Saravacos G.D., Kostaropoulos A.E. Handbook of Food Processing Equipment

Springer Science+Business Media New Vork, 2002. — 716 p.This book is an attempt to apply the established principles of transport phenomena and unit operations to the design, selection, and operation of food processing equipment. Since food processing equipment is still designed empirically, due to the complexity of the processes and the uncertainty of food properties, description of some typical industrial units is necessary to understand the operating characteristics. Approximate values and data are used for illustrative purposes, since there is an understandable lack of published industrial data.
Simple diagrams are used throughout the book to illustrate the principles of construction and operation of each type of food processing equipment. Such diagrams are very useful for introducing the readers (students, scientists, engineers, and technologists) to complex industrial equipment. Detailed illustrations and pictures of processing equipment can be found in bulletins and technical information, provided by the manufacturers and suppliers. Addresses of representative suppliers of equipment are found in the directories of equipment and the international equipment exhibitions (Chapter 2), and the list of equipment suppliers (Appendix E). Although most suppliers listed are based in Europe or the United States, some other international suppliers are also included. Equipment companies are often consolidated or absorbed by multinational groups, and suppliers lists should be updated regularly.
Chapter 1 serves as an introduction to the design of food process and food plant design, based on the established chemical process design, stressing the special requirements for food quality and food safety in food processing operations.
Chapters 3 to 11 discuss the various processing equipment on the basis of unit operations of mechanical processes, heat transfer, evaporation, dehydration, refrigeration and freezing, thermal processing, and mass transfer. Chapter 12 deals with equipment of novel food processes, such as membrane separations and supercritical extraction, and Chapter 13 covers the food packaging equipment.
Appendixes at the end of the book review briefly food physical properties, food process control, and food plant utilities, and provide a list of symbols and units, conversion of technical units into the international system (SI), and a representative list of equipment suppliers.