Thermal Processing Research Articles

High Crystallization of Perovskite Film by a Fast Electric Current Annealing Process.

High-efficiency organic-inorganic hybrid perovskite solar cells have experienced rapid development and attracted significant attention in recent years. Crystal growth as an important factor would significantly influence the quality of perovskite films and ultimately the device performance, which usually requires thermal annealing for 10 min or more. Herein, we demonstrate a new method to get high crystallization of perovskite film by electric current annealing for just 5 s. In contrast to conventional thermal annealing, a homogeneous perovskite film was formed with larger grains and fewer pinholes, leading to a better performance of the device with higher open-circuit voltage and fill factor. An average power conversion efficiency of 17.02% with electric current annealing was obtained, which is higher than that of devices with a conventional thermal annealing process (16.05%). This facile electric current annealing process with less energy loss and time consumption shows great potential in the industrial mass production of photovoltaic devices.

Application and possible benefits of high hydrostatic pressure or high-pressure homogenization on beer processing: A review.

Beer is the most consumed beverage in the world, especially in countries such as USA, China and Brazil.It is an alcoholic beverage made from malted cereals, and the barley malt is the main ingredient, added with water, hops and yeast. High-pressure processing is a non-traditional method to preserve food and beverages. This technology has become more interesting compared to heat pasteurization, due to the minimal changes it brings to the original nutritional and sensory characteristics of the product, and it comprises two processes: high hydrostatic pressure, which is the most industrially used process, and high-pressure homogenization. The use of high pressure almost does not affect the molecules that are responsible for the aroma and taste, pigments and vitamins compared to the conventional thermal processes. Thus, the products processed by high-pressure processing have similar characteristics compared to fresh products, including beer. The aim of this paper was to review what has been investigated about beer processing using this technology regarding the effects on physicochemical, microbiology and sensory characteristics and related issues. It is organized by processing steps, since high pressure can be applied to malting, mashing, boiling, filtration and pasteurization. Therefore, the beer processed with high-pressure processing may have an extended shelf-life because this process can inactivate beer spoilage microorganisms and result in a superior sensory quality related to freshness and preservation of flavors as it does to juices that are already commercialized. However, beyond this application, high-pressure processing can modify protein structures, such as enzymes that are present in the malt, like α- and β-amylases. This process can activate enzymes to promote, for example, saccharification, or instead inactivate at the end of mashing, depending on the pressure the product is submitted, besides being capable of isomerizing hops to raise beer bitterness. As a consequence, the process may reduce steam demand and residue generation. Therefore, the use of high-pressure processing can potentially replace or be combined with heat processes usually applied to beer, thus bringing benefits to the sensory quality of the product and to the environment.

The intermediate thermal hydrolysis process: results from pilot testing and techno-economic assessment

Thermal hydrolysis has proven to be an efficient pre-treatment process for sludge before anaerobic digestion (AD), by thermally enhancing organic matter hydrolysis. Recent research has shown that a new configuration with the existing technology can further enhance the efficiency of the system. The intermediate thermal hydrolysis process (ITHP) has been explored and tested in the Sludge and Energy Innovation Centre pilot plant located at Basingstoke sewage treatment works for a period of 15 months. The pilot facility has allowed operational considerations to be explored and understood to inform the design and construction of full scale. ITHP results showed a volatile solids destruction of 64% and an average overall specific gas production of 503 m3/TDS. Furthermore, techno-economic analysis was used to compare conventional thermal hydrolysis process (THP) with surplus activated sludge (SAS) only THP and ITHP. Data captured from operational sites, laboratory scale experiments and the large scale ITHP pilot plant, was used in the model. The results showed that ITHP offers an excellent solution for energy recovery having the best economic return, but overall the largest CapEx. SAS only THP is the cheapest to build but does not perform as well as conventional THP and ITHP. Conventional THP remains an excellent solution when space and AD volume is constrained.

Food processing by high hydrostatic pressure.

High hydrostatic pressure (HHP) process, as a nonthermal process, can be used to inactivate microbes while minimizing chemical reactions in food. In this regard, a HHP level of 100MPa (986.9atm/1019.7 kgf/cm2) and more is applied to food. Conventional thermal process damages food components relating color, flavor, and nutrition via enhanced chemical reactions. However, HHP process minimizes the damages and inactivates microbes toward processing high quality safe foods. The first commercial HHP-processed foods were launched in 1990 as fruit products such as jams, and then some other products have been commercialized: retort rice products (enhanced water impregnation), cooked hams and sausages (shelf life extension), soy sauce with minimized salt (short-time fermentation owing to enhanced enzymatic reactions), and beverages (shelf life extension). The characteristics of HHP food processing are reviewed from viewpoints of nonthermal process, history, research and development, physical and biochemical changes, and processing equipment.

The hurdle effect of osmotic pretreatment and high‐pressure cold pasteurisation on the shelf‐life extension of fresh‐cut tomatoes

AbstractTomatoes are perishable products due to the activity of microorganisms and endogenous enzymes. The objective was to produce cut tomatoes with extended shelf life, using the combined hurdle effect of osmotic pretreatment (OD) and high pressure (HP), instead of a conventional one‐step thermal process. Samples were processed in a multicomponent osmotic solution at 35 °C, subsequently cold‐pasteurised in pack at 600 MPa and stored at 5–15 °C. Quality deterioration during isothermal and nonisothermal storage was kinetically modelled. Both OD process and OD‐HP combined process caused an increase in lycopene content that was well retained. Texture, colour and flavour of treated samples were evaluated as similar to fresh, with OD‐HP samples showing better retention during storage. Being microbiologically stable, shelf life of OD‐HP samples was limited by sensory deterioration, whereas OD samples were rejected due to eventual microbial growth. Shelf life of OD and OD‐HP samples was estimated at 77 and 181 days, respectively, at 5 °C.

Enhanced luminescence properties of Nd3+ doped boro-tellurite glasses via silver additive

The improvement in the luminescence intensity of the rare earth doped glasses is a challenging issue. In this work, the effect of the silver nanoparticles on luminescence spectrum of Nd3+ doped boro-tellurite glasses is studied. The glasses are prepared by conventional melt-quenching technique and thermal processing to reduce the silver ions and nucleate metallic particles. The transmission electron microscopy is used to probe the formation and growth of the silver nanoparticles with an average size of about 18nm after 12h of continuous heat-treatments. The visible upconversion emissions are enhanced up to 3 times after 4h of heat-treatment, applying an excitation wavelength at 800nm. A 2.3-fold enhancement is also observed in near-infrared emission (centered at 1.06μm). The mechanisms and interactions between metal species and rare earth ions are discussed.

Heat transfer phenomena during thermal processing of liquid particulate mixtures—A review

ABSTRACTDuring the past few decades, food industry has explored various novel thermal and non-thermal processing technologies to minimize the associated high-quality loss involved in conventional thermal processing. Among these are the novel agitation systems that permit forced convention in canned particulate fluids to improve heat transfer, reduce process time, and minimize heat damage to processed products. These include traditional rotary agitation systems involving end-over-end, axial, or biaxial rotation of cans and the more recent reciprocating (lateral) agitation. The invention of thermal processing systems with induced container agitation has made heat transfer studies more difficult due to problems in tracking the particle temperatures due to their dynamic motion during processing and complexities resulting from the effects of forced convection currents within the container. This has prompted active research on modeling and characterization of heat transfer phenomena in such systems. This review brings to perspective, the current status on thermal processing of particulate foods, within the constraints of lethality requirements from safety view point, and discusses available techniques of data collection, heat transfer coefficient evaluation, and the critical processing parameters that affect these heat transfer coefficients, especially under agitation processing conditions.

Photovoltaic capacitive deionization regeneration method for liquid desiccant cooling system

Liquid desiccant cooling system (LDCS) is an ideal choice as a green air-conditioning system. However, its performance is not good enough because a lot of energy is wasted in the conventional thermal regeneration process. Moreover, the system is unstable when the environmental humidity is high. To improve, a capacitive deionization regeneration method is proposed: Driven by solar photovoltaic generator, strong desiccant are acquired in an electric field with capacitive deionization units. It avoids the energy waste in the conventional pattern and has a better performance. Theoretical and experimental researches are presented. Mass and energy models have been developed and some important parameters have been investigated. Performance comparison has been made between the new method and solar thermal regeneration method. Preliminary tests have been made on the regeneration process. Through analysis, it exposes the influences of the solution concentration, voltage and energy recovery ratio. The highest COP can attain 6 under certain working conditions. The experimental results show the actual performance is higher in the lower concentration range. Compared to the solar thermal method, the new method could have better performance and is potential for application.

Study on Power Ultrasound Optimization and Its Comparison with Conventional Thermal Processing for Treatment of Raw Honey.

The present study was done to optimize the power ultrasound processing for maximizing diastase activity of and minimizing hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) content in honey using response surface methodology. Experimental design with treatment time (1-15 min), amplitude (20-100%) and volume (40-80 mL) as independent variables under controlled temperature conditions was studied and it was concluded that treatment time of 8 min, amplitude of 60% and volume of 60 mL give optimal diastase activity and HMF content, i.e. 32.07 Schade units and 30.14 mg/kg, respectively. Further thermal profile analyses were done with initial heating temperatures of 65, 75, 85 and 95 ºC until temperature of honey reached up to 65 ºC followed by holding time of 25 min at 65 ºC, and the results were compared with thermal profile of honey treated with optimized power ultrasound. The quality characteristics like moisture, pH, diastase activity, HMF content, colour parameters and total colour difference were least affected by optimized power ultrasound treatment. Microbiological analysis also showed lower counts of aerobic mesophilic bacteria and in ultrasonically treated honey than in thermally processed honey samples complete destruction of coliforms, yeasts and moulds. Thus, it was concluded that power ultrasound under suggested operating conditions is an alternative nonthermal processing technique for honey.

Single Process for CO2 Capture and Mineralization in Various Alkanolamines Using Calcium Chloride

To replace the thermal regeneration method of absorbent in the CO2 capture system, a novel method of CO2 absorption–mineralization was investigated. In this study, various alkanolamine absorbents, such as monoethanolamine (MEA), diethanolamine (DEA), N-methyldiethanolamine (MDEA), and 2-amino-2-methyl-1-propanol (AMP), were applied to the CO2 absorption–regeneration process with different regeneration methods via thermal treatment and mineralization. Calcium chloride was added as a calcium source in the mineralization process. Integration of absorption and mineralization defined as a single process was proposed in this study to resolve the excessive requirement of energy in a conventional amine regeneration process, leading to enhanced working capacity and desorption rate without increasing the regeneration temperature. This method provides an increment of working capacity 1.3–3 times higher than the conventional thermal amine-scrubbing process. Among the tested amines, MEA exhibited the highest increase ...

Using ultrasound technology for the inactivation and thermal sensitization of peroxidase in green coconut water

Green coconut water has unique nutritional and sensorial qualities. Despite the different technologies already studied, its enzymatic stability is still challenging. This study evaluated the use of ultrasound technology (US) for inactivating/sensitizing coconut water peroxidase (POD). The effect of both US application alone and as a pre-treatment to thermal processing was evaluated. The enzyme activity during US processing was reduced 27% after 30min (286W/L, 20kHz), demonstrating its high resistance. The thermal inactivation was described by the Weibull model under non-isothermal conditions. The enzyme became sensitized to heat after US pre-treatment. Further, the use of US resulted in more uniform heat resistance. The results suggest that US is a good technology for sensitizing enzymes before thermal processing (even for an enzyme with high thermal resistance). Therefore, the use of this technology could decrease the undesirable effects of long times and/or the high temperatures of the conventional thermal processing.

Desorption of isopropyl alcohol from adsorbent with non-thermal plasma

ABSTRACTEffective desorption of isopropyl alcohol (IPA) from adsorbents with non-thermal plasma is developed. In this system, IPA is effectively adsorbed with activated carbon while dielectric barrier discharge is applied to replace the conventional thermal desorption process to achieve good desorption efficiency, making the treatment equipment smaller in size. Various adsorbents including molecular sieves and activated carbon are evaluated for IPA adsorption capacity. The results indicate that BAC has the highest IPA adsorption capacity (280.31 mg IPA/g) under the operating conditions of room temperature, IPA of 400 ppm, and residence time of 0.283 s among 5 adsorbents tested. For the plasma desorption process, the IPA selectivity of 89% is achieved with BAC as N2 is used as desorbing gas. In addition, as air or O2 is used as desorbing gas, the IPA desorption concentration is reduced, because air and O2 plasmas generate active species to oxidize IPA to form acetone, CO2, and even CO. Furthermore, the results of the durability test indicate that the amount of IPA desorbed increases with increasing desorption times and plasma desorption process has a higher energy efficiency if compared with thermal desorption. Overall, this study indicates that non-thermal plasma is a viable process for removing VOCs to regenerate adsorbent.

Rapid fabrication of chemical-solution-deposited La0.6Sr0.4CoO3−δ thin films via flashlight sintering

This study demonstrates the sintering effectiveness of an intense pulsed light (IPL) sintering method for the fabrication of lanthanum strontium cobaltite (La0.6Sr0.4CoO3−δ, LSCO) thin films via xenon flashlight irradiation. LSCO thin film was coated on silicon (100) wafer via metal organic chemical solution deposition (MOCSD) methods and the flashlight irradiation process preceded instantly under ambient room temperature conditions. The properties of flashlight irradiated films were compared with thermally sintered ones as reference target. Electrical property, surface morphology, and crystallinity were observed to evaluate effectiveness of the flashlight sintering method by employing four-point probe apparatus, FE-SEM, and XRD, respectively. Considering that flashlight sintering process is procedurally accomplished in milliseconds under ambient room temperatures, this method may be able to circumvent several issues from the conventional thermal sintering process in realizing a convenient and available sintering process. The significance of this work lies in the demonstration of xenon flashlight sintering methods of perovskite oxides that are fabricated via wet chemical solution methods.

Gold nano-particle formation from crystalline AuCN: Comparison of thermal, plasma- and ion-beam activated decomposition

In this work, in addition to the conventional thermal process, two non-conventional ways, the plasma and ion beam activations are described for preparing gold nanoparticles from microcrystalline AuCN precursor. The phase formation at plasma and ion beam treatments was compared with that at thermal treatments and the products and transformations were characterized by thermogravimetry-mass-spectrometry (TG-MS), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). TG-MS measurements in Ar atmosphere revealed that AuCN decomposition starts at 400°C and completes at ≈700°C with evolution of gaseous (CN)2. XPS and TEM show that in heat treatment at 450°C for 1h in Ar, loss of nitrogen and carbon occurs and small, 5–30nm gold particles forms. Heating at 450°C for 10h in sealed ampoule, much larger, 60–200nm size and well faceted Au particles develop together with a fibrous (CN)n polymer phase, and the Au crystallites are covered by a 3–5nm thick polymer shell. Low pressure Ar plasma treatment at 300eV energy results in 4–20nm size Au particles and removes most of the nitrogen and part of carbon. During Ar+ ion bombardment with 2500eV energy, 5–30nm size Au crystallites form already in 10min, with preferential loss of nitrogen and with increased amount of carbon residue. The results suggest that plasma and ion beam activation, acting similarly to thermal treatment, may be used to prepare Au nanoparticles from AuCN on selected surface areas either by depositing AuCN precursors on selected regions or by focusing the applied ionized radiation. Thus they may offer alternative ways for preparing tailor-made catalysts, electronic devices and sensors for different applications.

Kinetics of Strecker aldehyde formation during thermal and high pressure high temperature processing of carrot puree

Abstract Strecker aldehydes have been negatively associated to flavor of heat sterilized plant-based foods. The present study demonstrated the importance of processing conditions (temperature, pressure and time) as a strong means for the control of Strecker aldehyde formation in vegetables purees. A kinetic study was set up (at isothermal and isothermal-isobaric conditions) to quantify the effects of single process parameters on the changes of 3-methylbutanal (3-MB) in carrot puree as a case study. The increase in 3-MB concentrations was best described by an empirical, logistic model. During the isothermal treatment at atmospheric pressure, the maximum reaction rate constant of 3-MB formation was increased as a function of processing temperature. However, the formation rate was clearly slower at high pressure (600 MPa) compared to the process at 0.1 MPa. Hence, the reduced formation of Strecker aldehydes under high pressure could open a new possibility for process control and optimization of the formation of these compounds. Industrial relevance High pressure high temperature (HPHT) processing is a relatively young technology and its effect on important quality-related chemical reactions is not as well understood as is the case for conventional thermal processing. The present work investigates the impact of processing conditions (e.g. pressure, temperature) on Strecker aldehydes formation, volatiles that have been negatively associated to flavor of heat sterilized plant-based foods. Based on the kinetic study, the formation rate of the Strecker aldehyde (3-methylbutanal) was clearly slower at high pressure (600 MPa) compared to the process at 0.1 MPa in carrot puree. Considering the fact that these compounds are often linked to off-flavor development, their reduced formation under high pressure could open a new possibility for process control and optimization.

Silver Metallic Nanoparticles with Surface Plasmon Resonance: Synthesis and Characterizations

Silver nanoparticles were synthesized by the reduction of the silver nitrate (AgNO3) using the latex copolymer in ethanol solution under microwave (MW) heating. The reaction parameters such as silver precursor concentration (from 0.005 to 0.1 g/l) and MW power (200–800 W) significantly affect the formation rate, shape, size and distribution of the silver nanoparticles. A significant reduction of irradiation time was observed when the MW energy is compared to conventional thermal reduction processes. The prepared silver nanoparticles show uniform and stable sizes from 5 to 11 nm, which can be stored at room temperature for approximately 12 months without any visible change. These peculiarities indicate that the latex copolymer is a good stabilizer for the silver nanoparticles. The optical properties, morphology, and crystalline structure of the silver-latex copolymer nanocomposites were characterized by the Ultraviolet–Visible spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The study of the TEM images at high magnifications identified the silver nanoparticles as face-centered cubic (fcc) structure with spherical and hexagonal shapes.

Utilizing the Cold Sintering Process for Flexible–Printable Electroceramic Device Fabrication

Conventional thermal sintering of ceramics is generally accomplished at high temperatures in kilns or furnaces. We have recently developed a procedure where the sintering of a ceramic can take place at temperatures below 200°C, using aqueous solutions as transient solvents to control dissolution and precipitation and enable densification (i.e., sintering). We have named this approach as the “Cold Sintering Process” because of the drastic reduction in sintering temperature and time relative to the conventional thermal process. In this study, we fabricate basic monolithic capacitor array structures using a ceramic paste that is printed on nickel foils and polymer sheets, with silver electrodes. The sintered capacitors, using a dielectric Lithium Molybdenum Oxide ceramic, were then cold sintered and tested for capacitance, loss, and microstructural development. Simple structures demonstrate that this approach could provide a cost‐effective strategy to print and densify different materials such as ceramics, polymers, and metals on the same substrate to obtain functional circuitry.

Linear topology in amorphous metal oxide electrochromic networks obtained via low-temperature solution processing

Amorphous transition metal oxides are recognized as leading candidates for electrochromic window coatings that can dynamically modulate solar irradiation and improve building energy efficiency. However, their thin films are normally prepared by energy-intensive sputtering techniques or high-temperature solution methods, which increase manufacturing cost and complexity. Here, we report on a room-temperature solution process to fabricate electrochromic films of niobium oxide glass (NbOx) and 'nanocrystal-in-glass' composites (that is, tin-doped indium oxide (ITO) nanocrystals embedded in NbOx glass) via acid-catalysed condensation of polyniobate clusters. A combination of X-ray scattering and spectroscopic characterization with complementary simulations reveals that this strategy leads to a unique one-dimensional chain-like NbOx structure, which significantly enhances the electrochromic performance, compared to a typical three-dimensional NbOx network obtained from conventional high-temperature thermal processing. In addition, we show how self-assembled ITO-in-NbOx composite films can be successfully integrated into high-performance flexible electrochromic devices.

Alicyclobacillus acidoterrestris spore inactivation by high pressure combined with mild heat: Modeling the effects of temperature and soluble solids

High pressure processing (HPP) comprises the application of pressures between 100 and 1000 MPa to foods for microbial inactivation and food preservation. HPP has been commercially applied to pasteurize fruit juices with the advantage of retaining its bioactive constituents and original organoleptic properties. Alicyclobacillus acidoterrestris has been suggested as a reference in the design of pasteurization for high-acid fruit products, due to spore resistance and spoilage incidents in fruit juices. In this study, A. acidoterrestris spore inactivation by 600 MPa combined with mild heat (35–65 °C) in malt extract broth adjusted to 10, 20 and 30 °Brix was carried out and the inactivation was modeled.The soluble solids increased the resistance of the spores to 600 MPa-thermal process, while the temperature decreased its resistance. Although the nonlinear Weibull model gave better fittings, the first-order kinetic parameters were also determined. For example for 600 MPa at 55 °C D10°Brix = 4.2 min, D20°Brix = 7.6 min, D30°Brix = 13.7 min, and zT-values were 20–21 °C. The z-values for the effect of soluble solids on DT-values were 39–40 °Brix for 45 and 55 °C 600 MPa HPP. The results obtained with broth were validated with fruit juices and concentrates. The combination of HPP with heat was an effective alternative to conventional thermal processing for the inactivation of A. acidoterrestris spores in juices up to 30 °Brix, allowing the use of less 30–40 °C of temperature for the same microbial inactivation, which potentially results in more nutritious, fresher and tastier juices/concentrates.

Effects of high hydrostatic pressure and thermal processing on bioactive compounds, antioxidant activity, and volatile profile of mulberry juice.

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of high hydrostatic pressure and thermal processing on microbiological quality, bioactive compounds, antioxidant activity, and volatile profile of mulberry juice. High hydrostatic pressure processing at 500 MPa for 10 min reduced the total viable count from 4.38 logcfu/ml to nondetectable level and completely inactivated yeasts and molds in raw mulberry juice, ensuring the microbiological safety as thermal processing at 85 ℃ for 15 min. High hydrostatic pressure processing maintained significantly (p < 0.05) higher contents of total phenolic, total flavonoid and resveratrol, and antioxidant activity of mulberry juice than thermal processing. The main volatile compounds of mulberry juice were aldehydes, alcohols, and ketones. High hydrostatic pressure processing enhanced the volatile compound concentrations of mulberry juice while thermal processing reduced them in comparison with the control. These results suggested that high hydrostatic pressure processing could be an alternative to conventional thermal processing for production of high-quality mulberry juice.