This study has used engineering methods to obtain data on
coconut milk fouling over a range of temperatures covering the
heating section of pasteurization in plate heat exchangers
(50e54.5, 60e64.5, and 70e74.5 C) and fluid flowrate (2, 4, and 6
LPM). Most of the conditions, the fouling period lasting approximately
2 h was then followed by a post-fouling period. The results
show that a decrease in operating temperature and fluid flowrate
resulted in an increase in values of fouling factor at the end of the
experiments due to multiple processes of fouling taking place
simultaneously. Effect of temperature on the fouling compositions
was also reported to confirm the results of the heat transfer. A
statistical model was finally proposed for the rate of increase of the
Biot number for the last 2 h as a function of fluid temperature and
flowrate. This empirical model would be useful for design and
operation of pasteurization process of coconut milk.