Microwave technology for pest control and drying of agro-food products

Kurzfassung

An Italian SME with expertise in electromagnetic energy applications has developed an innovative microwave technology for pest control & drying of agro-food products (rice, dates, dried fruits, corn, wheat & legumes). It is an effective & ecological alternative to the unsafe, polluting chemical methods currently used for pest control in the agro-food industry. The SME is interested in commercial agreements with agro-food companies or in technical cooperation with public or private organisations.

Details

Traditional techniques of foodstuff disinfestations based on the use of chemicals can cause several health problems among the operators, but also among the consumers because of the unavoidable presence of noxious residues in the treated products.
Thanks to consolidated know-how and attentive research on the effects deriving from dielectric heating at hyper-frequencies, an Italian SME has developed an innovative microwave technology to replace the techniques using fumigation with toxic gases (mainly methyl bromide) banished by the Protocol of Montreal. The microwave technology can be applied to different kinds of agro-food products including rice, dates, dried fruits, corn, wheat and vegetables for treatments of disinfestations and/or drying, ensuring product integrity in terms of preservation of savour and nutritional properties.
Microwave treatments rely on the absorption of electromagnetic energy by water molecules contained in the pests infesting the foodstuff under treatment, which is transformed into heat, leading to the pests’ death within a few minutes.
In fact, most infesting biological agents do not survive over a certain temperature called lethal temperature, generally between 55°C and 60°C, which can be rapidly reached through microwave irradiation.
One of the technological solutions that have been conceived by the company is a dynamic device for non-stop treatments. It is a modular tunnel fitting every productive capacity needs, composed of shielded and electrically connected elements ensuring a totally shielded electromagnetic system. Each unit is properly studied in order to optimise the reverberation process and to allow the treatment of a great deal of products
The particular modular configuration of the system enables its complete integration in a pre-existing production cycle, without bringing mechanical/structural changes in the installation place.

Innovative Aspects:
This microwave technology represents an innovation with comparison to the commonly used methods, which are generally long, unsafe for operators, polluting for the environment, and not totally efficacious.

The improvements that this new technology introduces are significant in terms of:
- High efficacy of the disinfestations against all pests whatever their life stage is.
- Rapidity: the treatment takes a few minutes.
- Safety for the operators.
- Greater energy-efficiency.
- Preservation and integrity of the product quality (savour and nutritional properties).
- Absence of toxic residues in the treated product.
- Automation of the process.
- Compliance with the international environmental rules and with the requirements of the Montreal Protocol.
- Lower costs thanks to the process rapidity.