Computerized Food Processing Operations, 1989

This book is designed to explain and illustrate how food processing op­ erations can be made more efficient and profitable through the application of computers in the laboratory, pilot plant, and production plant floor of industrial food processing plants. It is intended to provide a sufficient un­ derstanding of how computer system concepts can be applied to food pro­ cessing operations to permit technical managers, with the assistance of food engineering professionals, to identify, develop, and implement com­ puter applications to meet their own specific needs. The book should also serve as a useful text or guide for students in food engineering or food technology seeking a practical course on food process automation at the undergraduate-graduate level interface. The material covered includes the use of microcomputers for automated data acquisition and analysis in the laboratory and pilot plant, followed by the use of computer-based process control systems on the production plant floor. Higher-level applications are also included to illustrate the use of engineering software containing mathematical models for computer simulation, optimization, and intelligent on-line control of specific food processing unit operations.

1. Microcomputers.- Hardware.- Interfacing with the Outside World.- Software.- 2. Data Acquisition in the Laboratory.- The Measurement Process.- Gas Chromatography: A Case Study.- Heat Penetration Tests: A Case Study.- 3. Computer Control in the Food Processing Plant.- Review of Process Control Systems.- Control System Configurations.- Benefits of Computer-based Control Systems.- System Specification and Vendor Selection.- Industry Case Studies.- 4. On-Line Control of Unit Operations.- General Concepts.- Thermal Processing of Canned Foods.- Ultrahigh Temperature Process Control for Aseptic Systems.- Multiefiect Evaporation in Juice Concentration.- Fermentation Process Control.- Computer Control in Bin Drying Operations.- 5. Process Modeling and Simulation.- Thermal Processing: A Case Study.- Freezing.- Drying.- Other Unit Operations.- Computer-aided Design in Process Flowsheets.- Training Requirements.- 6. Process Optimization.- Elements of Optimization Theory.- Steady-State Optimization in Thermal Processing.- Dynamic Optimization in Thermal Processing.- Optimum Container Geometry in Thermal Processing.- Other Applications of Optimization to Heat Processing.- Optimization in Food Dehydration.