a b s t r a c t
The venting operation in retorts operating under steam pressure is an important step in the sterilization
process and it aims to steam flush the air from inside the equipment in order to ensure sterilization
safety.
This
part
of
the
process
is
short
in
time
but
intensive
in
steam
consumption,
and
hence
this
study
evaluated an
alternative
venting
operation
based
on
the
use
of
water
to
displace
the
air,
aimed
at
reducing
this
energy
consumption.
The
objective
was
to
evaluate
the
energy
consumption
in
a
steam
retort
loaded
with thermally
convective
and
conductive
products,
comparing
the
conventional
and
alternative
venting
processes. The steam flow rates showed that the alternative venting process reduced steam consumption
by up to 50% as compared to conventional venting.