High temperature, short time heating system and method of heating heat-sensitive material
OwnerStanley E. Charminventor
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A high temperature, short time heating system and method for the pasteurization and/or sterilization of heat-sensitive material to destroy substantially selected pathogenic microorganisms without substantially affecting other desirable properties of the material, such as proteinaceous matter, which method comprises: subjecting the material to microwave energy to heat rapidly the material for a short time period to a pasteurizing or sterilization temperature for a short holding time period; rapidly cooling the heated material; and recovering an aseptic biological fluid.
Claims43
A method for the high temperature, short time heating of a heat-sensitive liquid material which includes a heat-sensitive compound and microorganisms, which method comprises:
- (a) rapidly heating the heat-sensitive material at a rate of over about 50.degree. C. per second for a heating time period to a preselected temperature of over about 60.degree. C. and where the rate of reduction of the microorganism is greater than the rate of destruction of the heat-sensitive compound by the employment of microwave heating energy to provide a heated liquid material;
- (b) holding the said heated heat-sensitive material at the preselected temperature for a short holding time period;
- (c) rapidly cooling the heated heat-sensitive material to a preselected lower temperature for a cooling time period to provide a cooled heat-sensitive material;
- (d) circulating the heat-sensitive material while rapidly heating, holding and rapidly cooling the heat-sensitive material;
- and
- (e) the heating, holding and cooling time periods not greater than about 1.0 seconds and sufficiently short so as not to effect substantially the desirable properties of the heat-sensitive material, but sufficient for the desired reduction of the microorganism in the heat-sensitive material.
A method for the high temperature, short time heating of a blood plasma or serum to destroy a virus or infectious agent therein, which method comprises:
- (a) adding a dielectric salt additive to the blood plasma or serum to increase the dielectric constant of the blood plasma or serum to provide a dielectric constant of over about 90;
- and
- (b) rapidly heating the additive-containing blood plasma or serum to a selected temperature of about 60.degree. C. for a holding period of time of less than about 0.1 seconds by microwave heating energy to destroy substantially the virus or infectious agent without substantially altering the albumin or the blood clotting factors VIII and IX of the blood plasma.
A high temperature, short time heat process system for the rapid heating, holding and cooling of a heat-sensitive material to destroy undesirable agents therein without substantial alteration of other desirable heat-sensitive components or properties of the heat-sensitive material, which system comprises:
- (a) a source of heat-sensitive material to be heated;
- (b) microwave heating energy means to heat rapidly for a heating time period said heat-sensitive material from the said source at a rate of about 25.degree. C. to 8000.degree. C. per second to a preselected temperature of over about 60.degree. C. for a holding time period of up to about 0.5 seconds to destroy undesirable agents in the heat-sensitive material without substantial alteration of other desirable heat-sensitive components or properties in the heat-sensitive material;
- (c) cooling means to cool rapidly the heated heat-sensitive material to a preselected cooler temperature at a rate of greater than 100.degree. C. in a cooling time period to provide a cooled heat-sensitive material without substantial alteration of other desirable heat-sensitive components or properties in the heat-sensitive material;
- (d) circulating means to permit the flow of said heat-sensitive material from said source of heat-sensitive material and through said microwave heating energy means in a microwave heating relationship and through the said cooling means in a cooling relationship and to the means to recover the cooled heat-sensitive material;
- (e) pump means to pump said heat-sensitive material through said circulating means;
- and
- (f) means to recover the cooled heat-sensitive material.
A method for the pasteurization of an infectious agent and proteinaceous-containing, heat-sensitive, biological fluid which method comprises:
- (a) rapidly heating the biological fluid by microwave energy at a rate of over about 50.degree. C. per second to a preselected pasteurization temperature of greater than about 60.degree. C. for a time period of less than about 0.050 seconds;
- (b) rapidly cooling the heated biological fluid to a preselected lower temperature of less than 50.degree. C.;
- and
- (c) recovering a pasteurized biological fluid substantially free of the infectious agent and without substantial change in the proteinaceous material of the biological fluid.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.