Ohmic heating or Joule heating has immense potential for achieving rapid and uniform heating in foods, providing microbiologically safe and high quality foods. This review discusses the technology behind ohmic heating, the current applications and thermal modeling of the process. The success of ohmic heating depends on the rate of heat generation in the system, the electrical conductivity of the food, electrical field strength, residence time and the method by which the food flows through the system. Ohmic heating is appropriate for processing of particulate and protein rich foods. A vast amount of work is still necessary to understand food properties in order to refine system design and maximize performance of this technology in the field of packaged foods and space food product development. Various economic studies will also play an important role in understanding the overall cost and viability of commercial application of this technology in food processing. Some of the demerits of the technology are also discussed.

Technology, applications and modelling of ohmic heating: a review

Multicriteria analyses (MCAs) are used to make comparative assessments of alternative projects or heterogeneous measures and allow several criteria to be taken into account simultaneously in a complex situation. The paper shows the application of different MCA techniques to a real decision problem concerning the choice of the most sustainable wastewater treatment (WWT) technology, namely Anaerobic digestion, Phytoremediation and Composting, for small cheese factories. Particularly, the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) and its recent implementation, the Analytic Network Process (ANP), have been considered for prioritizing the different technologies. The models enable all the elements of the decision process to be considered, namely environmental aspects, technological factors and economic costs, and to compare them to find the best alternative. The AHP and ANP techniques are applied through specific software packages with user-friendly interfaces called Expertchoice and Superdecision, respectively. A comparison of the merits obtained from the different models shows that Phytoremediation results as the most sustainable WWT technology for small cheese factories and that the use of the ANP method, which allows more sophisticated analysis to be made, succeeds in offering better results.

Application of the Analytic Hierarchy Process and the Analytic Network Process for the assessment of different wastewater treatment systems

A full-scale study of treatment of pig slurry by composting : Kinetic changes in chemical and microbial properties

Microbial and chemical factors influencing methane production in laboratory incubations of low-rank subsurface coals

Downer reactor: From fundamental study to industrial application

Biotechnology: Applications and Research

Low-temperature plasma technology applications

This study of management techniques used by US industry and government to facilitate the technological innovation process discusses how selected management techniques can help to overcome technical, organizational, governmental, financial, and marketing barriers in the innovation process. The 21 activities included range from idea generation, research, development, and commercialization to diffusion throughout the economy. The case histories of major organizations cover a broad spectrum of styles and approaches. 110 references, 14 figures, 22 tables.

Robert P. Ouellette

Papers

Biotechnology: Applications and Research

Low-temperature plasma technology applications

Techniques for managing technological innovation: Overcoming process barriers

Radio frequency/radiation and plasma processing : industrial applications & advances

Industrial applications of electroorganic synthesis