This book is designed to explain and illustrate how food processing opΒ erations can be made more efficient and profitable through the application of computers in the laboratory, pilot plant, and production plant floor of industrial food processing plants. It is intended to provide a sufficient unΒ derstanding of how computer system concepts can be applied to food proΒ cessing operations to permit technical managers, with the assistance of food engineering professionals, to identify, develop, and implement comΒ puter applications to meet their own specific needs. The book should also serve as a useful text or guide for students in food engineering or food technology seeking a practical course on food process automation at the undergraduate-graduate level interface. The material covered includes the use of microcomputers for automated data acquisition and analysis in the laboratory and pilot plant, followed by the use of computer-based process control systems on the production plant floor. Higher-level applications are also included to illustrate the use of engineering software containing mathematical models for computer simulation, optimization, and intelligent on-line control of specific food processing unit operations.
