Pulsed Electric Field Technology

Leverage a new, low-energy mechanism called Pulsed Electric Field (PEF) for non-thermal pasteurization or cell disintegration to streamline food processing or unlock innovations in bio-diesel.

The Key Benefits of Pulsed Electric Field (PEF) Technology

Novel approach to food processing

Achieve longer shelf life sans preservatives. You can use Pulsed Electric Field equipment to effectively retain the fresh-like quality of your organic products (both liquid and solid) and enable better food preservation without high-temperature pasteurization. Save costs on heating and cooling.

Energy-efficient and nutrition-preserving

Pulsed electric field processing is a non-thermal, low temperature, non-chemical, and low impact technique that does not require substantial energy spending or extended residence time. With Pulsed Electric Field technology, you can attain pore induction within microseconds. This way, you can process natural cells rapidly, yet safely, and preserve their core organic qualities, plus nutritional value.

Enhanced extraction and lower waste

You can gain higher yields when processing fresh produce (fruit/vegetables) and extracting liquids (oils/coffee), without causing any underlying damage to valuable sub-components such as proteins, enzymes and antioxidants. Deliver fine-grade products at a lower cost, using PEF generators.

Standard liquid-solid separation, powered by enzymatic maceration, requires 30-60 minutes of residence time, plus tanks for holding juices.
Pulsed electric field treatment at 3kJ/kg is comparable to enzymatic treatments, yet comes with no residence time. Juice yields become higher at 10kJ/kg.
What’s more — Pulsed Electric Field processing does not lead to depolymerization or de-esterification of hydrocolloids. Meaning, as a manufacturer, you can also extract native structured pectin from the apples, for instance, thus further reducing waste!

Other benefits of using Pulsed Electric Field technology:

Faster drying of foodstuffs - Minimize production time and costs by significantly improving the drying conditions of your products without causing dry crusting. Using the right-sized pulsed electric field equipment, you can:

  • Reduce potato drying times by up to 30%
  • Significantly cut down energy usage due to faster moisture transport
  • Diminish the numbers of both pathogens and spoilage organisms in dried meats

Gentle, yet efficient food treatments - Harmful micro bacteria, sub-production of off-flavor compounds, mechanical produce damage, and undesirable electrolytic reactions are persistent issues in food processing. Thanks to their underlying technology, PEF generators can be configured to apply consistent treatments to various food types and liquids to selectively inactivate unwanted microorganisms.

  • Pulsed electric field pasteurization can reduce spoilage and eliminate bacteria in skim milk, whole milk, and yogurts, among other dairy products.
  • Extend shelf-life, prevent color change, and preserve original textures in juices, while remaining compliant with relevant food regulations.
  • Eliminate lactic acid bacteria production during citrus processing to maintain super flavor and color.

Generation of Bio-diesel from Algae

Stand at the foothold of innovations in the bio-economy sector by leveraging state-of-the-art pulsed electric field setups made by us in India to conduct algae processing and generate new bio-fuel. Using PEF, your organization could perform selective extraction of intracellular components from microalgae (Nannochloropsis) and further transform them into renewable fuels.

PEF can be effectively incorporated in the following four-pronged approach to bio-fuel production:

  • Algae growth
  • Algae harvesting
  • Advanced lipid extraction
  • Catalytic conversion of lipids to bio-fuel
pulsed-electric-field for extraction of lipids from Chlamydomonas reinhardtii

As early scientific studies prove: PEF treatment is the optimal approach to performing lipid extraction without relying on long solvent-algae exposure times. The cumulative benefits are as follows:

  • High output with reasonable energy consumption: PEF enables a faster rate of lipid recovery with ethyl acetate during algae processing with an energy input of 42 J/mL (11 kWh/m3 ) for 1.9 g/L of algae. Furthermore, PEF treatments produce extremely high cell lysis (90%).
  • Increased lipid extraction rates: The application of PEF at 10, 20 or 40 pulses (corresponding to 7.2, 14.4 and 28.8 kJ/L) can deliver a yield of respectively 23%, 31% and 32% of lipid recovery, compared with solvent extraction alone (100% extraction).
  • Higher effectiveness of protein extractions: For processing algae species, PEF can yield 5X-10X higher protein extraction rates when compared to other extraction methods.

The major advantage of using PEF for lipid extraction in algae is that this approach separates hydrocarbons from a matrix, rather than extracts them from cells. This reduces the need to destroy cell membranes during processing, which, in turn, leads to a reduction in energy consumption. Moreover, the PEF processes can be configured to avoid aggressive oil extraction, leading to the destruction of the algae. PEF is less invasive, allowing for algae to rebuild their colonies over time. So that your company can run a sustainable and self-renewable production of bio-fuels.

PEF-technology-for-Bio-refineries

The Full Spectrum of Pulsed Electric Field System Applications and Use Cases:

The food industry:

  • Food treatments (mycobacterium )
  • Non-thermal pasteurization of dairy and juices
  • Sugars and other cellular content extraction from plants
  • Cutting and drying enhancements
  • Enzyme and nutrients preservation
  • Advanced fermentation control
  • Flavor freshness, economic feasibility, and improvements in textural product qualities

Bio-Energy & related industry:

  • High cell lysis enablement 
  • High-pace and high-precision lipid extraction
  • Increased protein extraction
  • Non-drying and invasive oil extraction from algae
  • Wastewater treatments
  • Solid volume (sludge) reduction of wastewater
  • Algae pretreatments for greener solvent lipid extractions
  • With lower energy consumption

The below video explains Pulsed Electric Field Generator Equipment.

SureView Instruments is a leading manufacturer of custom Pulsed Electric Field (PEF) generators in India, tailored to a variety of industry and scientific use cases requiring electroporation. Our group takes pride in delivering state-of-the-art engineering solutions world-wide since 1975.
For detailed use cases, papers and application notes, simply fill the form in the 'Contact Us' section or, contact us using the contact details mentioned there. We will be happy to assist you.