Conceptual design of a mass parallelized PEF microreactor

This article describes the conceptual design of a mass parallelized pulsed electric field (PEF) microreactor, where microorganisms are inactivated by short, high electric field pulses. Since the advantages of a PEF microreactor are related to the small size, the throughput of a microreactor can only be increased by mass parallelization. A novel design based on a microsieve is introduced, where the residence time in the pores determines the electric treatment time. The design is evaluated on electrical, energy and pressure aspects. The design window is illustrated by an example.