ABSTRACT
Mass and energy balances are powerful tools for the design and optimization of food manufacturing plants. They are based on the application of mass and energy conservation laws to an individual part or the whole food process. The aim is to determine the mass ow rate and composition of any stream of raw material, intermediate or the nal product, by-product, waste, or efuent encountered in the process along with the amounts of energy (mainly heat) that must be supplied or rejected. The basic steps that are followed are the construction of the process ow diagram along with any available information, the consideration of the suitable system boundaries, and the establishment and solving of the set of independent equations resulting from the suitable mass and energy balance application.
