The design of a high-voltage pulsed electric field (hpef) device for non-liquid materials based on microcontroller

Abstract

Abstract High-voltage pulsed electric field (HPEF) is one of the technologies applied in the food industry with the principle of non-heat treatment with a short pre-treatment time and no pollution is produced. The main benefit of this tool is to kill microbes in the food industry. In addition to non-thermal sterilization, HPEF can also be used for electroporation. Cell electroporation is the application of an electric voltage to the cell. The cells are damaged (broken/porous) without destroying the bioactive components present in the cells. Previous studies have shown that materials treated with HPEF increase the yield when distilled. It can occur due to the electroporation process, namely the breakdown of the oil cell network, so that the distillation process is efficient (can reduce distillation time and increase the quantity of oil). The care box is designed with dimensions of 60cm x 40cm x 30cm which is made of acrylic material. The electrodes used a 60cm x 40cm plate mounted on a linear drive to adjust the treatment distance. HPEF uses a 15kV neon sign transformer. The transformer input frequency setting is set with a dimmer. A microcontroller is installed to adjust the shock period on the electrodes. Based on trials, the device can be used for various solid materials with different volumes.