FD25401 Heat and Mass Transfer in Food Processing – Semester IV – Food – R-2025

Subject Code & Name: FD25401 – Heat and Mass Transfer in Food Processing

Regulation: R-2025

Semester: IV (Fourth Semester)

Branch: B.Tech. Food Technology (Food)

Credits / L-T-P: 5 Credits | L-T-P: 3-0-4

Course Objectives

• To familiarize conduction heat transfer mechanisms; to expose the mechanisms of free and forced convection; to develop shape factor algebra for radiation; to demonstrate phase change mechanics in heat exchangers; and to master molecular diffusion and convective mass transfer principles.

Full Unit-wise Syllabus

Unit I – Conduction

Introduction - Steady State Conduction in one and two-dimensional systems - Composite systems - Extended surfaces.

Practical: Determination of the thermal conductivity of a material; unsteady heat transfer boundary estimation; calculation of the overall heat transfer coefficient (U) inside a packed bed heat exchange network. Determination of heat transfer co-efficient of double pipe heat exchanger.

Activities: Application of conduction in food industries. Numerical spreadsheet modeling mapping unsteady-state freezing intervals within cold storage zones.

Unit II – Convection

Basic concepts - Heat transfer coefficients - Boundary layers - Forced convection - External and Internal flows - correlations - Natural convection.

Practical: Experimental determination of heat transfer coefficients by natural and forced convection mechanisms; calculation of molal humidity profiles using an industrial cooling tower pilot plant. Determination of economy and thermal efficiency of rotary flash evaporator.

Activities: Application of convection in food industries. Mathematical problem-solving sessions optimizing forced convection air paths inside commercial blast freezers.

Unit III – Radiation and Heat Exchangers

Radiation heat transfer concept of black and grey body - monochromatic Total emissive power Kirchhoff’s law Planck’s law - Stefan- Boltzmann’s law. Heat exchangers parallel, counter and cross flow- Logarithmic Mean Temperature Difference (LMTD) overall coefficient of heat transfer in shell and tube heat exchanger for food products.

Practical: Determination of the Stefan-Boltzmann constant and surface emissivity; performance testing of liquid drying rate mapping using tray dryers and pan dryers. Determination of heat transfer co-efficient using pan dryer.

Activities: Application of radiation and heat exchangers in food industries. Sizing calculations comparing shell-and-tube versus plate exchangers for processing highly viscous dairy or beverage streams.

Unit IV – Introduction to Mass Transfer

Basics of mass transfer - Fick's laws of diffusion - mechanisms of mass transfer - Molecular diffusion, Fick's first and second laws, steady- state and non-steady-state diffusion, diffusion in solids and liquids, diffusion coefficients.

Practical: Performance evaluation and mass balance execution of simple distillation and packing tower systems.

Activities: Role of Mass Transfer in Food Processing and Everyday Foods. Solving molecular gas diffusion boundary layer constants inside modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) configurations.

Unit V – Convective Mass Transfer

Fundamentals of convective mass transfer, boundary layer theory, mass transfer coefficients in laminar and turbulent flow, dimensionless numbers, applications of mass transfer in bio and food industries.

Practical: Performance evaluation of multi-component steam distillation and bubble-cap fractionation columns.

Activities: Application of convective mass transfer to real food processes. Industrial simulation project mapping convective moisture loss and oil absorption profiles during long-duration deep-fat frying.

List of Experiments

• Determination of thermal conductivity for one dimensional steady state conduction
• Determination of heat transfer co-efficient by unsteady heat transfer
• Determination of heat transfer co-efficient by natural convection
• Determination of heat transfer co-efficient by forced convection
• Determination of Stefan-Boltzmann constant
• Determination of emissivity using emissivity apparatus
• Determination of overall heat transfer for film wise and drop wise condensation
• Determination of overall heat transfer co-efficient for a parallel and counterflow heat exchange
• Experimentation on mass transfer
• Determination of overall heat transfer co-efficient for a fluidized bed heat transfer

Course Outcomes (COs)

• CO1: Understand the principles of steady-state and unsteady-state heat conduction in composite food processing systems.
• CO2: Apply convective heat transfer principles and determine heat transfer coefficients using dimensionless correlations and thermodynamic relationships.
• CO3: Design heat exchanger systems using LMTD and NTU methods for food processing applications involving different fluid properties and viscosities.
• CO4: Analyze molecular diffusion and mass transfer phenomena using Fick's laws across liquid, gaseous, and biological systems.
• CO5: Evaluate the performance and efficiency of industrial mass transfer operations such as distillation, drying, and dehydration processes.

Assessment Pattern (Quick Note)

• Weightage: Continuous Assessment 40% | End Semester Examinations 60%
• Internal methodology: Continuous Assessment (50% Weightage): • Internal Theory Examinations (Assessment 1 & 2): 40% • Laboratory Practical Work Performance, Lab Viva, and Journals: 30% • Module Activities Component: 30% (Calculated from numerical modeling assignments, software-based simulations, and quizzes) End Semester Examination (50% Weightage): • Combined Theory (60% weightage) and Practical Engineering Examination (40% weightage)

Source: Official Anna University – B.Tech. Food Technology R-2025 Syllabus
Last Updated: October 2026