Process Uniformity During Electro-Thermal Applications and Modeling Approaches

This chapter brings a perspective to issues related to heating uniformity and modeling approaches of novel electrothermal technologies such as radio-frequency (RF) and microwave (MW) heating. Both RF (3 kHz–300 MHz) and MW (300 MHz–300 GHz) waves within the electromagnetic spectrum cause heat generation within foods as a result of molecular polarization and dipole rotation of existing water molecules (polar). RF and MW heating shows a great potential to achieve volumetric and rapid heat generation within food products, maintaining food quality and satisfying safety regulations in food industry compared with conventional heating systems.