RESIDENCE TIME DISTRIBUTION OF CARROT CUBES IN STARCH SOLUTIONS IN A PILOT-SCALE ASEPTIC PROCESSING SYSTEM

Residence time distribution (RTD) of carrot cubes flowing in starch so lutions was evaluated in a commercial pilot-scale aseptic processing s ystem using a full factorial design of experiments employing flow rate (15 and 20 kg/min), temperature (80 and 100-degrees-C), holding tube length (0, 60 and 100%), particle size (6 and 13 mm) and starch concen tration (3 and 5% w/w) as factors. All factors were found to be signif icant (p < 0.05) in influencing the fastest particle residence time (F PRT), mean particle residence time (MPRT), particle residence time var iance (PRTV) and their normalized versions. While particle size, holdi ng tube length and starch concentration increased the FPRT, fluid flow rate and temperature had the opposite effect. The FPRT was lower than the average fluid retention time under all testing conditions.