Fouling models for heat exchangers in dairy processing: A review

Fouling is a common food industry-wide issue during thermal treatment using heat exchangers. It directly contributes toward increased energy costs in operation and maintenance, production losses and energy and water losses because of the repetitive cleaning operation, i.e., every 5-10 h in fluid food industry. There has been a considerable amount of work on modeling of the fouling process as well as the hydrodynamic and thermodynamic performances of heat exchangers. A variety of different fouling kinetics exists depending upon food components, types of heat exchangers and operating conditions. The available information on existing fouling models is summarized in terms of fouling mechanisms, dynamic performances of heat exchangers and integrated fouling dynamics. This review provides the basis for developing a vision of further research for understanding, quantifying and minimizing fouling of food materials in heat exchangers.