North Carolina State University

United States of America, As Represented by the Secretary of Agriculture

Industrial Microwave Systems, Inc.

The United States of America As Represented by the Department of Agriculture

Gary Dean Cartwright

Kenneth R Swartzel

Josip Simunovic

Kandiyan Puthalath Sandeep

Pablo Coronel

Van-Den Truong

David L Parrott

Methods and apparatuses for thermally treating flowable materials using electromagnetic radiation, and foods and materials obtained thereby. Also provided are methods of continuous flow thermal treatment of biomaterials, apparatuses for performing the same, and products prepared using the methods and/or apparatuses.

Methods and apparatuses for thermal treatment of foods and other biomaterials, and products obtained thereby

An apparatus and method for controlling the flow of a process material from a higher pressure environment to a lower pressure environment is provided. Each of a first and second chamber is divided into a product region and a control region by a flexible boundary. Inlet and outlet flow control devices provide fluid communication between each product region and a material input line and a material output line, respectively. A chamber control device is arranged to provide fluid communication between the control region of each chamber, which is filled with a non-compressible fluid. As product fills the product region of one chamber, fluid is displaced from the corresponding control region and into the control region of the other chamber. As the control region of the other chamber expands, product is forced out of the corresponding product region and into the material output line. The product region of each chamber is alternately filled and emptied to produce a continuous transport of material.

Method for controlling flow of process materials

Apparatus and method for controlling flow of process materials

Growing community of inventors

Apex, NC, United States of America

Gary Dean Cartwright