I am on a limited budget right now so I have been beating my head against a wall on how to reuse my one gallon plastic jugs. Then it hit me, I just did a project with my daughter for school on water filtration. At the second stage after filtering we simply put the water in PET bottles and used SODIS (aka solar disinfecting). The process could not be more simple, just put your bottles in the sun for 3 hours or 6 on an overcast day. This will only work on relatively clear liquids but for most of us it should not be an issue. Anyone have a reason why this would not work in our little projects ?
Pasteurizing in plastic solved ?
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MrFoodScientist
Well-Known Member
Depending on what you're planning on pasteurizing, it could work. This being the DIY Projects sub-forum, you'll have to be more specific about what "little projects" you're referring to. Are you using this for just filtered water, or are you pasteurizing cider, soda or beer for some reason?
I'm assuming that it's the UV that is disinfecting. If you're just doing water then that's fine, but if you're planning on anything else then I would say it's sketchy at best.
Other things in your "little projects" may have an insulating effect against the UV.
One has to consider the hurdle principle when it comes to microbial growth. The more things you throw at an organism, the less likely it's going to grow. In filtered water, there's no sugars or nutrients to keep the microbes going, so the absence of nutrients becomes one hurdle and the UV light becomes another.
In a finished beverage, color and turbidity are going to reduce the effectiveness of the UV, and with nutrients for the microbes to grow on then you've essentially gone from two hurdles to one weakened hurdle. I'd advise against it.
Also, if you're pasteurizing finished beverage, remember that UV light is also a strong factor in oxidation of flavors.
When I see pasteurizing here, I immediately think that what you're talking about is stopping yeasts in a bottle conditioned sweet cider or fermented soda, so I apologize if you had something else in mind, like simply cleaning up water, which I don't see much issue with.
I'm assuming that it's the UV that is disinfecting. If you're just doing water then that's fine, but if you're planning on anything else then I would say it's sketchy at best.
Other things in your "little projects" may have an insulating effect against the UV.
One has to consider the hurdle principle when it comes to microbial growth. The more things you throw at an organism, the less likely it's going to grow. In filtered water, there's no sugars or nutrients to keep the microbes going, so the absence of nutrients becomes one hurdle and the UV light becomes another.
In a finished beverage, color and turbidity are going to reduce the effectiveness of the UV, and with nutrients for the microbes to grow on then you've essentially gone from two hurdles to one weakened hurdle. I'd advise against it.
Also, if you're pasteurizing finished beverage, remember that UV light is also a strong factor in oxidation of flavors.
When I see pasteurizing here, I immediately think that what you're talking about is stopping yeasts in a bottle conditioned sweet cider or fermented soda, so I apologize if you had something else in mind, like simply cleaning up water, which I don't see much issue with.
