Design, Optimization and Scale-Up of Pulsed Electric Field Technologies for Large Flow Applications in Heterogeneous Matrices

The adoption of pulsed electric field technologies is currently limited by the lack of application-specific knowledge as well as the availability of reliable and validated full-scale reactors. In this paper, the progress made towards the design, optimization and scale-up of the OpenCEL

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technology applied to high-flow, heterogeneous matrices are illustrated. Specific challenges included engineering systems capable of sustained long-term operation in harsh environments operating with complex non-Newtonian fluids. The paper also describes the importance of adopting standard operating procedures for evaluating and validating equipment performance. Robust experimentation coupled with numerical model was also instrumental in guiding the optimization of the reactor chamber in a way that mass and energy transport could simultaneously be taken into account.