Food Engineering Unit-1

Food engineering is a significant component of the typical curriculum for undergraduate degree
in Food Science or food technology. Food engineering is integral and significant component to
understand theoretical aspects of food processing into practical implications.
Physics, chemistry, and mathematics are essential in gaining an understanding of the principles
that govern most of the unit operations commonly found in the food industry. Foods undergo
changes as a result of processing; such changes may be physical, chemical, enzymatic, or
microbiological. As a food engineering student it is essential to understand the quantitative
analysis of unit operations, and therefore your ability to use/apply mathematics is essential. The
basic concept of units and its implications is highly significant for learning various aspects of
food engineering.

This module is divided into following sub-sections.

Contents
(1) Concept of Unit Operation
(2) SI Units
(3) Unit Conversions
(4) Dimensional Analysis
(5) Conservation of mass
(6) Conservation of energy

(1) Concept of Unit Operations

In all the processing industries such as food, biological and chemical, there exist similarities
where feed is processed into final products. These processing steps could be chemical, physical,
biological, or in combination and are usually separate and distinct steps called unit operations.
Classification of Unit Operations
Unit Operations can be classified as follows:
Fluid flow: Deals with principles that determines flow or transportation of fluid (from one point
to other)
Heat transfer: Deals with principles that govern accumulation and transfer of heat and energy
Evaporation: Special case of heat transfer, which deals with evaporation of a constituent from a
solution
Drying: Operation where volatile liquids, usually water, are removed from solid materials
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Distillation: Operation where components of a liquid mixture are separated by boiling based on
vapor pressure difference.
Absorption: Process in which a component is removed from a gas stream by liquid treatment
Membrane separation: Process involving separation of a solute from a fluid by diffusion of this
solute from a liquid or gas through semipermeable membrane barrier to another fluid
Liquid-Liquid extraction: Process where a solute in a liquid solution is removed by contacting
with another liquid solvent which is relatively immiscible with the solution
Adsorption: Process where a component of a gas or a liquid stream is removed and adsorbed by
a solid adsorbent.
Liquid-solid leaching: Process where a finely divided solid is treated with liquid that dissolves
out and removes a solute contained in the solid
Crystallization: Removal of a solute such as a salt from a solution by precipitating the solute
from the solution
Mechanical-physical separations: Involves separation of solids, liquids or gases by mechanical
means, such as filtration, settling, and size reduction, which are often classified as separate unit
operations.

(2) SI System of Basic Units

To analyze and quantify physical processes/unit operations, understanding units and dimensions
of the physical quantities becomes essential.
There are three main basic unit systems employed in engineering and science.
1. SI (Système International d’Unités, French; International System of Units, English)
Three basic units (i) the meter (m), (ii) the kilogram (Kg), and (iii) the second (s)
2. FPS system
Three basic units (i) foot (ft) (ii) pound (lb) and (iii) second (s)
3. CGS system
Three basic units (i) centimeter (cm) (ii) gram (gm) and (iii) second (s)

Presently SI, system has been adopted officially for exclusive use in engineering and science.

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Table 1: SI Base and Supplementary Quantities and Units
Quantity or “dimension” SI unit SI unit symbol
(“abbreviation”)
length meter m
mass kilogram kg
time second s
electric current ampere A
thermodynamic temperature kelvin K
amount of substance mole mol

Derived Units of SI that Have Special Names

Derived units are algebraic combinations of base units expressed by means of multiplication and
division. For simplicity, derived units often carry special names and symbols that may be used to
obtain other derived units.

Table 2: Derived Units

Quantity SI unit Symbol Formula

frequency (of a periodic hertz Hz l/s
phenomenon)
force newton N (kg⋅m)/s2
pressure, stress pascal Pa N/m2
energy, work, quantity of heat joule J N⋅m
power, radiant flux watt W J/s

Table 3: Additional Common Derived Units of SI

Quantity Unit Symbol
acceleration meter per second squared m/s2
angular acceleration radian per second squared rad/s2
angular velocity radian per second rad/s
area square meter m2
concentration (of amount of mole per cubic meter mol/m3
substance)
density mass kilogram per cubic meter kg/m3
velocity meter per second m/s
viscosity, dynamic pascal-second Pa⋅s
viscosity, kinematic square meter per second m2/s
volume cubic meter m3
entropy joule per kelvin J/K
heat capacity joule per kelvin J/K

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 (3) Common Units and Conversion Factors
Unit conversion is a multi-step process that involves multiplication or division by a numerical
factor.
For instance 12 feet 5 inches in converted to inches as follows
As 1 foot = 12 inches
12 feet = 12 x 12 inches = 144 inches
Hence 12 feet 5 inches = (144 + 5 ) inches = 149 inches

Table 4: Some of the common conversion factors

Mass (M) 1 pound mass = 453.5924 grams
= 0.45359 kilograms
= 7000 grains
1 slug = 32.174 pounds mass
1 ton (short) = 2000 pounds mass
1 ton (long) = 2240 pounds mass
1 ton (metric) = 1000 kilograms
= 2204.62 pounds mass
1 pound mole = 453.59 gram moles
Length (L) 1 foot = 30.480 centimeters
= 0.3048 meters
1 inch = 2.54 centimeters
= 0.0254 meters
1 mile (U.S.) = 1.60935 kilometers
1 yard = 0.9144 meters
Area (L2) 1 square foot = 929.0304 square centimeters
= 0.09290304 square meters
1 square inch = 6.4516 square centimeters
1 square yard = 0.836127 square meters
Volume (L3) 1 cubic foot = 28,316.85 cubic centimeters
= 0.02831685 cubic meters
= 28.31685 liters
= 7.481 gallons (U.S.)
1 gallon = 3.7853 liters
= 231 cubic inches

Time (θ) 1 hour = 60 minutes

= 3600 seconds

Temperature (T) 1 centigrade or Celsius degree = 1.8 Fahrenheit degree

Temperature, Kelvin = T°C + 273.15
Temperature, Rankine = T°F + 459.7
Temperature, Fahrenheit = 9/5 T°C + 32
Temperature, centigrade or Celsius = 5/9 (T°F − 32)
Temperature, Rankine = 1.8 T K
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Force (F) 1 pound force = 444,822.2 dynes
= 4.448222 Newtons
= 32.174 poundals

Pressure (F/L2) Normal atmospheric pressure

1 atm = 760 millimeters of mercury at 0°C
(density 13.5951 g/cm3)
= 29.921 inches of mercury at 32°F
= 14.696 pounds force/square inch
= 33.899 feet of water at 39.1°F
= 1.01325 × 106 dynes/square centimeter
= 1.01325 × 105 Newtons/square meter
Density (M/L3) 1 pound mass/cubic foot = 0.01601846 grams/cubic centimeter
= 16.01846 kilogram/cubic meter
Energy (H or FL) 1 British thermal unit= 251.98 calories
= 1054.4 joules
= 777.97 foot-pounds force
= 10.409 liter-atmospheres
= 0.2930 watt-hour
Gas constant 1.987 Btu/lbm mole °R = 1.987 cal/mol K
= 82.057 atm cm3/mol K
= 0.7302 atm ft3/lb mole °F
= 10.73 (lbf /in.2) (ft3)/lb mole °R
= 1545 (lbf /ft2) (ft3)/lb mole °R
= 8.314 (N/m2) (m3)/mol K

(4) Dimensional Analysis

Dimensional analysis is a tool to represent the relevant data and how to depict the same. It is a
useful technique for experiment based engineering fields. It is a means of simplifying a physical
problem by appealing to dimensional homogeneity to reduce the number of relevant variables.

(4.1)Dimensional Analysis is particularly useful for:

 presenting and interpreting experimental data

 attacking problems not amenable to a direct theoretical solution
 checking equations
 establishing the relative importance of particular physical phenomena
 physical modelling

In dimensional analysis we are only concerned with the nature of the dimension i.e. its
quality not its quantity. The following common abbreviation used are:

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length = L
mass = M
time = T
temperature = θ

We can represent all the physical properties we are interested in with L, M and T.

The following table lists dimensions of some common physical quantities:

Table 5: Representation of physical quantities in L, M, T dimensions

Quantity SI Unit SI Unit Dimension

velocity m/s ms-1 LT-1
acceleration m/s2 ms-2 LT-2
N
force
kg m/s2 kg ms-2 M LT-2
Joule J
energy (or work) N m,
kg m2s-2 ML2T-2
kg m2/s2
Watt W
power N m/s Nms-1
ML2T-3
kg m2/s3 kg m2s-3
Pascal P,
pressure ( or
N/m2, Nm-2
stress) ML-1T-2
kg/m/s2 kg m-1s-2
density kg/m3 kg m-3 ML-3
N/m3
specific weight
kg/m2/s2 kg m-2s-2 ML-2T-2
a ratio 1
relative density
no units no dimension
N s/m2 N sm-2
viscosity
kg/m s kg m-1s-1 M L-1T-1
N/m Nm-1
surface tension
kg /s2 kg s-2 MT-2

(4.2) Dimensional Homogeneity

Any equation describing a physical situation will only be true if both sides have the same
dimensions. That is it must be dimensionally homogenous.

For example the Bernoulli’s equation:

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p  V 2   gh  constant
2

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Where p is the pressure, ρ is the density, V is the velocity, h is the elevation and g is the
gravitational acceleration

The SI units for each term on the left hand side should be consistent and equal.
P = ML-1T-2
ρV2 = ML-3 (LT-1)2 = ML-3+2T-2 = ML-1T-2
ρgh = ML-3 LT-2 L = ML-3+2T-2 = = ML-1T-2

The units of the right hand side must be the same. Hence the constant will also have dimensions
of ML-1T-2

i.e. the units are consistent.

Dimensional homogeneity is a useful tool for checking formulae. For this reason, it is useful
when analyzing a physical problem to retain algebraic symbols for as long as possible, only
substituting numbers right at the end. However, dimensional analysis cannot determine
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numerical factors; e.g. it cannot distinguish between at 2 and at 2
2

This property of dimensional homogeneity can be useful for:

 Checking units of equations
 Converting between two sets of units
 Defining dimensionless relationships

(5) CONSERVATION OF MASS

The principle of conservation of mass states that: Mass can be neither created nor destroyed.
However, its composition can be altered from one form to another.

Conservation of mass principle

Rate of mass entering through - Rate of mass exiting = Rate of mass

the boundary of a system through the boundary accumulation within
of a system the system

-------- Eq. 1.1

If the rate of mass accumulation within a system is

zero, then the rate of mass entering must equal rate of
mass leaving the system. For example, as shown in
Figure 1.1, if the level of milk in a tank remains
constant, and the milk flow rate at the inlet is 1 kg/s,
then the flow rate of milk at the exit must also be 1

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 kg/s.

Fig. 1.1: Liquid flow in and out of a tank

Next, let us convert the previous word equation

into a mathematical form. To do this, we will refer
to Figure 1.2, which shows a system with mass
inlet and exit streams. Although only one inlet and
one exit stream is shown, there may be more than
one stream entering and exiting a control volume.
Therefore, for a general case, the rate of mass flow
entering the system is

n
m inlet   m i Eq. 1.2
Fig. 1.2: A Control volume i 1

where subscript i denotes the inlet, and n is the number of inlets to a system. The rate of mass
flow exiting the system is

p
m exit   m e Eq. 1.3
e 1

where subscript e denotes the exit, and p is the number of exits from a system. The rate of mass
accumulation within the system boundary, expressed as a function of time, is

dmsystem
m accumulation  Eq. 1.4
dt
Then substituting into the word we obtain Equation (1.1)

p
n dmsystem
 m i   m e 
i 1 e 1 dt
Eq. 1.5

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Typically, mass flow rate is easier to measure than other flow properties such as velocity. When
instead of mass flow rate, we may measure velocity of the flow along with the density of the
fluid, the mathematical analysis involves integral expressions. There are two systems for
conservation of mass i.e Open system and closed system .Let’s discuss them now

(5.1) Conservation of Mass for an Open System

Consider a section of a pipe used in transporting a fluid. For a control volume shown, for this
open system a fluid with a velocity, u, is entering the system across a differential area dA.
Velocity is a vector quantity, possessing both magnitude and direction. As seen in Figure 1.2,
only the component of velocity vector normal to the area dA will cross the system boundary. The
other component, utan, (tangent to the area) has no influence on our derivation. Thus, if the fluid
particle crossing the boundary has a velocity un, then the rate of mass flow into the system may
be expressed as

dm  un dA Eq. 1.6

Integrating over a finite area

m    un dA Eq. 1.7
A
The previous equation for mass flow rate will apply for inlet and exit cases. The total mass of the
system may be expressed as a product of its volume and density, or

m    dV Eq. 1.8
V
Substituting this quantity in the word Equation (1.1), we obtain

d

Ainlet
 un dA  
Aexit
 un dA 
dt V
 dV Eq. 1.9

The previous equation is somewhat complicated because of the integral and differential
operators. However, this expression may be simplified for two common situations encountered in
engineering systems. First, if the flow is uniform, then all measurable properties of the fluid are
uniform throughout the cross-sectional area. These properties may vary from one cross-sectional
area to another, but at the same cross-section they are the same in the radial direction.

For example, fruit juice flowing in a pipe has the same value of its properties at the center and
the inside surface of the pipe. These properties may be density, pressure, or temperature. For a
uniform flow, we can replace the integral signs with simple summations, or

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 d
 u dA   u dA  dt   dV
inlet
n
outlet
n Eq. 1.10
V

The second assumption we will make is that of steady state—that is, the flow rate does not
change with time, although it may be different from one location to another. If there is no change
with time, then the right-hand term must drop out. Thus, we have

 u dA   u dA
inlet
n
outlet
n Eq. 1.11

Furthermore, if we are dealing with an incompressible fluid—a good assumption for most
liquids—there is no change in density. Thus

 u dA   u dA
inlet
n
outlet
n Eq. 1.12

The product of velocity and area is the volumetric flow rate. Thus, according to the conservation
of mass principle, for a steady, uniform, and incompressible flow, the volumetric flow remains
unchanged. For compressible fluids such as steam and gases, the inlet mass flow rate will be the
same as the exit mass flow rate.

(5.2) Conservation of Mass for a Closed System

We have learnt that, in a closed system, mass cannot cross system boundaries. Therefore, there is
no time rate of change of mass in the system, or

dmsystem
0 Eq. 1.13
dt

msystem  constant

(5.3) Material Balances

Material balances are useful in evaluating individual pieces of equipment, such as a pump or a
homogenizer, as well as overall plant operations consisting of several processing units—for
example, a tomato paste manufacturing. Compositions of raw-materials, product streams, and
by-product streams can be evaluated by using material balances.

The following steps should be useful in conducting a material balance in an organized manner.

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 1. Collect all known data on mass and composition of all inlet and exit streams from the
statement of the problem.
2. Draw a block diagram, indicating the process, with inlet and exit streams properly
identified. Draw the system boundary.
3. Write all available data on the block diagram.
4. Select a suitable basis (such as mass or time) for calculations. The selection of basis
depends on the convenience of computations.
5. Using Equation (1.5), write material balances in terms of the selected basis for
calculating unknowns. For each unknown, an independent material balance is required.
6. Solve material balances to determine the unknowns.

(1) Conservation of Energy

Conservation of energy and energy balances are based on laws of thermodynamics.

First Law: Energy can be neither created nor destroyed but can be transformed from one form to
another.
Second Law: No process is possible whose sole result is the abstraction of heat from a single
reservoir and the performance of an equivalent amount of work.

These concepts are dealt in detail in an exclusive thermodynamics course and not under the
purview of present module.

Energy Balance is based on first law of thermodynamics and is depicted as follows

Total energy entering the - Total energy exiting = Change in total energy of
system the system the system

Therefore, when a system is undergoing any process, the energy entering the system minus that
leaving the system must equal any change in the energy of the system, or

Ein  Eout  Esystem

We can also write the energy balance per unit time as a rate expression:

E in  E out  E system

Heat transfer between a system and its surroundings is probably the most prevalent form of
energy that we observe in many food engineering systems. Heat plays a major role in cooking,
preservation, and creating new food products with unique properties. We will denote heat with a
symbol Q, with units of joule (J). If heat transfer is from a system to its surroundings, then Q is
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negative. On the other hand, if heat is transferring into a system from its surroundings (such as in
heating of a potato), then heat transfer Q is positive.

If we consider heat transfer per unit time, then we express it as rate of heat transfer, q, with the
units J/s or watts (W). Thermal energy, Q, can be determined if the heat capacity c is known.
Thus,
T2

Q  m  cdT
T1

If the path for energy transfer is under constant pressure, then

T2

Q  m  c p dT
T1

where cp is the specific heat capacity at constant pressure, J/(kg K). Under constant volume
conditions,
T2

Q  m  cv dT
T1

where cv is the specific heat capacity at constant volume, J/(kg K). The numeric values of cp and
cv are similar for solids and liquids; however, they may be considerably different for gases.

Work encompasses all interactions between a system and its surroundings that are not a result of
temperature difference. Eg: Shaft transmitting energy from a motor to another piece of
equipment that is enclosed in the system boundary

The symbol used for work is W, and its units are joules (J). The sign convention used for work
(W) is that any time work is done by a system, W is positive; when work is done on a system, W
is negative. This is opposite to that of heat transfer.

As shown in Figure 1.3, consider a case where an object moves a

small distance ds due to the application of force F. The work
done on the system may then be calculated as the product of
force and distance, or

dW   Fds

The negative sign reflects the sign convention stated earlier. We

can calculate the total work done in moving the object from
location 1 to 2 as
2
W1 2    Fds  F ( s1  s2 )
1

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Fig. 1.3: Work associated The work interaction between a system and its surroundings can
with movement of an object. be attributed to several mechanisms, such as a moving boundary,
gravitational forces, acceleration, and shaft rotation.

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