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hubie [soylentnews.org] writes:

Washing Dishes with Superheated Steam More Effective, Earth-Friendly [aip.org]:

Conventional dishwashers often do not kill all the harmful microorganisms left on plates, bowls, and cutlery. They also require long cycle times that use large quantities of electricity, and the soap pumped in and out is released into water sources, polluting the environment.

Superheated steam dishwashers could provide a more effective, environmentally friendly solution. In Physics of Fluids, by AIP Publishing, researchers from the Technical University of Dortmund and the Technical University of Munich simulated such a dishwasher, finding that it killed 99% of bacteria on a plate in just 25 seconds.

[...] "Steam comes out of the nozzle at a very high velocity. We can see shocks, and the turbulent flow that is created has eddies and vortices," said author Natalie Germann, of the Technical University of Dortmund. "We also include heat transfer, which shows how the heat changes in the simulation box and the condensation on the solid surfaces."

[...] The superheated steam dishwasher would initially cost more but would pay off in the long run with savings on water, electricity, and detergent. It would be ideal for use in restaurants, hotels, and hospitals, which must meet high hygienic standards.

"We confirmed that the dishwasher application using superheated steam is promising," said Germann. "This is the first work combining fluid dynamics and heat transfer with phase change and bacterial inactivation. It thus lays the foundation for future computational research and further technical work."

Journal Reference:
L. Abu-Farah and N. Germann, Simulations of thermal phase changes and bacterial inactivation in a superheated steam dishwasher [open], Phys Fluids, 2022. DOI: 10.1063/5.0090418 [doi.org]

Original Submission