hope that the awarding of this prize will stimulate further research in this

area." The above incident epitomizes what is interesting about the

he 1995 Ig Nobel Prize in Physics [1], a highly popular spoof of its true technology used in the food industry: On one hand, the finished product is
counterpart, was awarded to D.M.R. Georget, R. Parker, and A.C. Smith of a commodity
the Institute of Food Research, Norwich, England, for their "rigorous rarely associated with scientific or engineering know-how, easily
analysis of soggy breakfast cereal" [2]. Apparently, the prize committee recognizable, and available at an affordable cost. To wit, the English
judged that the analysis of processed vernacular, among others, is widely interspersed with
food properties warranted little
POTATO CHIPS metaphorical colloquialisms borrowed from food and cooking,
scientific rigor and bordered on the AN D M IC R O CH IPS such as "to accept something with a grain of salt" or "to offer
a half-baked product." On the other hand, while there is an
humorous. The authors accepted the
prize with gratitude and offered the
A RE M O RE SIM ILA R abundance of processed-food humor [4], [5]—tasteful or not,
following gracious acceptance speech THAN COM M ONLY BELIEVED pun intended—food
aspect, including
processing is a serious enterprise in every
science, technology, business, and public
[3]: "In our study of compaction of
breakfast cereal flakes, we did health. The purpose of this article is to focus on technological
not leave them turned tongue-in-cheek MICHAEL NIKOLAOU issues related to snack food manufacturing processes [6].
or use any other sensory technique. Rather, we set out to relate macroscale Specifically, we posit that this technology can be surprisingly
mechanical properties to changes in the scale of constituent food particle sophisticated. While we elaborate on specific examples, we also
molecules. This provides valuable insights into texture. So what does this
mean for the manufacturer, and to you, the consumer? Well, it's all about
the quest for the ultimate breakfast cereal-eating experience. I

A
N
 stress that it is not our aim to exhaustively cover this diverse processes. Following [16], we offer a'short description along
and evolving field. In particular, we emphasize process with more details in "Extrusion Cooking" and "Continuous
monitoring and control solutions as well as the challenges of Immersion Frying."
salty snack food processes. Undoubtedly, there are other
success stories that can be told. We hope that this article Extrusion Cooking
stimulates interest in both the snack food manufacturing and An extrusion cooker (Figures 1 and 2) is essentially a high-
control communities to promote creative control ideas. temperature, short-time plug-flow bioreactor that combines into
a single unit multiple unit operations: a) mixing of raw
SNACK FOOD BUSINESS materials—such as various ground grains and water, b)
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, "the snack food industry shearing/kneading, and c) heating or cooking, using the heat
comprises establishments primarily engaged in one or more of released by friction inside the extruder [17]-[19]. For many
the following: 1) salting, roasting, drying, cooking, or canning extrusion cooking processes, the last function may be followed
nuts; 2) processing grains or seeds into snacks; 3) by puffing (hence the term "puffed snacks"), namely, abrupt
manufacturing peanut butter; and 4) manufacturing potato expansion of high-temperature plasticized and gelatinized
chips, corn chips, popped popcorn, pretzels (except soft), pork starch from a pressurized chamber into the atmosphere [6]. As
rinds, and similar snacks [7]." The snack food industry sector is usually the case for processes that combine unit operations in
also includes "consumer-ready packaged chocolate and a single unit (such as in reactive distillation), control of
nonchocolate candies, cookies and crackers, unpopped popcorn, extrusion cooking processes is a formidable challenge due to
and meat snacks [8]." The list of snack food products is strong coupling among many imprecisely understood
growing steadily as competition, new knowledge in nutrition phenomena. Additional challenges are posed by variability of
science [9], [10], regulatory mandate, and self-imposed raw materials, process modeling difficulties, equipment wear,
guidelines for healthful public nutrition force companies to and external and internal disturbances.
introduce snacks with refined features such as new raw material
basis, improved texture, shape, color, flavor, and nutritional
content [11], [12]. The last factor, in particular, has had a
significant effect in recent years as Americans' dietary habits
fluctuate, in response to scientific advances, governmental Extrusion Cooking

E
guidelines, commercial offerings, social fads, and personal xtrusion is a fabrication process in which a softened
preferences. The world snack food market reached an estimated material is forced continuously through a die by a screw
$66 billion in 2003, with the United States accounting for about rotating in a barrel (Figure 1). Extrusion cookers use heat
a third [8]. As lifestyles in other parts of the world become released in extrusion to form and cook foods of various
more westernized, the global demand for snack foods continues shapes and textures. These devices offer significant advan-
to increase and evolve. The market is dominated by a few major tages over alternative cooking methods, including continuous
companies [13] concentrating on efficiencies in their supply high-throughput processing, energy efficiency, processing of
chain, manufacturing, and distribution as well as on process and dry viscous materials, improved textural and flavor
product development, market research, and advertising. characteristics of foods, control of thermal changes of food
However, many small companies are also flourishing by constituents, and use of unconventional ingredients.
concentrating on specialty snacks for which the consumer is Single-screw extrusion cookers were developed in the 1940s to
willing to pay a premium. make puffed snacks from cereal flours or grits. As size grew
to realize economies of scale, extrusion cookers were used for
SNACK FOOD MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGY an increasing array of food products in the 1960s and 1970s.
Along with technology for manufacturing snack foods, food Twin-screw extruders [21], which were developed in the
science is of paramount importance for this field. By including 1970s and gained market share in the 1980s, are now widely
elements of physical, chemical, and biological sciences, food preferred for their improved conveying and mix-ing
science is a truly interdisciplinary field of remarkable capabilities, interchangeable screw profiles, expanded
complexity and considerable breadth and has frequently operational capabilities, and extended range of application.
contributed to, rather than simply benefited from, its Extrusion cooking is used to manufacture food products such as
constitutive scientific fields. Harold McGee [14], [15] offers a puffed snacks, macaroni, ready-to-eat breakfast cereals,
palatable introduction to the chemistry and physics of foods breadings, croutons, soup bases, drink bases, and pregela-
and cooking for the scientifically inclined casual reader and tinized starch. Interestingly, pet foods are the largest product
inquisitive engineer. Technology for manufacturing snack group manufactured by extrusion cooking, far exceeding the
foods involves a small number of quantity of extruded human food products [22].
' ' '■'■••:."'

AUGUST 2006 « IEEE CONTROL SYSTEMS MAGAZINE 41

 Continuous Imm ersion Frying
I mmersion frying, the cooking of foods by immersion in hot edible
oil, is widely used commercially to make fried foods such as
potato chips, French fries, doughnuts, extruded snacks, and fish
sticks. Immersion frying offers high heat transfer rates and imparts
a characteristic flavor, texture, and color to the final product [23].
Of the more than 2.5 million tons of snacks produced in the United
States each year, most are immersion fried. The main phenomena of
relevance to control of quality-related variables in immersion frying at
the fried-food resolution level are the following:
» heat transfer (from the hot oil to the surface and interior of
the food) » mass transfer (evaporation of moisture from the
food and
transfer of oil into the food) » browning (Maillard reactions
between amino acids and reducing sugars).
Frying
Frying is a process in which a snack is cooked by floating or
immersion in hot oil. Continuous fryers (Figure 3) are used
for large-scale operations (~5,000 lb/h throughput), while
batch (kettle-style) fryers are experiencing a comeback among
small scale producers (<200 lb/h) who concentrate on
specialty products. In addition to providing heat for cooking,
the frying oil becomes a significant component of the end
product, varying from as little as 10% by weight in breaded
fish sticks to 40% in potato chips [6]. Responding to
consumer preferences, the snack food industry is now
emphasizing good-tasting, low-fat
FIGURE 1 Twin-screw extrusion cooking system. The first barrel is a
preconditioner, which is used in conjunction with the extruder to
increase residence time, reduce mechanical power consumption,
and increase capacity. A cooling jacket around the extruder,
instrumented with thermocouples in various places, provides
temperature control. (Used with permission of Wenger
Manufacturing, Inc.)
Additional biochemical reactions that take place constitute a
complex system.
At the process scale, a continuous fryer is a plug-flow
reactor (Figure 3). A typical continuous frying system
involves the following units (Figure 5): a long (-8-15 m) and
shallow (~1 m) tank containing the frying oil; a pumping system
that pumps and filters the frying oil; a heat exchanger system
that transfers heat to the frying oil; a system of conveyors that
move the product into, through, and out of the fryer; and a fume
exhaust system for removing hot vapors generated during
frying.
Invented as "Saratoga" chips in 1853 [24], potato chips
(crisps in the United Kingdom) became widely available
commercially after the invention of continuous slicing and frying in
the 1920s and grew in popularity during the Depression era, to
eventually become the quintessential American snack.
*s ■■■:,.':'
snacks. Although conceptually simple, the design and
operation of manufacturing processes for fried snacks poses
interesting challenges. The key concern is low-cost
production of nutritious snacks at consistent quality and
minimum waste.
Baking
In baking processes, snacks are cooked by heat transferred
through the air by convection, conduction, or radiation. The
effectiveness of each of these mechanisms varies with oven
and product design and is generally lower than that of heat
transfer based on liquids such as oil. Baking does not
contribute any added fat to the finished snack, potentially
resulting in more healthful products, which /explains the
recent surge in the popularity of baked snacks.
Drying
Drying is required for several snacks to develop the right
crispness. Puffed snacks, for example, must be dried after
extrusion to achieve moisture content sufficiently low (to
~4%) to ensure good texture and storage stability. Because a
puffed snack with moisture level above or below normal feels
stale or spongy, there is a need for accurate control of the
drying process.
Additional Processes
While the above processes constitute the heart of most snack
food manufacturing lines, where practically all cooking
occurs, there are additional processes and equipment that are
important for the operation of an entire line.
Oil, powder, and granule applicators, including oil and
cheese sprayers, powder dispensers, electrostatic salters, and
coating tumblers, are used for snack flavoring after cooking
has been completed. By covering the same basic
 W
a D
substrate with different flavorings, this
r
equipment creates multiple products using a
single production line.

Storage of raw materials is of high

importance given that raw materials are
natural products that have limited life and can
be seriously affected by storage conditions.
For instance, the sugar content of potatoes
increases when potatoes are stored at low
temperature (2-4 °C) due to slowing of sugars
breakdown to carbon dioxide and water. Sugar
content can be lowered back to an acceptable
level (<0.2-0.4%) by reconditioning through
storage above 13 °C for several weeks prior to
use. The acceptable sugar content in potatoes
FIGURE 2 Simplified schematic of twin-screw extrusion cooker. In food extrusion, the
ensures that Malliard (browning) reactions and most effective manipulated variables are water and dry-ingredient feed rates, extru-
resulting undesirable dark spots on fried potato date and barrel temperatures, and screw speed [57].
chips are avoided.
Measuring and weighing equipment is used throughout to
also used between the main processing steps. Depending on
provide information about the quality and quantity of the raw
the kind of snack being made, additional equipment may be
materials being processed. Such information (for instance,
used, such as nut-processing equipment, blanch-ers, roasters,
density or size of raw materials) is often used to adjust
and coolers. Finally, packaging design and related equipment
process conditions in a feedforward fashion.
greatly affect the shelf life of the finished product. From a
Sorting equipment is used at various stages of snack
process control viewpoint, ensuring that the weight of
processing, such as in the sorting of potatoes to make chips of
packaged snacks is as close to but certainly not below the
uniform size. Various kinds of solids transfer equipment, such
value specified on the package has obvious economic
as conveyor belts and screw feeders, are
implications.
(a) (b)

FIGURE 3 (a) A high-capacity (4,200 Ib/h) continuous frying

system, shown with the oil circulation and heat-exchanger, (b) A
compact (400 Ib/h) continuous fryer with the top raised for cleaning
and maintenance. The quality of fried chips is quantified by
specifications on moisture content, oil content, and color. A
common disturbance is product load changes. Quality is
controlled mainly by manipulating the residence time and frying
temperature of the chips in the fryer. A submerger (electrically
operated metallic belt with equidistant paddles perpendicular to
the belt; see Figure 5) is used to manipulate residence time. The
speed of the submerger's electric motor is adjusted so that
submerged chips travel at the desired speed. To manipulate the
frying temperature, oil circulates continuously between the fryer
and heat exchanger. Multiple injection points of hot oil are used to
ensure the desired temperature profile along the fryer according
to cooking preferences. Because part of the frying oil leaves with
the chips, the oil must be continuously replenished. In addition to
creating fast process dynamics, low oil volume and rapid oil
turnover ensure fresh product with a long shelf life. A level
controller maintains the oil level at its optimum. (Used with
permission of Heat and Control, Inc.)
CONTROL ISSUES IN SNACK FOOD PROCESSES media is common in snack food manufacturing, such as recirculation
of cooking oil in continuous frying (Figure 5) or cooling water in
Controllability and Process Design extrusion cooking (Figure 2), but is in large part decoupled from
Snack food manufacturing processes are generally serial (Figure 4) product throughput. On the other hand, because processed materials
and thus are closer in nature to microelectronics manufacturing are solids, successive processing steps cannot be decoupled by use of
processes than to chemical plants. In particular, microelectronics intermediate storage tanks (the counterpart of surge tanks for fluids in
manufacturing entails several tens of elaborate steps to transform chemical industry processes) that would absorb throughput
silicon and other materials to finished microchips, whereas chemical fluctuations. As a result, throughput control must be tight and
plants usually rely on reactor/separator schemes that involve partial reliability must be high to avoid major process disruptions and
reaction of raw materials in a reactor, followed by separation of product loss [16].
nonreacted raw materials in a separator and recycling to the reactor The dynamic behavior of individual processes in snack food
for further conversion. The latter pose significant control challenges, manufacturing lines poses interesting control challenges. For example,
owing to time lags introduced by recycling streams. Recirculation of installation and maintenance costs limit the capability for intermediate
heating or cooling measurements related to product quality in many cooking units (such
as frying, extrusion cooking, and baking) that are similar in function
to plug-flow reactors familiar in chemical plants, thus introducing
dead times, typically on the order of 1 min, which create inherent
Control Feed Grinding
control limitations [25]. Time-varying behavior is frequently
<> , <> unavoidable, due to both raw-material and cooking-medium
Destoning and Washing Mixing variability as well as process drifting. Interactions among controlled
variables are often inevitable such as when oil replaces moisture
o
Peeling
<>
Preconditioning content in fried snacks. Nonlinearities frequently arise from the
kinetics of chemical reactions as well as from mass and energy
<> <>
Inspection Extrusion Cooking transport at multiple scales and complex geometries. A typical
example is process startup or shutdown, while a more exotic example
<> <>
Slicing Drying/Frying/Toasting is multiple steady states for the same values of the primary process
variables in extrusion cooking [26]. However, control near a steady
<> <> state can be effective using multivariable linear control methods [27].
Slice Washing Coating/Flavoring

~^^~ <> Selection of Measured and Manipulated Variables

Blanching Cooling
Snack food manufacturing processes involve control of process-
<> <> related and product-related variables. While controlling process-
Dewatering Inspection
related variables, such as cooking time or temperature, facilitates
<> <> control of product-related variables in an open-loop fashion, direct
Frying Packaging feedback control of product-related variables entails additional
^J*~ <> measurement requirements but is advantageous in controlling product
Inspection Distribution quality.
<> Controlling product-related variables is essential for ensuring
Flavoring product quality. While consumers can easily determine whether a
<> product is made to their liking, translating this perception to
Cooling specifications for a small number of product-related variables that can
be measured— preferably in real time or, at least, intermittently ir. an
<>
Packagina analytical laboratory—is difficult. Experience has shown that the
connection between product quality and measurable variables is not
<> always dear cut [28]. Snack food producers rely both on sensory-
Distribution
evaluation experts as well extensive statistical analysis of consumer
( te~: :e?_rs to ider.ur ■ =: iz.es that are correlated with p: . .: quality
(a) b zr.z :--::--.:-- optimal values for these varii rles, which

FIGURE 4 Examples of snack-food manufacturing lines, (a) Components of a

potato-chip production line. The inspection blocks involve visual inspection of
peeled raw potatoes or finished chips. Until recently, inspection was done
manually, a strenuous, labor-intensive task that entails removing unwanted
raw potato parts and off-spec chips, (b) Components of an extruded snack
production line. In both lines, the heart of the system is the reactor, that is, the
fryer or extrusion cooker.
 T
a

FIGURE 5 Schematic of a multizone continuous fryer. The dual submergers and oil inlets provide improved controllability. Key variables
associated with product quality are moisture content, oil content, and color, all of which can be measured in real time at the outlet. Key
manipulated variables are oil temperature, submerger speed, and take-out-conveyor speed. Secondary loops ensure that process variables
such as oil-bath level, oil temperature, and oil flow are maintained at desired values [16]. Because part of the oil leaves the fryer with the
fried chips, the oil is continuously replenished with fresh oil at controlled amounts, thus simultaneously suppressing oil rancidity in the fryer.

can be strictly confidential. For example, it is well established -nt's Council of Economic Advisers: "It doesn't e any
residt

that, for many fried snacks, moisture content, oil content, and difference whether a country makes potato chips or computer
color capture qualitative features such as crispness, extent of chips!")
cooking, and taste fairly well [16]. The availability of
inexpensive real-time imaging equipment facilitates quality
control by means of multivariate image analysis [29], [30].
Crispness is also routinely tested offline in the laboratory by
analyzing the frequency spectrum of the sound made when a
snack is crushed. Effectively using a blend of offline
laboratory and real-time measurements for process control
offers interesting challenges, similar to challenges
encountered in the chemical or microelectronics
manufacturing industries.
Historically, product-related variables were controlled by
open-loop manipulation of process variables, for instance, by
ensuring that the food was processed for a certain time. For
example, quality control of fried foods was ensured by
controlling the temperature of the frying oil and residence
time of the food in the fryer. Similarly, studies have connected
process variables such as energy release and throughput to the
quality of the finished product in extrusion cooking [31]-[34].
Interestingly, this situation is similar to control of product
quality variables in crucial steps of semiconductor chip
manufacturing, such as plasma etching of silicon wafers [16].
Indeed, the difficulty in taking real-time measurements of
product quality during plasma etching has resulted in the
dominant approach of the microelectronics industry in which
"ecipes" prescribe time profiles of process conditions
lL
t need to be precisely controlled (and begging for P1111'.
such as the one bv Michael J. Boskin, chair of the
 The availability of reliable and inexpensive sensors for
direct, real-time measurement of variables related to product
quality in the 1980s and 1990s rendered it commercially
possible to control these variables directly using computer-
aided feedback control [25], [27], prompting modeling and
control studies to elucidate both fundamental concepts and
practical aspects. For example, the empirical observation that
the oil content of fried chips is proportional to the square root
of residence time, used in recipe forming, was attributed to
heat and mass transfer mechanisms [25] as discussed below.
The availability of manipulated variables (actuators) that
render a process easier to control is largely dictated by process
design. For example, increased controllability is the main
reason that extrusion cookers (Figure 2) use a twin-rather than
single-screw configuration. For a similar reason, multizone
continuous fryers use multiple submergers (Figure 5) to make
it possible for fried snacks to travel at different speeds in
different zones of a fryer. As another example, when real-time
image processing is used to detect defective fried snacks, an
activated chute located under the transport path of fried snacks
rapidly opens and closes to ensure that unsatisfactorily fried
snacks are removed once they are detected. As an example
from the nut-processing industry, an air gun with multiple
nozzles is used to blow a suspect nugget out of a stream of
cracked nuts if infrared or laser-beam sensors detect poor
shape or color [35].
Control Structures
The control of snack food manufacturing processes is
multilevel, not unlike control of chemical processes (Figure
6). Explication of this multilevel structure provides guidance
for the rational design of control strategies at various levels,
from the manufacturing capacity level down to regulatorv
feedback control.
 Capacity Planning (Years)
Production Planning (Years/Months)
content of stored starchy raw materials, thickness of sliced
chips to be fried, moisture content of cooked snacks to be
dried, and cooking rate of products to be eventually packaged)
is often passed to subsequent steps for use in feedforward
control.

Scheduling (Months/Weeks/Hours)
C ontrol O bjectives, Constraints, and Control Law s
The control of quality characteristics of manufactured snacks
~?*>--------:------------------1 offers significant economic incentives. For example, waste
minimization in manufacturing lines offers a competitive edge
Predictive Control (Minutes/Seconds)
that largely determines the business viability of entire product
lines, even though manufacturing costs are in strong
competition with advertising and distribution costs, where
PID Control (Seconds) economies of scale are important. Therefore, a primary
objective is to manufacture product at the desired
specifications. For example, if the moisture content of a fried
Manufacturing Process snack chip is below specification, the product imparts a
scorched flavor, dark color, and excessive oiliness, while
above specification the product lacks crispness [37]. Meeting
FIGURE 6 The multilevel control hierarchy of snack food quality-related constraints that are advertised for the finished
manufacturing processes at multiple time scales is similar to the
hierarchy in other process industries. Decisions from upper levels product (such as low fat) is also important.
are passed to lower levels, whereas information from lower Because most raw materials for the snack food industry are
levels is passed upward. Because the time scale decreases as natural products, they can exhibit substantial variability. Such
one moves downward, decisions made at each level are assumed variability may be due to the variety of a particular crop,
to be instantly followed by the next lower level. Various
location of cultivation, weather conditions during crop
modeling and decision-making paradigms are used at different
levels. For example, explicit stochastic models, first-principles growing and harvesting, and storage conditions. Similar
models, and dynamic programming can be used at the planning concerns exist for other process industries, such as the
and scheduling levels, whereas empirical models and online petroleum, metal, and pulp and paper industries, which rely on
optimization or explicit control algorithms are used at the predictive the primary production sector for raw materials, respectively,
control and PID levels.
crude oil, metal ores, and timber. However, in contrast to
industries dealing with fluids that can be blended, such as the
To build manufacturing capacity, one has to consider
chemicals and oil-refining industries, the snack food industry
fluctuations in demand and changes in the appeal to
deals with products that can be neither blended nor reworked
consumers for the finished product. Manufacturing multiple
to meet quality specifications, making tight control all the
products in the same production line offers economies of scale
more crucial.
but creates additional operability and control challenges. To
As mentioned above, the availability of real-time sensors,
ensure controllability of large-scale snack food manufacturing
combined with inexpensive real-time computing power in the
lines, laboratory-scale proof of concept and pilot-plant testing
form of programmable-logic controllers (PLCs) and
are undertaken before full-scale production.
distributed control systems (DCSs) motivates the use of
Given that the raw material is a natural product, production feedback control approaches. Many of these approaches are
must be carefully planned. Supply-chain optimization can model based, raising questions about the level of detail at
provide significant returns. Production scheduling poses which a process must be modeled, the kind of model used (for
challenges because both the raw material and the finished example, first principles or empirical, linear or nonlinear,
product have limited storage time, and both supply and lumped or distributed parameter), the modeling accuracy
demand can fluctuate; for instance, think natural disasters or required for feedback control (for example, numerical
Super Bowl weekend. accuracy, fuzzy relationship accuracy) and the requirements
At the predictive control level [36], the availability of real- posed by the model for controller development and
time sensors for product quality variables facilitates the move maintenance [16]. Control-related modeling aspects of
away from recipe-based control to real-time feedback control, extrusion cooking are discussed in [38]-[40], while an early
where process conditions are cascaded as setpoints to case of feedback control of moisture in food extrusion is
underlying controllers. Because snack food manufacturing discussed in [41]. A more recent study of model predictive
processes are serial, information related to the quality of control is discussed in [27]. Modeling of immersion frying is
intermediate products (such as the sugar discussed in [42], while a multiscale model is discussed in
[43]. Along the same lines, modeling of a continuous fryer for
control is discussed in
46 IEEE CDNTROI SYSTEMS MAGAZINE » Al Ifil 1ST POOR
 [25], while modeling and control of continuous frying is heat and mass transfer occur only in the direction perpendicular
discussed in [44]-[47]. Finally, a thorough experimental study to the slice surface. We assume that moisture from the slice
on automated controller performance monitoring is discussed interior is transferred to the surface and then evaporates
in [48]. instantly, so that the rate of moisture evaporation is governed
by the diffusion rate of moisture to the surface [50], The oil
CASE STUDY: FRYER MODELING AND CONTROL uptake by the chip is also modeled as a diffusion process
We now illustrate modeling and control for a snack-food following Fick's law [51]. It is assumed that no temperature
manufacturing process, namely, continuous immersion frying. gradient exists across the chip, due to the small thickness and
While the modeling and control approaches are based on well- high heat conductivity of potato solids. For simplicity we also
established fundamentals, this system has interesting features assume that all slices are uniform with respect to thickness,
such as multiple scales, from a single potato chip to the moisture content, oil content, and solids content; shrinkage of a
production line, interactions among controlled variables, and chip during the frying process is negligible; the specific heat
time delays. and density of oil are constant over the range of operation; the
heat required for chemical changes such as starch gelatinization
Dynamic Model for a Continuous Fryer and browning (Maillard reactions) is negligibly small
A typical commercial fryer is around 11 m long and 30 cm deep compared to that required for vaporization of moisture [52];
(Figure 5). Before being fried, potatoes are peeled and cut into finally, heat losses to the environment are negligible.
thin slices, nominally 1.1 mm. These slices are washed to Let x and z denote horizontal and vertical coordinates along
remove surface starch released in the slicing operation and then the fryer, respectively (Figure 7). Energy balance for the oil
immersed into the hot end of the fryer. The motion of the slices phase along the fryer length scale (x-direction) yields
in the fryer is controlled by sub-merger
dT0 dT0 paddles, whose speed is adjusted to
---------h Vn------
dt dX maintain (a desired residence time for
the chips, Tusually around 2 min. (
During frying, the moisture content in the slices 1 Tc) ~ ^Nm,
L
falls from about 80% at pthe inlet of the fryer to around 2% {-poPo
at the exit of the fryer, while the fat content increases from 0%
to 40% by mass. The temperature of the circulating oil drops by where T0 = T0(t, x) is the oil temperature, assumed to vary in
20 °C, primarily due to the energy used to evaporate the the x direction only; v0 is the oil flow velocity; ht is the heat
moisture trapped inside the potato slices. The cooler oil exiting transfer coefficient between the oil and chip phase surface; Cp0
the fryer is then passed into a heat exchanger, where the oil is is the specific heat of the oil; p0 is the density of the oil; Tc =
reheated to the required temperature and pumped into the inlet Tc(t, x) is the temperature of the chip phase, assumed to vary in
of the fryer. The chips leaving the fryer are cooled and the x direction only; «j is the heat transfer area between the oil
transported for packaging. and chip surface per unit volume of oil; AH is the evaporation
For control purposes, a continuous fryer can be considered a heat of water; and Nm is the moisture flux at the surface of the
particulate two-phase flow system [49], where the oil and chips chip phase (x = Lc/2, where Lc is the chip-phase thickness, see
(slices) represent the continuous and dispersed phases, Figure 7), calculated as
respectively. The model describes how the oil temperature T0fl,
chip temperature Tchip, moisture content
Y M
»
1+MW+M0
oil content

X
0
M0 1 + Mw +
M0'
and chip color B change with time and space. Here, Mw and M0
are the moisture (water) and oil mass, respectively, per mass of
solids, and B refers to luminosity or light intensity at selected
frequencies, usually expressed in normalized, nondimensional
units.
We model a continuous fryer as a plug-flow reactor, that is, FIGURE 7 Coordinates for fryer modeling (fryer not drawn to scale).
a tubular chemical reactor with uniform velocity pattern over Oil temperature typically ranges between 150-190 °C. Moisture
its cross-sectional area. We assume constant temperature from inside the chip phase moves to the surface, where it instantly
gradient along each fryer cross section. Each potato slice is evaporates. At the same time, oil moves into the chip phase to fill
the void. The chip and oil phases travel at different velocities, as
considered as an infinite slab, which implies that the
shown in Figure 5.
f....... where Tf-{t) is the temperature of the chip phase at
................-.............■.........----------------------------......_— —........................................ ■—\

TABLE 1 Continuous fryer model param eters used in the case study. All the inlet of the fryer. Assuming that the fryer is
parameters values are typical and were obtained from open-literature initially at steady state, the initial condition for (5) is
references.
(
Parameter Sym
7 bol and Value Tc(0,x) = Tf(x).
Color reactions activation energy Eab = 23.34 kJ/mol
(Fitted from data in [55]) Because of significant moisture gradients in the
/cw = 0.2592 s-' chip phase both in the direction of and perpendicular
Color reactions kinetic constant
(Fitted from data in [55]) to the flow, mass balance for moisture content on the
Moisture diffusivity [50] D.M = D.M exp [^f 1 chip phase yields
Eaw = 24.2 kJ/mol
d2Mu '
0^ = 6.2317 x 10-6m2/s
3z2 dMw dMw
Oil diffusivity [50] D
( 0 = Do0 exp [^]
E8ao = 11.89 kJ/mol
d
Do0 = 8.8752 x 10-9m2/s
B x
Potato tuber Do
t density [52] pc = 1080 kg/m3
Potato tuber moisture content [52] XM = 81 wt%
where Mw = Mw(t, x, z) is the moisture in the chip
Oil specific heat [52] Cpo = 2093.0 J/kg-rC
phase, assumed to vary in both the x and z directions.
Oil density [52] p0 = 920 kg/m3
The boundary conditions are
Heat transfer coefficient between oil and ht = 650or250J/s-m2-'C
(
chip (boiling or nonboiling) surface [52] 9
Moisture heat of evaporation [52] . AH = 2.16892 x 106 J/kg
AW*, 0, z) = M£(Q at the
Moisture specific heat [52] Cpw = 4180 J/kg-°C
Chip specific heat [52] Cpc = 3050.0 J/kg-'-C inlet of the fryer;
-

=
(
1 Mw t, x

at the surface of the chip phase, because of instant

evaporation; and

dM d
u U (
dz 2(
3 1 {t, x, 0) = 0
Nm = CcDw z
z=Lc/2 at the center of the chip phase, because of symmetry. The initial
condition for (8) is
where cs is the solids density and Dw is the apparent diffusivity of
moisture. The boundary condition for (1) at the fryer inlet is (
1 Mw(fi,x,z)=M^(x,z).

( (4)
T0(t,Q) = Tf{t), 3 T0(P, x) = Tf(x),

where T0n(t) is the temperature of oil at the inlet of the fryer. where the superscript ss denotes steady state. Energy
Assuming that the fryer is initially at steady state, the initial balance for the chip phase yields
condition for (1) is
 Similarly, mass balance for the chip phase oil content yields where M0 = M0(t, x. z) is the oil content of the chip phase, assumed to
8M0 3M0 2
d M0 vary in both the x and z directions; and D0 is the apparent diffusivity
( of oil. At the inlet of the fryer the chips contain no oil, corresponding
--------h Vr------ = D0--------s-, 1
dt dX dZ 2 to the boundary condition

(
2 1 Mo(t,0,z) = 0.
h
(
T At the surface of the chip phase, the oil content is assumed to equal
BTC , dTc (
5 the equilibrium value Ms0 estimated by filling with oil the pore
( volume left by the evaporation of water from the solid matrix surface,
dt dx -
yielding the boundary condition

where vc is the velocity of the chip phase flow. The boundary

condition for (5) at the inlet of the fryer is

Tc(f,0) = T'n(t), (6) Mo I t,x, 4 1 - Ml (15)

48 IEEE CONTROL SYSTEMS MARA71NF « Al IGj IQT 5nrlK

 r 1
Symmetry around the center of the chip phase yields dM„ TABLE 2 Steady-state values for input variables of the fryer
d model used in the case study. Values that are typical for raw
(
z ■ ( t , x , 0 ) = 0. 1
materials and commercial production are used.
Parameter Name Symbol and Value
Assuming that the fryer is initially at steady state, the initial condition Oil velocity v0 = 0.3667 m/s
for (13) is
Oil volumetric flow rate Fm = 0.1087 m3/s
Inlet oil temperature r^n = 1603C
(
Mo(0, x, z) = 0. 1 Potato slice flow rate Fwc = 2.08 kg/s
Slice thickness Lc= 1.09 mm
The color of a fried chip depends on the extent of browning Inlet dry basis moisture content Mw = 4.3125 ^«
reactions taking place at rate R during frying. The browning reactions
can be lumped into a single color reaction, yielding the mass balance

at the inlet of the fryer, where Xvc is the volumetric fraction of the
d (
1 chip phase. Note that (22) is derived assuming that slice thickness is
B 9B „ -vc— uniform. However, the thickness of potato slices coming from a
+R, dx
It commercial slicer is usually normally distributed with a standard
where B = B(t, x) lumps all products of the color reaction, expressed deviation as high as 10% of the mean value [53]. Nevertheless, the
in normalized, nondimensional units. Assuming all browning to be lack of uniformity is not a problem, as long as the slice thickness
the result of frying, we obtain the boundary condition distribution is symmetric. Assuming that the fryer is initially at
steady state, the initial condition for (22) is
(19)
B(t, 0) = 0

at the inlet of the fryer. Assuming that the fryer is

initially at steady state, the initial condition for (19)
is

1
( 0 1
2( 8
2
dai

1
B(0,x) = Bss(x).
7 ' dx
'
The reaction rate R is assumed to correspond to first-
with 1 the
order kinetics, namely,
6

(
2 1
JR sa Bk\,Q exp
5
RgTc

where k^o is the reaction rate constant, Ea^ is the

activation energy for the browning reactions, and Rg
is the universal gas constant.
Since in different zones of the fryer, such as the
free-floating and submersion zones shown in Figure
5, the velocities of the chips are different, we need a
continuity equation for the chip phase to calculate the
interfacial area a\ = a\{i, x) between the chip and oil
phase for each zone. Given that the number of chips
in the fryer is conserved, we obtain
9flj boundary condition
~dt
 5 10
Length (m)
(
2 (d)
«l(f, 0) = IXvc/Lc

FIGURE 8 Steady-state profiles for moisture and oil content, oil temperature, chip
temperature, and chip luminosity. The simulation is carried out beyond the fryer length
(11 m) to include the length of the take-out conveyor belt (Figure 5). In the take-out
conveyor belt segment, the chip continues to lose moisture, but all browning reactions are
assumed to drop drastically.
 1

Potato Slice Half-

Thickness
4.5
4
(mm) (b)

3.5
Mw, 3
kg Oil kg Solid
2.5
kgH20 2
kg Solid 1.5
1
0.5
0
0
.

FIGURE 9 (a) Moisture and (b) oil profiles inside a chip at equidistant locations along the fryer (1 = inlet, 5 = exit). The inlet moisture profile
indicates that the chip surface is almost instantly dried upon entering the fryer, whereas the entire chip is virtually dry at the exit. However,
much of the interior chip space vacated by moisture is not occupied by oil.

«
/ (24)

N The continuous fryer model comprises (1), (5), (8), (13),

\
1
.(18),
E
and (22). Model parameters used in subsequent
\
1
4
xsimulations are summarized in Table 1. Steady-state values
.

.
ifor model inputs are shown in Table 2.
1 3
t
5
. 36.6
3
%
1
;

v
R

_
200 Steady-State Behavior of a Continuous Fryer
6 Figure 8 shows simulated steady-state profiles of output variables along the fryer. Figure 9 shows the moisture and oil content
400
0 profiles across the chip phase at various locations in the fryer. Figure 10 shows the dynamic response of the output variables to a
16 step change in one manipulated input. These simulations are used to calibrate real-time measurements from oil sensors that provide
5
surface rather than average oil content of chips exiting the fryer and to design frying temperature profiles along the fryer to achieve
16
0 desired product qualities such as low fat content.
15
200 200
5
6
1 Time (s)
 6 Open-Loop Control of a Continuous Fryer by Manipulating Residence Time
200 400 0
Time (s)
It has long been known empirically that the moisture content and oil uptake, which are the main quality-related variables of a fried
chip, are correlated with the square root of frying time in batch frying experiments under constant temperature [43], [50], [52],
[54]. This relationship has been used to control moisture and oil content of a fried chip by manipulating chip residence time in a
continuous fryer. While such a control policy does not use any feedback information related to the controlled variables, it is worth
examining the fundamental origin and soundness of the observed correlation.
For a batch fryer, substituting y = (Lc/2) - z into (8) yields

4 511 IEEE CONTROl SYSTEMS MARA7INF » Al IRJ 1ST pnnfi

0

FIGURE 10 Responses to a 5% increase of inlet oil temperature (manipulated

variable). Note that the chip temperature at the exit responds much faster than the
other variables due to the oil-flow velocity, which is higher than the velocity of the
chips.
 (
dMw _ dzMw
2 Snack food manufacturing processes
Involve control of process-related
with the boundary conditions Mw(t, 0) = 0 and Mw(t, oo) = M^,
(for short times) and the initial condition Mw(0, y) = M°. The and product-related variables.
solution to (25) is

Mw y
erf (26) Yhe steady-state relative gain array for this model is
M S, .V4D^i,

from which the mass flux for moisture N^z at the chip surface is 1.6 -0.6
A= (31)
-0.6 1.6

3 1,000 2,000 3,000 4,000 5,000

M Time (s)
N 1.45
A 1.42
= -<A/^. (27) 9
J y=0

Then, the amount of moisture lost over the area A is

(
t A 2

W
A

o
= J f NAz(r, y)\y = 0 dQ dz= -At^^f— ,
o which yields
S ied
i
m
p
l
1
, 4
moisture loss Ww , ,„ 1 /D^t
,
(
- -M?, 2
volume ALC Lc V 7T

which is the desired result. A similar derivation can be performed for oil
i
uptake.
f
The above analysis explains why the residence-time rule
developed for batch frying is not directly applicable to open-loop
control of continuous fryers for which (8), rather than (25), is 1
applicable. Equation (8) can be put in the form of (25) if one . 4
considers variables in deviation from steady state and uses the ,
approximation (BMw/dx) « constant, as Figure 8(a) suggests.

1 4
Model of a Continuous Fryer and Controller Design 2,000 3,000 Time (s)
2,000 3,000 Time (s)
■D C D< D
Q. 2,000 3,000 Time (s)
Using the dynamic response of the chip moisture and oil content at the exit of 0)
cB
the fryer to a step change in the inlet oil temperature and submerger speed, we X!
obtain the approximate linear model
-0.0123e -
2005s2 + 80s -+1 1
1 2100s2 + 87s + 1
0.028e-100s
-0.115e-100s
0.0192e'
Ayw(s) Ay0(s)

L
9700s2 + 120s + 1 4300s2 + 115s + 1 FIGURE 11 Closed-loop responses (process outputs and inputs) to a 5%
increase of slice thickness (disturbance). Note that the controller forces the
AT!"(s) potato slices to remain longer in the fryer by reducing the submerger speed
AS(s) (30) while simultaneously lowering the frying temperature by reducing the inlet
oil temperature.
 Potato Slice Half-Thickness (mm) (b)

4.5
4
3.5
Mn
Mw, 3
kg Oil kg Solid
2.5
kgH20 2
kg Solid 1.5
1
0.5
0
0
.

FIGURE 9 (a) Moisture and (b) oil profiles inside a chip at equidistant locations along the fryer (1 = inlet, 5 = exit). The inlet
moisture profile indicates that the chip surface is almost instantly dried upon entering the fryer, whereas the entire chip is
virtually dry at the exit. However, much of the interior chip space vacated by moisture is not occupied by oil.

Exit Browning
Steady-State Behavior of a Continuous Fryer
( Figure 8 shows simulated steady-state profiles of output
«j(0, x) = (f(x), 2 i.i
variables
/"""
along the fryer. Figure 9 shows the moisture and oil
2.6
■ /

content profiles across the chip phase at various locations in

the2.5
fryer. Figure 10 shows the dynamic response of the output
■ /

variables to a step change in one manipulated input. These

?4 —'
simulations are used to calibrate real-time measurements from
200 oil sensors that provide surface rather than average oil content
Time (s) of chips exiting the fryer and to design frying temperature
profiles along the fryer to achieve desired product qualities
such as low fat content.
The continuous fryer model comprises (1), (5),
(8),N (13), (18), and (22). Model parameters used in
•1
subsequent simulations are summarized in Table 1.
.E
Steady-state
^
1
4 values for model inputs are shown in
x
Table .\ 2.
i
3
■ 6
t
\
5
0 4
%
. 0 200 400
Time (s)
3
v Exit % Oil
36.4 /^~
36.21_ /
FIGURE 10 Responses to a 5% increase of
inlet oil temperature (manipulated variable).
Note that the chip temperature at the exit
36 _^/ responds much faster than the other variables
35 due to the oil-flow velocity, which is higher
P.
than the velocity of the chips.
200
6
400 0 6
200 400 0

1
7 Time (s)

2 8 x10
1
4

6
1
Open-Loop Control of a Continuous Fryer by Manipulating While such a control policy does not use
Residence Time any feedback information related to the
It has long been known empirically that the moisture content and oilcontrolled variables, it is worth examining
uptake, which are the main quality-related variables of a fried chip,the fundamental origin and soundness of
are correlated with the square root of frying time in batch fryingthe observed correlation.
experiments under constant temperature [43], [50], [52], [54]. This For a batch fryer, substituting y
relationship has been used to control moisture and oil content of a=s (Lc/2) - z into (8) yields
fried chip by manipulating chip residence time in a continuous fryer.

50 IEEE CONTBOI SYSTFMS MARA7INF » Al irsi 1ST 9nnR


simultaneous manipulation of
Controlling oil temperature and submerger
product-related speed can be used to reduce
the oil content of fried chips at
variables is a somewhat lower value while
maintaining low moisture
essential for content, particularly for fryers
with multiple submergers and
ensuring product oil-recirculation paths; see
Figure 5. All real-time
quality. computations for this
multivariable control
algorithm are performed using
off-the-shelf software running
on a dedicated PC, which
indicating that significant
communicates with an existing
interactions arise among
PLC system.
individual feedback loops
under decentralized control of
CONCLUSIONS
moisture and oil content. The
In Part Two of the Pulitzer-
condition number of the
Prize-winning best-seller
steady-state gain matrix for
Guns, Germs, and Steel [56],
(30) is 16, suggesting mild ill
the beginning of the rapid
conditioning [58]. Therefore,
ascent of humankind after the
robust multivariable control
latest Ice Age is attributed to
methods are appropriate for
the rise and spread of food
this system. Figure 11 shows a
production, which capitalized
simulation of disturbance
on efficiencies in cultivation,
rejection using (30) with a
storage, and distribution
model predictive controller.
methods. A few thousand years
later, Malthus's grim
Application to Industrial
Process predictions about an
The simulation study shown in impending global famine were
Figure 11 provides the basis refuted by a new wave of
for designing a model- efficiencies in food production
predictive control system for and distribution, spurred by the
an industrial continuous fryer. Industrial Revolution. Today,
Control practice prior to this extreme efficiency in food
project relied on decentralized production has made it
loops (for instance, for sufficient that only a very
temperature control) as well as small percentage of the
open-loop manipulation of industrialized world's
residence time. Relative gain population be employed in
array analysis shows that agriculture. However, the food
interactions among control industry as a whole is sizable,
loops can pose problems for offering both employment and
such a strategy, thus essential products. Efficiencies
warranting multivariable in all aspects of that industry
control. remain important, both for the
While variables such as oil benefit of society and for the
and moisture content of fried compet-
chips can be controlled
individually over only a
limited range, independent
control is feasible for small
deviations. For example,
itiveness of individual AUTHOR INFORMATION
companies and businesses, Michael Nikolaou
large or small. In this article (Nikolaou@uh.edu) received
we showed that automatic his diploma from the National
control can greatly contribute Technical University, Athens,
toward efficiencies in this in 1984 and his Ph.D. from the
multifaceted and University of California, Los
interdisciplinary field. In fact, Angeles, in 1989, both in
advances at all levels of the chemical engineering. From
hierarchy discussed in Figure 1989 to 1997 he was an
6 can be beneficial, from assistant professor and then
optimization of supply chains associate professor in the
at the top to control of Chemical Engineering
individual units at the bottom. Department at Texas A&M
Moreover, because Figure 6 University. He held a visiting
involves feedback loops at all scientist position at the
levels, advances can rely on all Massachusetts Institute of
elements of a feedback loop, Technology in 1995, before
including process, sensors, moving to the University of
actuators, and information Houston in 1997, where he is
transmission lines. presently associate professor.
The examples discussed in His research interests are in
this article offer the reader a computer-aided process
taste of the challenges and engineering, with emphasis on
possibilities in the food process modeling,
manufacturing industry, while identification, monitoring, and
illustrating the benefits of control, and their applications
crossing discipline borders to to the chemical, petroleum,
benefit from and contribute microelectronics, food, and
toward cross-fertilization of biomedical industries. His
ideas. In particular, industrial experience includes
collaboration between consulting with companies in
academia and the food diverse fields. He can be
manufacturing industry has contacted at the Chemical
proven fertile, and, if nurtured, Engineering Department,
can continue to be fruitful in University of Houston,
the future. Houston, TX 77204-4004
USA.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This article is based on work
REFERENCES
partially supported by the [1] M. Abrahams, "The 1995 Ig nobel
National Science Foundation, prize winners" [Online]. Available:
Shell Development, Frito-Lay, http://www.irnprobable.eom/ig/ig-
and the Texas Advanced pastwinners.htrnl#igl995 [2] D.M.R.
Technology Program. The Georget, R. Parker, and A.C. Smith, "A
study of the effects of water-content in the
author gratefully compaction behavior of breakfast cereal
acknowledges that support. flakes," Powder Technol., vol. 81, no. 2,
Computations for the case pp. 189-195,1994.
study were performed by Dr. [3] M. Abrahams, The Best of Annals of
Manoj Shouche and Dr. Improbable Research. San Francisco, CA:
Freeman, 1998. [4] L. DeLong,
Wang-Yan (Charles) Feng, to "Engineering bytes and bites" [Online].
whom the author is indebted. Available: