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Megasonic Separation of Food Droplets and Particles: Design Considerations

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Abstract

The design aspects for building a megasonic reactor for separation of food materials from liquid/liquid or solid/liquid mixtures are presented in this review. These aspects are based on the theoretical principles of acoustic particle manipulation such as the acoustic primary and secondary radiation forces, acoustic streaming and the properties of food materials. Key considerations for the design of megasonic reactors are reviewed, which include the transducer selection, positioning and alignment, as well as construction materials and geometry of transducers and reactor. The design of these reactors is discussed around various food applications including palm oil separation, milk fat separation and fractionation, yeast separation in fermentation processes and separation of microalgae.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to acknowledge the very insightful contributions of Mr. Johann Brunner and Mr. Joachim Straka from SONOSYS Ultraschallsysteme GmbH, Neuenbürg, Germany and Raymond Mawson from the Ultrasonics Team at the CSIRO.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Mechanical Engineering and Biotactical Engineering, IRIS, Faculty of Engineering and Industrial Sciences, Swinburne University of Technology, Hawthorn, VIC, 3122, Australia

    Thomas Leong, Linda Johansson & Richard Manasseh

  2. CSIRO Animal, Food and Health Sciences, 671 Sneydes Rd, Werribee, VIC, 3030, Australia

    Thomas Leong, Kai Knoerzer, Linda Johansson & Pablo Juliano

  3. School of Chemical Engineering, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, 2052, Australia

    Francisco J. Trujillo

  4. Center for Nonthermal Processing of Food, Washington State University, Pullman, WA, 99164-6120, USA

    Gustavo V. Barbosa-Cánovas

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  1. Thomas Leong
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  2. Kai Knoerzer
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Correspondence to Pablo Juliano.

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Leong, T., Knoerzer, K., Trujillo, F.J. et al. Megasonic Separation of Food Droplets and Particles: Design Considerations. Food Eng Rev 7, 298–320 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12393-015-9112-4

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