Sterilization and Preservation Using Supercritical Carbon Dioxide

Contents: 1. Introduction. 2. Classification of Foods, Biomaterials and Microorganisms. 3. Characterisation Methods and Evaluation of Sterility. 4. Conventional Processes for Sterilisation and Preservation. 5. Processing with Supercritical Carbon Dioxide. 6. Sterilization and Preservation of Solid Foods with Supercritical CO2. 7. Sterilisation and Preservation of Liquid Foods Using Supercritical CO2. 8. Mechanism of Sterilization and Preservation Using Supercritical CO2. 9. Sterilization of Biomaterials and Biomedical Devices with SC CO2. 10. Clinical Sold Waste Management with ScCO2 Sterilization Technology.

The book encompasses potential applications of newly emerging green technologies using Supercritical Carbon Dioxide (scCO2) for effective sterilisation and preservation of three broad categories of substances, namely, (i) foods and pharmaceuticals, (ii) biomaterials and medical devices, and (iii) clinical solid wastes, including increased bio-load of PPE, masks, face shields, etc., to address the current pandemic problems. After presenting the importance of sterilisation and preservation, and adoption of the green scCO2 technology for this purpose, the book provides a detailed classification of foods, biomaterials and medical implants, and the microorganisms and enzymes responsible for their contamination. The book describes various methods of characterisation and evaluation of safety and sterility of the scCO2-processed products. The conventional sterilization technologies are discussed, highlighting the merits of the green emerging scCO2-technologies vis-a-vis the demerits of the existing ones. It also presents the unique characteristics of scCO2 and how these have been utilized in a variety of scCO2 processing applications. An in-depth knowledge is provided on the mechanism of sterilization and preservation using scCO2 without adversely affecting the quality of the material. A detailed description is presented about the processing techniques and effectiveness of the use of this technology, citing several case studies on liquid and solid foods, biomaterials and medical implants, and clinical solid wastes, without having any negative impact on the environment. This unique compilation will be immensely beneficial to a large number of academicians, researchers and Food and Pharmaceutical Industries, in addition to students of food engineering, pharmaceutical sciences, and waste management as a textbook.