Energy balances in food processing

Abstract This chapter analyzes the importance of energy conservation in food industry and in some food factories with intensive energy consumption. Energy balances are presented as tools of great interest in food processing equipment design and in the optimization of energy use in food processing. The general expressions of the energy balances are explained on a macroscopic and microscopic scale, and their application to systems in steady state and unsteady state is analyzed, considering systems with and without exothermic character (fermentation, respiration, germination, and other biochemical reactions). For the explanation of each of the energy balances, application examples are provided in different food and beverage manufacturing processes and in energy auxiliary systems of food plants, such as refrigeration systems. Finally, the energy audit and the different devices and systems that can be used in the experimental measurements of energy consumptions in food processing are examined.