REVIEW ARTICLE Multiphysics Simulation of Innovative Food Processing Technologies Kai Knoerzer • Roman Buckow • Francisco J. Trujillo • Pablo Juliano Received: 16 June 2014 / Accepted: 6 October 2014 Ó Springer Science+Business Media New York 2014 Abstract Innovative food processing technologies, such as high-pressure (low and high temperature), pulsed elec- tric field and ultrasound processing, can be applied to manufacture safe foods with better sensory and nutrition properties. These technologies can play an important role towards satisfying consumer demand for safe and innova- tive products, while reducing the carbon and water foot- print, to promote more sustainable food manufacturing. The design, application and optimisation of suitable equipment and the selection of process conditions for these technologies require further knowledge development. Computational fluid dynamics has been established as a tool for characterising, improving and optimising tradi- tional food processing technologies. Innovative technolo- gies, however, provide additional complexity and challenges because of the interacting Multiphysics phe- nomena. This review will highlight a number of Multi- physics modelling case studies for the characterisation of various processing aspects and optimisation of selected innovative technologies. The underlying inactivation mechanisms, efficiencies and design limitations of these technologies are currently still under investigation and will be discussed. Keywords Modelling  Simulation  High-pressure processing  Pulsed electric fields  Ultrasonics  Megasonics Introduction The food industry is an increasingly dynamic arena with consumers being more aware of what they eat and, more importantly, what they want to eat. Important food quality attributes such as taste, texture, appearance and nutritional content are strongly dependent on the way foods are processed. In recent years, a number of new and innovative food processing technologies, also referred to as ‘‘emerging’’ or ‘‘novel’’ technologies, have been proposed, investigated, developed and to some extent implemented with the aim to improve or replace conventional processing technologies. These technologies take advantage of physical phenomena other than heat, such as high hydrostatic pressure, dynamic sound pressure waves, or electric and electromagnetic fields, and provide the opportunity for the development of new food products or established food products with better acceptability and nutritional properties through gentle processing. Furthermore, these innovative technologies can potentially, through process intensification, lead to reduced energy and water consumption and, therefore, can play an important role towards economic and environmental sus- tainability of food processing and global food security by, for example, extending the shelf life of food products or expanding the shelf stable product spectrum [29]. In addition to the underlying thermo- and fluid- dynamic principles of conventional processing, these innovative technologies incorporate additional Multi- physics dimensions, for example, pressure waves and electric and electromagnetic fields, among others. To date, they still lack an adequate, complete understanding of the underlying physical principles and their interac- tions with the treated product [1]. The development and optimisation of suitable equipment to provide the K. Knoerzer (&)  R. Buckow  P. Juliano CSIRO Food and Nutrition Flagship, Melbourne, VIC, Australia e-mail: kai.knoerzer@csiro.au F. J. Trujillo School of Chemical Engineering, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia 123 Food Eng Rev DOI 10.1007/s12393-014-9098-3