TY  - JOUR
A1  - Jildeh, Zaid B.
A1  - Kirchner, Patrick
A1  - Oberländer, Jan
A1  - Vahidpour, Farnoosh
A1  - Wagner, Patrick H.
A1  - Schöning, Michael Josef
T1  - Development of a package-sterilization process for aseptic filling machines: A numerical approach and validation for surface treatment with hydrogen peroxide
JF  - Sensor and Actuators A: Physical
N2  - Within the present work a sterilization process by a heated gas mixture that contains hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) is validated by experiments and numerical modeling techniques. The operational parameters that affect the sterilization efficacy are described alongside the two modes of sterilization: gaseous and condensed H₂O₂. Measurements with a previously developed H₂O₂ gas sensor are carried out to validate the applied H₂O₂ gas concentration during sterilization. We performed microbiological tests at different H₂O₂ gas concentrations by applying an end-point method to carrier strips, which contain different inoculation loads of Geobacillus stearothermophilus spores. The analysis of the sterilization process of a pharmaceutical glass vial is performed by numerical modeling. The numerical model combines heat- and advection-diffusion mass transfer with vapor–pressure equations to predict the location of condensate formation and the concentration of H₂O₂ at the packaging surfaces by changing the gas temperature. For a sterilization process of 0.7 s, a H₂O₂ gas concentration above 4% v/v is required to reach a log-count reduction above six. The numerical results showed the location of H₂O₂ condensate formation, which decreases with increasing sterilant-gas temperature. The model can be transferred to different gas nozzle- and packaging geometries to assure the absence of H₂O₂ residues.
Y1  - 2020
U6  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.sna.2019.111691
SN  - 0924-4247
VL  - 303
IS  - 111691
PB  - Elsevier
CY  - Amsterdam
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Vahidpour, Farnoosh
A1  - Guthman, Eric
A1  - Arreola, Julia
A1  - Alghazali, Yousef H. M.
A1  - Wagner, Torsten
A1  - Schöning, Michael Josef
T1  - Assessment of Various Process Parameters for Optimized Sterilization Conditions Using a Multi-Sensing Platform
JF  - Foods
N2  - In this study, an online multi-sensing platform was engineered to simultaneously evaluate various process parameters of food package sterilization using gaseous hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂). The platform enabled the validation of critical aseptic parameters. In parallel, one series of microbiological count reduction tests was performed using highly resistant spores of B. atrophaeus DSM 675 to act as the reference method for sterility validation. By means of the multi-sensing platform together with microbiological tests, we examined sterilization process parameters to define the most effective conditions with regards to the highest spore kill rate necessary for aseptic packaging. As these parameters are mutually associated, a correlation between different factors was elaborated. The resulting correlation indicated the need for specific conditions regarding the applied H₂O₂ gas temperature, the gas flow and concentration, the relative humidity and the exposure time. Finally, the novel multi-sensing platform together with the mobile electronic readout setup allowed for the online and on-site monitoring of the sterilization process, selecting the best conditions for sterility and, at the same time, reducing the use of the time-consuming and costly microbiological tests that are currently used in the food package industry.
KW  - spore kill rate
KW  - sterility
KW  - aseptic parameters
KW  - multi-sensing platform
KW  - gaseous hydrogen peroxide
Y1  - 2022
U6  - http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/foods11050660
SN  - 2304-8158
N1  - This article belongs to the Special Issue "Sensors and Biosensors Application for Food Industries"
VL  - 11
IS  - 5
PB  - MDPI
CY  - Basel
ER  -