Publication Details
Abstract
The topic of Brynza production, as an important part of the dairy industry, with its increasing demand for new precise and high-quality processing technologies, is therefore highlighted in this research; Nonetheless, the review identifies a clear gap in the current understanding of the coupled physicochemical phenomena controlling whey separation during ultrasonic treatment, indicating a lack of models for such emulsions and addressing it as a poorly explored area in multiphysical food processing modelling. In response a fully coupled mathematical model was developed and implemented and validated in the MATLAB/Simulink environment representing Darcy's law for filtration, Fick's equation for mass transfer, heat transfer equations, a phase transition model, and acoustic energy propagation. Ultrasonic treatment at 20–35 kHz and 45–55 °C was shown by the model to have optimal values for accelerating thermo akustyczne desorption, reducing the whey fraction in brynza from 62% to about 50% after 40 min, with maximum moisture desorption from stratum lacteum in 10–20 min and total enclosed energy is 60–70 kJ/kg. Ultimately, these results illustrate that ultrasound-assisted separation of whey is superior to conventional separation with respect to time, product, and energy utilization, meanwhile, the validated model offers a tool to predict the optimal processing parameters of industrial brynza (and brine cheese) production.