The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has granted a patent to a novel technique and device for pasteurizing eggs developed by engineers at the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). The award marks the 27th patent granted to PPPL inventors since 1994.
The invention uses radio frequency (RF) energy to transmit heat through the shell and into the yolk while the egg rotates. Streams of cool water simultaneously flow over the egg to protect the delicate white. Researchers then bathe the egg in hot water to complete the pasteurization process.
"This is a unique experience for me," said Chris Brunkhorst, an expert in RF heating at PPPL. "It's the first time I've had a patent awarded." Brunkhorst holds the patent with David Geveke, research chemical engineer and lead scientist at the USDA Agricultural Research Service in Wyndmoor, Pennsylvania, and Andrew Bigley, an engineering technician recently retired from the USDA.
To read the rest of the story, please go to: Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory Communications