Food Engineering logo
  • Sign In
  • Create Account
  • Sign Out
  • My Account
  • NEWS
  • PRODUCTS
  • TOPICS
  • EXCLUSIVES
  • MEDIA
  • FOOD MASTER
  • EVENTS
  • RESOURCES
  • EMAGAZINE
  • SIGN UP!
cart
facebook twitter linkedin youtube
  • NEWS
  • Latest Headlines
  • Manufacturing News
  • People & Industry News
  • Plant Openings
  • Recalls
  • Regulatory Watch
  • Supplier News
  • PRODUCTS
  • New Plant Products
  • New Retail Products
  • TOPICS
  • Alternative Protein
  • Automation
  • Cannabis
  • Cleaning | Sanitation
  • Fabulous Food Plants
  • Food Safety
  • Maintenance Strategies
  • OEE
  • Packaging
  • Sustainability
  • More
  • EXCLUSIVES
  • Plant Construction Survey
  • Plant of the Year
  • Sustainable Plant of the Year
  • State of Food Manufacturing
  • Top 100 Food & Beverage Companies
  • MEDIA
  • Podcasts
  • Videos
  • Webinars
  • White Papers
  • EVENTS
  • Food Automation & Manufacturing Symposium and Expo
  • Industry Events
  • RESOURCES
  • eNewsletter
  • Custom Content & Marketing Services
  • FE Store
  • Government Links
  • Industry Associations
  • Market Research
  • Classified Ads
  • EMAGAZINE
  • eMagazine
  • Archive Issue
  • Advertise
Food Engineering logo
search
cart
facebook twitter linkedin youtube
  • Sign In
  • Create Account
  • Sign Out
  • My Account
Food Engineering logo
  • NEWS
    • Latest Headlines
    • Manufacturing News
    • People & Industry News
    • Plant Openings
    • Recalls
    • Regulatory Watch
    • Supplier News
  • PRODUCTS
    • New Plant Products
    • New Retail Products
  • TOPICS
    • Alternative Protein
    • Automation
    • Cannabis
    • Cleaning | Sanitation
    • Fabulous Food Plants
    • Food Safety
    • Maintenance Strategies
    • OEE
    • Packaging
    • Sustainability
    • More
  • EXCLUSIVES
    • Plant Construction Survey
    • Plant of the Year
    • Sustainable Plant of the Year
    • State of Food Manufacturing
    • Top 100 Food & Beverage Companies
  • MEDIA
    • Podcasts
    • Videos
    • Webinars
    • White Papers
  • FOOD MASTER
  • EVENTS
    • Food Automation & Manufacturing Symposium and Expo
    • Industry Events
  • RESOURCES
    • eNewsletter
    • Custom Content & Marketing Services
    • FE Store
    • Government Links
    • Industry Associations
    • Market Research
    • Classified Ads
  • EMAGAZINE
    • eMagazine
    • Archive Issue
    • Advertise
  • SIGN UP!

Engineering R&D: A CO2 solution for juice

By Kevin T. Higgins
March 28, 2003
Fresh, nonthermally treated juice has enormous sales potential. A new process is emerging from the research lab to accomplish that.

Jake Eisenwasser, R&D manager, Praxair Inc


Jake Eisenwasser checks the control panel on Praxair’s demonstration unit for CO2 and pressure treatment of juice.
Juice has been the focus of countless R&D hours as engineers and food scientists attempt to create affordable processes that retain the flavor and nutritional benefits of fresh squeezed juice while minimizing the spoilage organisms and pathogens that severely limit shelf life.

A relatively new technique is pressurized dense-phase liquid carbon dioxide, a method for inactivating enzymes in food products by creating a carbonic acid solution.

A team of food scientists at the University of Florida in Gainesville began developing the process 15 years ago. This fall, Praxair Inc. expects to unveil Better than Fresh™, a beverage treatment system that represents the technology’s first commercial application.

Jacob E. Eisenwasser, a chemical and metallurgical engineer, has headed the engineering effort at Praxair’s R&D center in Burr Ridge, Ill., to move pressurized CO2 treatment out of the laboratory and into juice plants. As construction of the first commercial units was concluding, Eisenwasser discussed that process and the hurdles that had to be overcome.

FE: When did your involvement in this project begin?

Eisenwasser: After Praxair licensed the process from the University of Florida, we assembled a team of engineers and food scientists and built a bench scale prototype in 1998. The preliminary results were very encouraging. We began to build a database of knowledge using surrogate pathogens to establish kill rates. Eventually the system was validated for effectiveness against real pathogens at the National Center for Food Science and Technology, which served as process authority.

FE: In-plant tests were announced two years ago. What has happened since then?

Eisenwasser: Last year we tested a prototype machine with a fresh juice plant that was under the gun to introduce a kill step to comply with the HACCP rules mandating a 5-log reduction in pathogens. They were getting 14 days shelf life and wanted an alternative to heat pasteurization to both extend shelf life and provide a taste comparable to unpasteurized juice. They were experimenting with UV, flash pasteurization and our process.

That project was really a beta site for us and led to the development of a demonstration unit. The idea was to build something that the customer can look at and say, “Yes, I can envision a larger version of that in my plant and have confidence it will work.”

FE: What were some of the changes incorporated since the beta-site machine was built?

Eisenwasser: The scalable machine uses off-the-shelf components instead of oddball parts and has an integrated CIP system, which is an absolutely critical feature. The capacity is only half a gallon a minute, compared to 40 gallons for a production unit, but the programming logic and instrumentation is identical.

FE: What was the project’s biggest engineering challenge?

Eisenwasser: There are two aspects to the process: it has to operate at what I consider medium pressure, something less than 10,000 psi, and it has to be designed for sanitation. The problem is, if you want to have high-pressure components in a machine, you won’t find sanitary versions, and if you build with sanitary components, you won’t find any that can handle high pressure. If you add a thermocouple in the line, for example, you have to design it to eliminate any crevices or other sources of potential contamination. A lot of our engineering hours were spent sourcing sanitary components that would handle a one-button CIP system that sends a scouring solution under pressure through the system at a certain minimum velocity and temperature for a certain dwell time to thoroughly clean all surfaces.

It’s difficult to fabricate those kinds of components from scratch. Fortunately, we teamed up with APV, which has a lot of experience in food processing and was able to apply that to tube finishes, welds and other component features.

FE: What other obstacles had to be overcome?

Eisenwasser: Building the holding coils was a big challenge. You have to bend straight tubing and mold it into a circular fashion without losing the integrity of the steel walls. Interior orbital welds are needed to maintain sanitation. Qualified welds on the coils are essential.

FE: How does the unit work?

Eisenwasser: Juice enters a 50-gallon feed tank and then is pumped to a stage pump, where pressure is matched to the pressure in the liquid CO2 tank. A mixture of dissolved CO2 and juice then goes to a high-stage pump, which sends it to the holding coils at about 5,000 psi. After the necessary residence time, the juice is depressurized and the CO2 vented.

By varying pump speeds, we can alter residence time to neutralize the challenge organism for a given product. Mass flow meters are incorporated throughout the system to track all our parameters and validate that what was supposed to occur, did in fact occur. Operating data are recorded and stored within the system.

FE: UV treatment is limited to clear fluids. Does the same apply to CO2?

Eisenwasser: Shadowing is not an issue with our process. Because of the scale of the coils on the demonstration skid, we don’t like to have large particulate such as pits or seeds going through the system. But the diameter of the coils on the commercial unit are so much larger, we can run any juice product.

FE: How big is the unit?

Eisenwasser: The commercial unit has a footprint of about 30 by 15 feet, about twice the size of the demonstration skid. The control panel and some other components are identical on the two; the biggest difference is the size of the coils. The cube of the coil’s diameter determines maximum volume, and the coils on the commercial unit are about 4 inches in diameter.

The choke point is the high-pressure pump that sends juice through the coils. You would need two 50 gpm pumps to process 100 gallons of juice a minute, and 50 gpm pumps are the upper limit of what is available off the shelf.

FE: What are the brains behind the machine?

Eisenwasser: The demonstration unit is controlled by an Allen-Bradley SLC 5/05 PLC. Control interface is through Wonderware’s InTouch 7.11. Ethernet connectivity allows remote-access diagnostics and troubleshooting through the Web.

FE: What’s the per-gallon processing cost with CO2?

Eisenwasser: There’s a capitalization component and a processing component, and cost depends on system scale, utilization rate and other factors, so it’s difficult to fix the cost. Per-gallon cost is certainly higher than heat pasteurization, but cost engineering, process changes and the use of different components should drive down the difference.

FE: What impact might this process have on the fresh-juice business?

Eisenwasser: If you’re a California processor and you can get 30 or 40 days of shelf life instead of 12, this could expand your market 2,000 miles. This process would get your product to Chicago with at least 20 days of shelf life remaining. The only way to sell fresh juice there now is if the store squeezes the fruit itself.

FE: Are any FDA approvals necessary before processors can begin using CO2?

Eisenwasser: No additional FDA approvals are needed. Achieving the 5-log reduction under HACCP is a self-compliance issue, so processors can incorporate this into their process immediately.

For more information:
Richard S. Jarrett, Praxair Inc., 203-837-2474, rich_jarrett@praxair.com
www.praxair.com

Share This Story

Looking for a reprint of this article?
From high-res PDFs to custom plaques, order your copy today!

Kevin Higgins was Senior Editor for FE.

Recommended Content

JOIN TODAY
to unlock your recommendations.

Already have an account? Sign In

  • Global Organic Food & Beverage Market to Grow

    Global Organic Food & Beverage Market to Grow

    With a CAGR of 12.07%, Bonafide Research estimates this...
    Latest headlines
  • skilled MEP worker

    Predicting Food and Beverage Manufacturing Trends for 2024

    The two words that should be kept in mind are labor and...
    Automation
    By: Derrick Teal
  • cleaning and sanitation

    The basics of cleaning and sanitation in food plants

    Sanitation maintains or restores a state of cleanliness...
    Food Safety
    By: Richard F. Stier
Manage My Account
  • eMagazine
  • eNewsletter
  • Online Registration
  • Manage My Preferences
  • Customer Service

Food Plant Openings and Expansions May 2025

Food Plant Openings and Expansions May 2025

OT Cybersecurity Vulnerabilities in Food Manufacturing Facilities

OT Cybersecurity Vulnerabilities in Food Manufacturing Facilities

Understanding Impacts of OT Cybersecurity Events in Food Manufacturing

Understanding Impacts of OT Cybersecurity Events in Food Manufacturing

Food Plant Openings and Expansions April 2025

Food Plant Openings and Expansions April 2025

More Videos

Popular Stories

FMTE Formed by Four Food Manufacturing Companies

Coalition Unites Europe’s Food Manufacturing Technologies and Equipment Sector

mechanical and chemical recycling

Clean Label Packaging Expands to Include Sustainability Considerations

Bottling machine

How Sensing Technologies Can Help Avoid Food and Water Waste

CHECK OUT OUR NEW ESSENTIAL TOPICS

Alternative ProteinAutomationCleaning/SanitationFabulous Food Plants

Food SafetyMaintenance StrategiesOEE

PackagingSustainability

Events

June 17, 2025

Refrigerated & Frozen Foods’ State of the Cold Chain

On Demand Kelley Rodriguez, Editor in Chief of Refrigerated & Frozen Foods, will be joined in this 60-minute webinar by industry experts to help unpack the latest research.

July 10, 2025

Smarter Innovation With Practical AI: How to Stay Agile in Uncertain Times

Regulatory updates, supply chain shifts and evolving consumer demands keep the food and beverage industry in a state of constant change.

View All Submit An Event

Products

Recent Advances in Ready-to-Eat Food Technology

Recent Advances in Ready-to-Eat Food Technology

See More Products

Plant of the Year

Related Articles

  • Engineering R&D: New solution for slaughter

    See More
  • ENGINEERING R&D: A thermal bullet for deli meats

    See More
  • Engineering R&D: Sensors for a digital world

    See More

Related Products

See More Products
  • military-food-engineering.gif

    Military Food Engineering and Ration Technology

  • Food-Authentication-Flyer-(.gif

    Food Authentication Using Bioorganic Molecules

  • statical.jpg

    Statistical Process Control for the Food Industry: A Guide for Practitioners and Managers

See More Products
×

Elevate your expertise in food engineering with unparalleled insights and connections.

Get the latest industry updates tailored your way.

JOIN TODAY!
  • RESOURCES
    • Advertise
    • Contact Us
    • Food Master
    • Store
    • Want More
  • SIGN UP TODAY
    • Create Account
    • eMagazine
    • eNewsletter
    • Customer Service
    • Manage Preferences
  • SERVICES
    • Marketing Services
    • Reprints
    • Market Research
    • List Rental
    • Survey/Respondent Access
  • STAY CONNECTED
    • LinkedIn
    • Facebook
    • YouTube
    • X (Twitter)
  • PRIVACY
    • PRIVACY POLICY
    • TERMS & CONDITIONS
    • DO NOT SELL MY PERSONAL INFORMATION
    • PRIVACY REQUEST
    • ACCESSIBILITY

Copyright ©2025. All Rights Reserved BNP Media.

Design, CMS, Hosting & Web Development :: ePublishing

Food Engineering logo
search
cart
facebook twitter linkedin youtube
  • Sign In
  • Create Account
  • Sign Out
  • My Account
Food Engineering logo
  • NEWS
    • Latest Headlines
    • Manufacturing News
    • People & Industry News
    • Plant Openings
    • Recalls
    • Regulatory Watch
    • Supplier News
  • PRODUCTS
    • New Plant Products
    • New Retail Products
  • TOPICS
    • Alternative Protein
    • Automation
    • Cannabis
    • Cleaning | Sanitation
    • Fabulous Food Plants
    • Food Safety
    • Maintenance Strategies
    • OEE
    • Packaging
    • Sustainability
    • More
  • EXCLUSIVES
    • Plant Construction Survey
    • Plant of the Year
    • Sustainable Plant of the Year
    • State of Food Manufacturing
    • Top 100 Food & Beverage Companies
  • MEDIA
    • Podcasts
    • Videos
    • Webinars
    • White Papers
  • FOOD MASTER
  • EVENTS
    • Food Automation & Manufacturing Symposium and Expo
    • Industry Events
  • RESOURCES
    • eNewsletter
    • Custom Content & Marketing Services
    • FE Store
    • Government Links
    • Industry Associations
    • Market Research
    • Classified Ads
  • EMAGAZINE
    • eMagazine
    • Archive Issue
    • Advertise
  • SIGN UP!