Liquid Pathogen Reduction via Pressure Drop and Heating
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for pathogen reduction in liquids, such as thermal treatment, often result in excess water addition, equipment requirements, time, and expense, as well as potential deterioration of quality and taste due to steam or hot air mixing, which may not guarantee the destruction of heat-resistant pathogens.
Innovation Solution
A method involving diffusing a liquid into droplets under an eight-bar pressure drop and then increasing the temperature by 10°C or more within a reactor, without using additional heated fluids, to effectively reduce pathogens while minimizing adverse effects on the liquid's quality.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If liquid is mixed with steam or hot air for thermal treatment, then pathogens are killed, but the stability of organoleptic and physicochemical properties (taste, odor, color, consistency) deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes the steam or hot air mixing step from the thermal treatment process. Instead of introducing external heated fluids that cause quality deterioration, the system uses a sealed chamber where liquid is heated through direct contact with heated walls, extracting the harmful mixing element while preserving pathogen destruction capability
Solution Approach 2:
The heated chamber walls serve as an intermediary heat transfer medium. Rather than directly mixing steam or hot air with the liquid, the walls mediate the heat transfer process, allowing thermal energy to be transferred to the liquid without introducing foreign substances that would deteriorate organoleptic properties
2Reliability
If liquid is mixed with steam for thermal treatment, then pathogens are killed, but excess water is added to the liquid
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the steam injection mechanism from the process. By using heated chamber walls instead of steam mixing, the system eliminates the source of excess water addition while maintaining the thermal treatment necessary for pathogen destruction
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the mechanical steam injection and mixing system with a thermal conduction system using heated walls. This substitution eliminates the phase change condensation that introduces excess water, while achieving the same pathogen destruction through controlled heat transfer
3Device complexity
If liquid is heated slowly, then equipment complexity is reduced, but processing time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the heating process into two distinct phases: a rapid heating phase using high-power infrared radiation to quickly raise temperature, and a controlled holding phase to ensure complete pathogen destruction. This segmentation allows fast processing without requiring overly complex equipment
Solution Approach 2:
The system employs periodic pulsed infrared heating rather than continuous low-power heating. The pulsed nature of the heating delivers energy in concentrated bursts, dramatically reducing processing time while using relatively simple infrared heating elements rather than complex continuous heating systems
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This method efficiently reduces pathogens while maintaining the quality of the liquid by using a rapid pressure drop and controlled heating, ensuring effective pathogen destruction without the need for additional heating fluids and minimizing quality deterioration.
Implementation Method 1
diffusing a liquid into droplets by at least one nozzle, while subjecting the liquid to a pressure drop of eight Bars or more, wherein the pressure drop occurs between a nozzle inlet and a nozzle outlet
Implementation Method 2
increasing the temperature of the volume of liquid by 10°C or more
Data Source
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AI summary
A method and device are described that reduce the amount of pathogens in a liquid and/or to mitigate the growth of pathogens. Utilizing the method or device, liquid product is subjected to an 8 Bar or greater pressure drop. The liquid product is then heated to increase its temperature by at least 10°C while it is in the droplet phase and/or after being collected into a liquid volume.