What is Electrohydrodynamic processing? What does electrohydrodynamic mean?

- The investigation of relationships that exists between ionized particles, or molecules, and the
surrounding fluid and electric fields is the simplest definition of electrohydrodynamics (EHD)
which can also be referred to as electrokinetics or electro-fluid-dynamics (EFD) (Novosselov,
Aliseda, Vaddi, & Yifei, 2018), (Vaddi, Guan, & Novosselov, 2018).
- The study of the flow of electrically charge particles or plasma induced by having high voltage
electrodes that ionize surrounding particles.

Summarized definition of electrohydrodynamics:

- The investigation and the determination of the relationships that exists between the flow of
electrically-charge particles (plasma) and the surrounding high voltage electrodes that induces
that particular flow. Electrohydrodynamics (EHD) can also be called electrokinetics, or electro-
fluid-dynamics.

List all the applications of electrohydrodynamic processing in food industries and kindly explain them.

Electrospraying

- Electrospraying is a cost-effective, flexible, and facile method has been used in the
pharmaceutical industry, and thanks to its wide variety of uses such as bioactive compound
encapsulation, micronization, and food-product coating. It uses a jet of polymer solution for
processing food and food-derived products. The size of the droplet can be extremely small up to
nanometers and can be regulated by altering applied voltage and flow rate. It uses less solvent
and products are obtained in one step with a very high encapsulation efficiency. Encapsulation
provided using it protects bioactives from moisture, thermal, oxidative, and mechanical stresses,
and thus provides them a good storage stability which will help in increasing the application of
these ingredients in food formulation. Has the enormous potential for increasing the shelf life of
fruit and vegetables through coating and improvement of eating quality.

Summarized Version for Electrospraying

Electrospraying is being offered as more cost-effective, flexible, and facile method compared to
the spray drying commonly used in the industry. Its wide variety of uses includes bioactive compound
encapsulation, micronization, and food-product coating.

Electrospraying works by using a jet of polymer solution for processing food and food-derived
products. It uses less solvent and the encapsulation this process provides protects bioactives from
conditions which are deemed to be destructive to them (moisture, thermal, oxidative, and mechanical
stresses). For this reason, electrospraying increases the stability of the food ingredients in storage,
therefore also increases their appplications in food formulation.

Electrospinning

- A growing interest in the use of electrospun fibers in food industries has seen electrospinning of
biopolymers and the encapsulation of food inredients, enzymes, and other active compounds
related to the food industry. Proposed specific applications of such composites are active
 packaging or preservation of nutrient activity for consumption. Another benefit of
electrospinning food materials is for the introduction of different textures and bite to the food.
- In order to extend the shelf-life of foods, anti-microbial agent may be added to the elctrospun
fibers for use as a packaging material (active packaging).

Summarized version of electrospinning

Utilization of this process includes the electrospinning of biopolymers, and the encapsulation of
active compounds that plays a vital part in the food processing. Not only that, electrospinning has the
potential in the fabrication of materials of specific structure and functional properties, reasons why it
drawn attention in active food packaging. It can also be helpful in the introduction or addition of new
textures and bite to the food.

References

(An Introduction to Electrospinning for Food Industry, 2022) (Dhiman, Suhag, Singh, & Prabhakar, 2021)

An Introduction to Electrospinning for Food Industry. (2022, April 19). Retrieved from Electrospin Tech:
http://electrospintech.com/foodintro.html#.Yz5qkmQ_Vky

Dhiman, A., Suhag, R., Singh, A., & Prabhakar, P. (2021). Mechanistic Understanding and Potential
Application of Electrospraying in Food Processing: A Review. Critical Reviews in Food Science and
Nutrition, 1-19.

Jacobsen, C., Garcia, P. J., Mendes, A. C., Mateiu, R. V., & Chronakis, I. S. (2018). Use of
Electrohydrodynamic Processing for Encapsulation of Sensitive Bioactive Compounds andd
Applications in Food. Annual Review of Food Science and Technology, 525-549.

Novosselov, I., Aliseda, A., Vaddi, R., & Yifei, G. (2018). Experimental and Numerical Investigations of
Electrohydrodynamic flow in a Point-to-Ring Corona Discharge. Physical Review Fluids. Retrieved
from Chemeeurope.com.

Vaddi, R., Guan, Y., & Novosselov. (2018). Behavior of Ultrafine Particles in Electro-Hydrodynamic Flow
Induced by Corona Discharge.