Connect fundamental HPH principles directly to industrial process optimisation

Industrial high-pressure homogenisers have operated for over a century, yet mechanistic understanding has only recently emerged. High-Pressure Homogenisation connects these fundamental insights with practical applications in food, pharmaceutical, petroleum, and chemical processing. Written by Andreas Håkansson, who has authored more than 70 peer-reviewed papers on emulsification devices, this reference bridges valve hydrodynamics theory with scale-up, process design, and optimisation strategies.

The book progresses through four major sections: HPH valve hydrodynamics examining turbulence, cavitation, elongational shear, and impingement; emulsion drop breakup with laboratory-to-production scale-up guidance; cell, particle, and fiber processing discussions; and industrial application overviews with operating parameter guidelines. Computational fluid dynamics visualisations clarify complex phenomena throughout each section's detailed case studies.

Readers will also find:

• Detailed analysis of turbulence, cavitation, elongational shear, wear, and impingement phenomena across three distinct HPH valve regions
• Practical guidance on scaling up from laboratory to production-scale homogenisers with specific valve design adoption strategies for industry
• Case studies thoroughly presented and discussed in each chapter to provide an in-depth industrial perspective on real-world applications
• Supporting information on engineering mathematics, computational fluid dynamics, fluid mechanics, and colloidal science as necessary for understanding
• Guidelines for operating parameters across major industrial applications including processing line placement and performance optimisation strategies

High-Pressure Homogenisation serves chemists, biochemists, protein chemists, food chemists, and chemical engineers who require mechanistic understanding of HPH processes. This reference enables professionals to design better processes, scale up applications more effectively, and reduce the energy costs associated with industrial homogenisation operations.

Preface vii
Acknowledgements ix
Nomenclature xi

Part A Introduction 1

1 High-pressure Homogenisation - An Introduction 3
2 Industrial Applications 11

Part B Valve Hydrodynamics 25

3 A Hydrodynamic Overview 27
4 Valve Flow-fields 55
5 Cavitation 109
6 Wear 145

Part C Emulsification 167

7 The Mechanism of Drop Breakup 169
8 Emulsifiers and Coalescence 199
9 Emulsification Performance 223

Part D Disruption of Cells, Cell Structures and Macromolecules 249

10 Cell Disruption 251
11 Macromolecule Disruption 267

Appendix A Kolmogorov-Hinze Theory 277
Index 287