Application of nanofluids for thermal processing of food products

Publication date: Available online 9 January 2020Source: Trends in Food Science & TechnologyAuthor(s): Saeed Salari, Seid Mahdi JafariAbstractBackgroundThe conventional heat transfer fluids are widely considered to be one of the leading causes of the poor performance of heat transfer equipment, increasing the energy costs. For this issue to be fixed, nanofluids have been introduced as potential alternatives to the conventional fluids due to their capability to enhance the overall heat transfer coefficient. Besides, in the food industry, nanofluids can improve the food products qualitatively by reducing the processing time.Scope and approachIn the current review, nanofluid properties, their benefits and downfalls, and their preparation have been briefly described. Also, their application in different heat exchangers, along with their applicability in the food industry for the optimization of thermal processing unit operations, have been studied for the first time.Key findings and conclusionsNanofluids have a higher thermal conductivity and viscosity in comparison to the base fluids. Higher viscosity deteriorates the process efficiency by increasing the pressure drop and pumping power. In order to minimize the effect of viscosity, an optimum concentration for each nanofluid should be obtained. Regarding the food industry, a significant reduction in processing time and better retention of food quality and bioactive compounds have been reported by using nanofluids in thermal proc...
Source: Trends in Food Science and Technology - Category: Food Science Source Type: research