US 2004/0166019 A1Published application

Method and reactor for the non-thermal decomposition and pasteurization of organic process materials by electroporation

AssigneesSudzucker Aktiengesellschaft, Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe GmbH

InventorChristoph Schultheiss

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Abstract

In a reaction chamber, which constitutes a component of a process installation for obtaining foodstuffs or foodstuff components, biological products in harvested form that are whole or in pieces are subjected to pulsed electric fields as they pass through said reaction chamber, said electric fields forming pores in the cell walls so as to irreversibly open the latter, thus making the content of the cells more easily accessible. This is achieved by electrode groups, which can be energized to a high voltage and are located in the wall of a longitudinal passage of the reactor through which the process material is moved past grounded electrodes located in an opposing longitudinal wall area. Each electrode group is connected to an electric energy accumulator such as for example, a Marx generator, by means of a switch, in order to rapidly establish electric fields of multiple directions between the charged and the grounded electrodes.

Claims9

Dependent claims

A method for the continuous non-thermal decomposition and pasteurization of industrial quantities of organic process material by electroporation, wherein the process material is carried through a reactor in, and with, a transport/processing liquid and is subjected therein to the effects of pulsed electric fields generated between grounded electrodes which are distributed over a longitudinal area of the reactor and electrode groups consisting each of at least one electrode which can be energized by a high voltage and are distributed over an opposite longitudinal area of the reactor, said method comprising the steps of:

generating pulse-like electric fields only between an electrode group and the grounded electrodes by discharging an electric energy source connected to the respective electrode group by way of an associated switch without time-overlap with the other electrode groups such that the field axes extending between one electrode group and the grounded electrodes do not extend normal to a longitudinal reactor axis,
charging the electric energy sources between two immediately successive discharges to such a level that, in the area between one electrode group and the nearest grounded electrode, an electric field strength E is generated during the discharge whereby along the longitudinal axes (z) of the cells of the process material which is momentarily present in this field area, for the duration of at most 1 μs, the threshold potential difference
Δφs=10 V
is exceeded for the irreversible fracture and opening of the cell wall.

1 more element

A reactor for the continuous non-thermal decomposition and pasteurization of industrial amounts of organic process material by electroporation, wherein the process material consists of biological cells in plants, roots, fruits, and animal materials, said reactor comprising a process material transport path which, in the reactor area, is flooded by transport/process liquid which flows through the reactor and in which the process material is exposed to the effects of pulsed electric fields, said transport path including a tunnel-shaped section of a dielectric material, with grounded electrodes disposed in the reactor wall in a first longitudinal area extending over the length of the reactor and said electrodes having front areas which are exposed to the open space of the reactor, electrodes disposed in a second longitudinal area of the reactor wall over the length of the reactor which can be charged by a high voltage and which have front areas which are exposed to the open space of the reactor,

said energizable electrodes being combined in electrode groups comprising each at least one electrode, and said groups being so arranged that the distance between these groups corresponds about to the inner open width (d) of the longitudinal area of the electrode groups, said energizable electrodes being separated from the longitudinal area including the grounded electrodes by a length area which does not include any electrodes, and, over the length of the reactor, has at least a width so selected that during processing no electrical discharge can occur between two different electrode groups, but the field strength of ≧10 kV/cm required for the electroporation can be established,
said longitudinal area with grounded electrodes being positioned relative to the energizable electrodes such that each straight line connection between a grounded electrode and an electrode group extends through said transport path of the reactor but never normal to the longitudinal axis of the transport path.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 10/783,875Filed 20 Feb 2004
Priority: DE 101 44 486.910 Sep 2001
Published: 26 Aug 2004
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification13 codes

C02F 1/4608
By electrochemical methods: using electrical discharges
A23B 2/60
Preservation of foods or foodstuffs, in general: by treatment with electric currents without heating effect
A23L 5/30
Preparation or treatment of foods or foodstuffs, in general; Food or foodstuffs obtained thereby; Materials therefor: physical treatment, e.g.…
A23L 13/76
Tenderised or flavoured meat pieces; Macerating or marinating solutions specially adapted therefor: by treatment in a gaseous atmosphere, e.g.…