Pulsed Electric Fields (PEF) for Permeabilization of Cell Membranes in Food- and Bioprocessing – Applications, Process and Equipment Design and Cost Analysis.

The impact of pulsed electric fields (PEF) on phospholipid vesicles, plant and animal as well as microbial and protozoa membranes was investigated. A series of pulse modulators and treatment chambers was realized in order to examine the diversity of components, materials and processing parameters. Electric field strength, energy input and treatment temperature were identified as key processing parameters. A critical field strength of 0.3 to 0.5 kV/cm for plant and animal and 10 to 15 kV/cm for microbial cells was observed. Degree of permeabilization was investigated by impedance analysis for plant and animal tissue and flow cytometry for microbes and liposomes to optimize processing parameters. The impact of membrane permeabilization on mass transfer processes was investigated for plant and animal tissue in laband technical scale. It was shown that extractability of fruit and vegetable juices or intracellular compounds can be enhanced after a PEF-treatment. An increase of up to 7 % of yield was found in comparison to untreated samples, juice quality was equivalent. Technical-scale treatments revealed the impact of a PEF-treatment on structural properties of fruit mash, an adaptation of liquid-solid separation techniques was shown to be required. A PEF-treatment of meat resulted in enhanced mass transfer during drying as well as brining of products, an improvement of water binding during cooking was found due to improved microdiffusion of brine and water binding agents. Microbial inactivation was investigated in different liquid media. For fruit juice and milk the applicability to achieve a gentle preservation was shown. The impact of processing parameters was evaluated in order to reduce electric energy requirements. A combined application of PEF and mild heat showed highly synergetic effects and improved energy efficiency. Enzyme inactivation was determined for lactoperoxidase in milk in comparison to thermal inactivation. It was observed that only a minor part of the inactivation was related to electric field effects, whereas at higher treatment intensities mainly thermal effects occurred. In addition the PEF applicability to achieve disintegration of sludge during waste water processing and for preservation of algae extracts was shown. Energy requirements to induce pore formation in different biological membrane systems were compared dependent on transmembrane potential induced. An analysis of cost efficiency showed that disintegration of plant and animal material by PEF is superior in comparison to a conventional treatment in terms of energy and time requirements as well as costs of operation. For microbial inactivation by PEF even an optimized treatment resulted in higher production costs, but consumer and quality benefits might justify these extra efforts for premium or thermally sensitive products. Meat, fruit and vegetable treatment were identified as the most promising applications to achieve a broad industrial exploitation of the technique, approximately 50 years after first empirical reports by Heinz Doevenspeck. Acknowledgements III