Foods and beverages: apparatus – Means to treat food – By applying fluid
Reexamination Certificate
2001-03-28
2004-07-13
Wong, Leslie (Department: 1761)
Foods and beverages: apparatus
Means to treat food
By applying fluid
C099S534000, C261S078200, C426S320000, C426S541000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06761109
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to an apparatus and method for mixing a gas and a liquid. In one aspect, this invention relates to an apparatus and method for mixing a carrier gas with an atomized liquid while in another aspect, this invention relates to the formation of a mixture of carrier gas and vaporized liquid with little, if any, entrained droplets. In yet another aspect, the invention relates to an apparatus and method for applying a preservative to a perishable product.
The preservation of perishable products has been and continues to be the focus of considerable commercial interest. By extending the shelf life of a food product, e.g., a baked good, considerable economic value can be added to that product. Approaches to this end are many and varied, e.g., tight control of storage conditions, packaging, post and in situ applications of preservatives, and various combinations of these and other techniques are known and in practice to one extent or another.
In the context of baked goods, e.g., muffins, crumpets, scones, bagels, cookies, breads, etc., all of these techniques are in use, e.g., frozen or refrigerated storage, anaerobic packaging, and the addition of preservatives either to the batter or mix from which the baked good is prepared, or the application of a preservative to the finished baked good. With respect to the latter, the application of a small amount of acetic acid to a finished baked good, e.g., a crumpet, can extend the shelf life of the baked good from a typical 6-8 days to an extended 14-16 days (all other conditions, e.g., packaging, storage conditions, etc., being equal). One problem, however, in the application of a preservative to a food product is to apply the preservative in a manner that does not interfere with the natural sensient properties of the product, e.g., taste, smell, texture, etc. In the case of applying acetic acid to a finished baked product, too much acetic acid can impart an unwanted tartness to the product.
Another problem with the application of a preservative to the finished baked good is consistent application of the preservative in a production line setting. Commercially distributed baked goods, along with most other commercially manufactured and distributed perishable goods, are made in large quantities, and consistency from one item to the other is important to the commercial success of the product line. In the case of applying acetic acid to baked goods, the amount of acetic acid applied to the first baked good in the production cycle should be essentially the same as the amount of acetic acid applied to the last item in the production cycle (and all items throughout that production cycle, for that matter). This can be difficult to control over extended periods of time due to, among other things, variations in the temperature of the equipment, the preparation and delivery of the acetic acid to the finished product, and the like.
For example, the application of acetic acid as a preservative to a finished baked good typically begins with the conversion of liquid acetic acid to gaseous acetic acid. This conversion is accomplished by any one of a number of different procedures, e.g., flash evaporation, atomization, etc., and the gaseous acetic acid is then transported, typically by a carrier gas, e.g., carbon dioxide, to a treatment chamber. Finished baked goods are fed on a batch basis to the chamber in which they are exposed under predetermined conditions to the acetic acid, removed from the chamber, and then the cycle repeats. One common problem with this technique is that the gaseous acetic acid often has entrained within it small droplets of liquid acetic acid and these droplets, when deposited on the finished baked good, can constitute an overdose of preservative and impart a tartness to the product. The droplets originate from either incomplete vaporization of the acetic acid and/or as a condensate from the gaseous acetic acid as it is transported from a vaporization zone to the treatment chamber. Similar problems exist, of course, with the application of other gaseous preservatives to other perishable products.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
According to this invention, an apparatus and method is provided for mixing a gas and a liquid to produce a gaseous vapor of the liquid that is substantially free of droplets. The apparatus and method are well adapted to converting a preservative from a liquid to a gaseous state for application to a perishable product.
In one embodiment, the invention is an apparatus for mixing a gas and a liquid to form a gaseous mixture substantially free of droplets, the apparatus comprising:
A. A source of the gas;
B. A source of the liquid;
C. An atomization nozzle;
D. An antechamber;
E. An orifice plate; and
F. A mixing/separation chamber.
The atomization nozzle is in fluid communication with both the source of the gas and the source of the liquid, the liquid atomized by the gas within the atomization nozzle to form an atomized mixture of the gas and the liquid. The antechamber is (i) in fluid communication with the source of the gas, and (ii) in fluid communication with and separated from the mixing/separation chamber by an orifice plate. The orifice plate comprises one or more orifices through which the gas can pass from the source of the gas, through the antechamber, and into the mixing/separation chamber. The atomization nozzle extends through the antechamber and the orifice plate, and is in open communication with the mixing/separation chamber such that the atomized mixture of the gas and the liquid is discharged into the mixing/separation chamber.
The mixing/separation chamber comprises a housing having an upper section and a lower section. The upper section is in open communication with both the atomization nozzle and the antechamber, and the lower section is equipped with an exit port. The atomization nozzle and orifice plate are configured to form a mixing zone within the upper section of the mixing/separation chamber such that as the atomized mixture of gas and liquid is discharged into the upper section of the chamber, gas from the antechamber passes through the orifices of the orifice plate so as to impinge upon and vaporize substantially all, if not all, of the liquid component of the atomized mixture of gas and liquid. The vaporized mixture of the gas and the vaporized liquid then moves into the remainder of the chamber, i.e., the separation zone of the chamber, in which any residual droplets separate gravitationally from the vaporized mixture. The residual or unvaporized droplets settle onto the floor of the chamber from which they are either removed through a drain, or vaporized if the appropriate conditions exist within the separation zone, e.g., the floor of the chamber is heated to a sufficient temperature to vaporize the droplets. The exit port located in the lower section of the mixing/separation chamber is in sealed relationship with a discharge conduit for the discharge of the vaporized mixture free of a substantial amount of residual droplets. The conduit extends from the exit port into and is in open communication with the upper section of the mixing/separation chamber. As here used, “in sealed relationship” means that the discharge conduit is joined to the exit port in such a manner that the vaporized mixture can enter the conduit only from the upper section of the chamber, and it can be removed from the chamber only by passing through the conduit.
In another embodiment, the invention is a method for mixing a gas and a liquid to form a gaseous mixture substantially free of droplets, the method comprising the steps of:
A. Separating the gas into a first gas stream and a second gas stream;
B. Mixing the first gas stream with the liquid in an atomization zone under conditions in which the liquid is atomized by the gas to form an atomized mixture comprising a gas component and a liquid component, the liquid component in atomized or small droplet form;
C. Mixing the atomized mixture with the second gas stream in a mixing zone under conditions in which the
Dresselhaus Helmut
McCormick Stephen A.
Newman Michael D.
Cohen Joshua L.
The BOC Group Inc.
Wong Leslie
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