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Scheduling Sample Runs
HPP Equipment Specifications & Features
The Food Processing Center’s
High Pressure Laboratory
Stansted ISO-Food Lab System
The Stansted ISO-Lab system is a pilot-scale high pressure processing system. The Stansted system has a processing capacity of up to 2 liters. The sample basket for the Stansted Processing System attaches to a hydraulic lift, which is lowered into the pressure chamber (Figure 1). The sample container houses three thermocouples for monitoring the chamber temperature. The equipment specifications are as follows:
- Operating Temperature: 0 °C - 90 °C (32 °F – 194 °F)
- Maximum Working Pressure: 900 MPa (130,500 psi)
- Pressure Dwell Time 0.1 sec to 999 minutes.
- Processing Fluid: Propylene Glycol/Water Mixture
- Sample Basket Dimensions:
- Internal diameter: 2.5 inches
- Height: 15 inches
- Graphical printout of process parameters (temperature, pressure with respect to time)
- Control module to continuously monitor process parameters
- Capable of multiple pressures and dwell times in single run.
Figure 1: HPP Vessel Chamber and Sample Basket
The Stansted System is operated from a control station (Figure 2). The control station contains customized software for the system, and a programmable logic controller (PLC). From this system, the user can input product run parameters, monitor system pressure, temperature, and process run time (Figure 3).
Figure 2: HPP Control System Figure 3: HPP SCADA System
The Stansted system is capable of operating in the pressure and temperature regions needed to inactivate various pathogens as shown in Figure 5. An example pressure and temperature profile of a sample run is shown in Figure 6, where the black and blue curves are temperature and pressure in the pressure chamber. The Stansted system is equipped with a temperature conditioning control system for chilled samples. Note a slight shift in temperature as the pressure ramps up due to the compression forces on the process fluid as represented in Figures 5 and 6.
Figure 5: HPP Operating Regions and Boundries Figure 6: Pressure and Temperature Profile Example
A simplified process diagram of the HPP system is shown in Figure 7. The system consists of a chiller, high pressure intensifeiers and pumps, heat exchangers for cooling and heating the process fluid.
Figure 7: Simplified Diagram of High Pressure Processing System
