Numerical simulation of thermal and fluiddynamical transport effects on a high pressure induced inactivation

The current paper deals with the effects of convective transport and heterogeneous heat transfer on high pressure induced inactivation. While the pressure within a high pressure chamber can be considered as spatially constant, the temperature, in general, is a heterogeneously distributed field quantity. The present paper shows up to which extend thermal heterogeneities and convective transport lead to non-uniform inactivation results. As examples, the inactivation of B. subtilis α-amylase dissolved in TRIS-buffer and the inactivation of E. coli suspended in a liquid similar to water in a model pressure chamber at pressures between 400 MPa and 500 MPa are considered. Aspects of the viscosity of the matrix as well as the heat transfer properties of the packaging material are considered. In both cases, significant process non-uniformities can be determined.