Effect of Electric Field Strength, Frequency and Temperature on Electrical Conductivity of Peach Pulp Processed by Ohmic Heating

摘要

The study was aimed at evaluating the effect of ohmic heating process variables on the electrical conductivity of peach pulp. The freshly prepared peach pulp was processed by ohmic heating in a lab scale ohmic heating assembly. The effect of process variables i. e. electric field strength (4.7-10 V/cm), frequency (40-60 Hz) and temperature (60-90 °C) on electrical conductivity was studied by using the response surface methodology (RSM). The frequency and temperature showed a significant (P<0.01) lineareffect on the electrical conductivity of peach pulp, while the electric field strength had shown no significant effect. The interaction effect of the variables was found non-significant on the electrical conductivity of peach pulp. Only quadratic effectof electric field strength was found significant (PO.05). The studied process parameters for peach pulp can be helpful in the processing of pulp by ohmic heating at a large scale.