HK1069781B - Apparatus and process for sterilization of liquid media by means of uv irradiation and short-time heat treatment - Google Patents

Description

Device and process for sterilization of liquid media by ultraviolet radiation and short-time heat treatment

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a uv radiation and heat sterilization technique for reliable and preserved products of liquid media, in particular liquids containing microorganisms and/or viruses (e.g. food products, dairy products, fruit juice products, chemical or pharmaceutical products, viral vaccines, genetically engineered active substances or proteins, active substances or proteins from transgenic animals or plants, and plasma or products obtained from plasma). A common feature of Ultraviolet (UV) radiation and thermal treatment is that the inactivation reaction is accompanied by undesirable product damage, the extent of which is minimized by means of suitable reaction techniques and structural measures.

Background

The sterilisation process of the fluid medium is based on the simultaneous application of two process steps, a heat treatment and a UVC (ultraviolet radiation type C) treatment, which, when they are used in combination, have a synergistic effect, which makes it possible to kill microorganisms and viruses in a manner that is particularly gentle to the product itself. The reactor used is a spiral flow channel with a limited range of product residence times. The product channel is created by fitting a helically corrugated hose body over a cylindrical tube body that is heat and/or uv transparent. In order to avoid difficult cleaning, these spiral reactors are constructed in such a way that, after the product has been treated, they can be replaced by new, precisely adjusted and sterilized reactors.

The sterilization of liquid media is an important prerequisite for the application of biotechnological production processes in the food industry and in the pharmaceutical industry. The aim is to ensure a reliable and widespread depletion of microorganisms and/or viruses, while protecting valuable sensitive substances to a greater extent. The main fields of application of the sterilization process are pure bacterial fermentation operations, extended shelf life by aseptic or low microbial packaging of food, and pharmaceutical suitability of biologically active substances, e.g. from human or animal sources, i.e. organs or plasma. In order to use biologically active substances, the FDA requires the confirmation of the sterilization process and includes several virus inactivation steps based on different principles of action. Confirmation of the sterilization process requires that the reactor used and the installation be in a state that can be specified with certainty. Cross contamination between process batches must be removed.

One important criterion for protecting the product involves minimizing the time the product is exposed to the reaction zone. Since the required average treatment duration is defined by the fastest passage of the particles through the reaction zone, reducing the reaction duration requires distributing the residence time as evenly as possible in the product stream. Documents [ US2002096648a1, US2003049809a1, VDI heatatlas ] describe particularly advantageous residence time situations in spiral-shaped flow channels, which are caused by secondary flows (so-called Dean vortices) acting perpendicular to the direction of flow (fig. 3b, 23, 24). As shown by the experiments for inactivating the mock virus, a uniform and precisely controllable treatment of the product solution was obtained for the first time. Each liquid component flowing through is introduced into the immediate vicinity of the treatment source, thus being exposed to the inactivating UV radiation or heat.

In addition to the improved through-flow, it has been found that a combination of a short-time thermal treatment and a UV treatment performed under suitable conditions (temperature and UV radiation dose) is particularly advantageous. By the two process steps taking place in rapid succession (UV treatment of the product stream after heating and cooling, or UV treatment of the product stream before heating and cooling) or overlapping (heating, UV treatment and cooling of the product stream), an additional synergistic inactivation potential results. Although giving the same inactivation results, this surprisingly results in a reduction of the energy required, which reduces product damage throughout the process. The application of the heat sterilization technique requires at least two reactors, one for heating and one for subsequent cooling. In order to keep the product temperature constant, an insulated conduit may optionally be connected as a temperature keeping section between the heating and cooling reactors. In the case where the UV treatment is performed in the heat treatment, the UV reactor also serves as a holding module.

Disclosure of Invention

The object of the present invention is a continuous process for the sterilization and, if appropriate, the viral inactivation of fluid media, in particular aqueous reaction media, by the combined application of a heat treatment and a UV radiation treatment, characterized in that the heat treatment of the fluid media (i.e., the "product") takes place at a sterilization temperature of 40 ℃ to 135 ℃ and the radiation is at 5 to 300W/m²Occurs at a radiation density of (a).

The fluid medium (product) to be treated is preferably kept at the sterilization temperature for up to 50 seconds.

The heating of the fluid medium to the sterilisation temperature and the cooling of the fluid medium take place independently of each other within 0.1 to 10 seconds.

A process is particularly preferred in which the heat treatment takes place in successive steps of heating, temperature maintenance and cooling 3, and the UV treatment takes place in particular during the heat treatment.

The heat treatment is preferably carried out using a high-performance heat exchanger with a k > 1000W/m²K value of x K, allowing the product stream to be heated and cooled in a time of 0.1 to 10 seconds.

A further process is preferred in which all or some of the process steps are performed using a pre-sterilized disposable reactor that is cleaned according to GMP (good manufacturing practice).

A further object of the invention is an apparatus for carrying out the process according to the invention, comprising at least one thermal treatment reactor, if appropriate a temperature maintenance section, a UV radiation reactor and a cooling reactor, characterized in that at least the sterilisation and/or inactivation chamber through which the fluid medium (product) flow of the radiation reactor and the thermal treatment reactor passes is formed by a deformable, spiral-shaped, shaped hollow cylinder tightly fitted on the wall of a rigid, straight, cylindrical support body permeable to the sterilisation or inactivation energy used.

The deformable, spiral-shaped hollow cylinder used is preferably a corrugated plastic hose which is connected at both ends to a dispenser head for product transport and discharge.

An apparatus is particularly preferred in which the dispenser head has tangential or preferably radial product conveying and discharge conduits in the region of the annular gap between the dispenser head and the support tube, without dead spaces.

Also preferred is a device in which the dispenser heads 9, 10 are acted upon from the hose end by subsequent thermal deformation of the corrugated hose or, preferably, are made of a plastic material which is produced and acted upon respectively by injection molding and/or drawing and is connected to the cylindrical widened hose end by a press fit and the press-on O-ring connections 32, 33 are pressed on from the outside.

In a preferred embodiment, the corrugated hose has an outer envelope or reinforcement for connection.

The outer envelope is particularly preferably formed by a collapsible plastic tube, a tube pushed over a helical hose, or preferably by a two-part cylindrical shell, the reinforcement being formed by a steel or plastic coil.

The UV radiation reactor preferably has one or more UV emitters as energy source in a cylindrical support body, and the support body is preferably made of a material transparent to UV radiation, for example quartz glass, and, if appropriate, has a corrugated plastic hose.

A further device is also preferred in which windows 64 for observing the UV energy radiated into the product are formed in the dispenser heads 9, 10, these windows 64 being sealed in the dispenser heads 9, 10, in particular by O-ring connections 31, 64.

In a particularly preferred embodiment, a UV sensor is mounted or formed on the dispenser head for detecting the UV radiation density radiated into the product chamber.

The heat treatment reactor particularly preferably has a tube made of a heat transfer material, for example stainless steel, such as 316L or V4A, chrome nickel steel and austenitic steel, for supporting the tube, and a corrugated hose made of plastic. Plastics useful for such applications are Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), perfluoroalkoxy polymer perfluorooxypropylolmer (pfa), FEP (copolymer of hexafluoropropylene and tetrafluoroethylene), PVDF (polyvinylidene fluoride), ECTFE, and polypropylene and polyethylene.

In order to increase the heat transfer of the temperature control medium flowing through the reactor, the insert element is preferably incorporated in the middle of the support tube of the heat treatment reactor, so that the cross section is narrowed and the temperature control medium is provided to flow through the support tube.

The narrowing cross-section of the insertion element preferably also has a terminal flange connection which is releasably connected by means of a thread or preferably a bayonet closure and seals off the interior of the support tube.

A design is particularly preferred in which the insert element has a radial distributor for the heat transfer medium.

The insert element preferably has a helical inner contour.

A further preferred design of the apparatus is characterized in that the support tube 62 is closed at one end and has an insert element with inlet and outlet ducts for the heat transfer medium at the other open end of the support tube.

The insert element is particularly preferably a flanged tube, wherein the heat transfer medium inlet conduit is connected to the interior of the tube and the outlet passes through the gap between the insert element and the support tube.

In a preferred variant, a resistive heating source inserted into the support tube 63 is provided in the thermal treatment reactor.

In a preferred embodiment, the annular gap between the heating source and the support tube is filled with a heat transfer medium in order to improve the thermal conductivity of the annular gap.

A further preferred variant of the apparatus features a receiving vessel connected to the support tube for collecting the heat transfer fluid that is displaced when the heating source is inserted or operated.

In its inlet and outlet region, the thermal treatment reactor particularly preferably has temperature sensors, for example PT100 platinum resistance sensors, for determining the temperature of the heat transfer medium and/or the product temperature.

A design of the device is also particularly preferred in which the sensor is connected to a flow regulator for the flow of the heat transfer medium and/or the product flow.

Drawings

FIG. 1a shows a block diagram of the process of the invention, wherein the product is first subjected to a heat treatment step, then cooled through the subsequent passage of the holding section, and then subjected to a UV treatment step;

FIG. 1b shows a block diagram of a process of the present invention wherein a thermal treatment step follows the UV irradiation step;

FIG. 2 shows a block diagram of the process of the present invention in which the product is cooled immediately after the ultraviolet radiation treatment, rather than first passing through a holding section;

FIG. 3 shows a reactor with spiral channels according to the invention;

FIG. 3a shows a reactor according to the invention with a sheath 21 over a corrugated hose forming a helical channel;

FIG. 3b shows a cross section of the reactor channel, with enlarged contact points 22;

FIG. 3c shows a cross section of a reactor channel formed with a corrugated hose with a metal reinforcement 50;

fig. 4 shows a UV radiation reactor with a corrugated hose 5 on a UV-transparent support tube 65 made of quartz glass, and a UV emitter 25 mounted on the support tube 65, with a quartz window 64 and UV sensors 26 and 27;

fig. 4a shows an enlargement of the bottom part of the UV radiation reactor of fig. 4, showing the distributor head 9 with the O-ring seal 33;

FIG. 5 shows a thermal processing reactor according to the invention with a support tube 34 made of a heat transfer material with flanged connections 36, 46 for a heat transfer medium;

fig. 5a shows an insert consisting of a two-part cylinder 35, 43, the two parts of which can be connected to each other by a bayonet closure 44, 45 by means of a press fit;

FIG. 5b shows a cross-sectional view of a reactor having an insert with the two parts of FIG. 5a connected to each other;

FIG. 5c shows an insert element 48 which, when inserted into the support tube of the thermal treatment reactor according to the invention, causes the heat transfer medium to follow the spiral-shaped channel 49;

fig. 6 shows a thermal treatment reactor of the invention having spray bars 52 through which the heat transfer medium can be conveyed to the closed end of support tube 62 so that the heat transfer medium is then introduced into annular gap 47 to flow back to outlet 51; and

fig. 7 shows a heat treatment reactor of the present invention having an electric heating source 57.

Detailed Description

As shown in fig. 3, 3a and 3b, a reactor with a spiral channel 8 is used as a device for performing sterilization and virus inactivation according to the present invention. These channels are formed by arranging the helical hose 5 on a cylindrical support body 6. By means of a suitable geometry of the corrugated hose 5, which has a slightly reduced inner diameter compared to the support body 6, a tight press-fit connection is established between the two reactor elements. In this way, axial short-circuit flows, which would otherwise be caused by gaps between the fluid passages, which, as tests have demonstrated, would lead to a considerably extended residence time distribution, can be prevented. The product flow is expediently directed upwards in order to prevent back-mixing of the product flow by the gas bubbles flowing in the counter-flow. In the case of larger product flows, the expansion of the corrugated hose 5 due to the increased pressure loss is undesirable because of the formation of short-circuit flows and is prevented according to the invention by a suitably dimensioned wall thickness of the corrugated hose 5 and/or by metal reinforcements and/or sheaths 21 inserted into the corrugated hose. The configuration of the sealing sleeve in such a case is conveniently such that the internal diameter of the sealing sleeve is slightly smaller than the external diameter of the hose in order to generate additional contact pressure without appreciable deformation of the hose. A collapsible tube that is easily fitted to a corrugated hose can improve pressure stability with small pressure losses. Other envelope structures which can likewise be used after production of the module can be constructed, for example, from half shells and a plurality of wound layers made of glass-fibre-reinforced plastic.

The energy input is produced by a protective tube 6 which, for UV treatment (see fig. 4 and 4 a), is designed as a quartz tube 65 which transmits UV rays, and for thermal treatment (see fig. 5, 5a, 5b and 5c) as a thin-walled metal tube 34 with good thermal conductivity. In both sterilization methods, a coating is formed on those surfaces of the support tube that are used for energy input. These coatings, which are related to dirt, can be removed where the dirt can come into contact with the cleaning agent. In this context, the parts which prove to be particularly difficult to clean are the areas 22 surrounding the contact points between the hose and the pipe (as can be seen in fig. 3 b), which are particularly susceptible to dirt. The complete removal of the reactor, which is necessary in the case of cleaning according to GMP, cannot be carried out on site by an operator, since a great deal of time and a high degree of accuracy are required. To this end, according to the invention, the reactor is provided with disposable modules which are packaged under sterile conditions, are quick and easy to replace, and are recommended for use in GMP sterilization processes.

After opening the aseptic package, and immediately before the process starts, the reactor is installed by connecting the same attachments 11, 12 present on the dispenser heads 9, 10 to the attachments 15, 16 of the product lines. The so-called triple-grip connection comprising correspondingly shaped flange ends of the attachment pieces 11, 12, 15, 16, the connecting clip 17 and the special seal 18 is particularly suitable for quick and hygienic connections.

The dispenser heads 9, 10 are connected to the cylindrically widened end of the corrugated hose in a mirror-symmetrical arrangement. A completely hygienic connection is preferably ensured by means of an O-ring seal 33 (see fig. 4 a). In the seal shown in fig. 4a, the connection between the hose 5 and the O-ring 33 is obtained by means of pressing from the outside by means of the ring 32. Other connection variants include welding the dispenser head to the corrugated hose, and integrating the dispenser head to the end of the corrugated hose that has been modified by suitable deformation, for example thermal deformation. The dispenser head 9, 10 is sealed with respect to the protective tube 6, 65, 34 by means of an O-ring 14.

In addition to supporting the reactor, the distributor heads 9, 10 have the task, among other things, of ensuring the initial distribution of the product flow. The particular design of the dispenser head ensures that any negative impact on the residence time characteristics of the initial dispensing can be avoided. According to the invention, this is achieved by strictly limiting the head volume contacted by the product, and this in turn is achieved by minimizing the gap width 28 and the overall height 29. As studies of residence time show, by using a dispenser head of minimized volume, it is generally possible to dispense with both tangential delivery and outflow of the product stream to facilitate radial delivery, which is preferred because it is easier and less costly to produce.

Fig. 4 and 4a show a reactor provided for UV radiation. The support tube 65 of the corrugated hose is made of UV-transparent quartz glass. One or more UV emitters 25 are mounted in the middle of the support tube 65 for UV treatment. In order to monitor fouling, the dispenser heads 9 and 10 are equipped with quartz windows 64 through which the UV sensors 26, 27 can measure the UV rays released into the head space. According to the invention, the information provided by the sensors is used for GMP-compliant irradiation program files and for keeping the radiation dose constant by appropriately adjusting the product residence time over the product throughput. In this way, film formation (i.e. fouling) on the quartz glass, as well as loss of the radiation capability of the UV radiation source, can be compensated for without affecting the radiation program.

Fig. 5, 5a, 5b, 5c, 6 and 7 show a reactor for sterilization by heat treatment, which reactor can likewise be used for heating and cooling a product flow. The support tube 34 is made of a material approved by the FDA that is pressure stable, thin, and has good heat transfer characteristics. For example, stainless steel tubing provides good heat transfer conditions. By electropolishing the tube surface towards the product, the tendency for a fouling layer to form on the heated surface can be reduced.

For heat sterilization, the modules are connected via flange connections 36, 37, 42 and 46, 41, 42 to a heating medium, such as steam or hot water, or, for cooling purposes, to a cooling medium, such as cold water or saline. Although the temperature control liquid is conveniently passed through the reactor in an upward direction in order to prevent the formation of bubbles, when using steam as temperature control medium, the through-flow is preferably in a downward direction to remove condensate. In order to improve the heat transfer for heating and cooling, especially when using liquid as heat transfer medium, it is often necessary to increase the velocity of the medium as it flows over the heat exchange surface 34 by providing an insert 35 that narrows the cross-section.

As shown in fig. 5, 5a and 5b, such an insert may be constituted by a two-part cylinder 35, 43 welded to a connecting flange 37, 41. The two cylindrical elements 35, 43 may be connected to each other with a press fit by means of a thread or, to reduce the load on the O-ring during assembly, more preferably by means of bayonet closures 44, 45. The centrally conveyed heat transfer medium 56, 51 is distributed through the radial bores 40 into the annular gap 47 between the inserts 35, 43 and the support tube 34 and is discharged again at the opposite end through the bores 40 in a mirror-symmetrical arrangement. As shown in fig. 5c, instead of a cylindrical annular gap, the insert element 48, which in such a case is arranged closer to the wall of the support tube, can be shaped such that the temperature medium follows a spiral-shaped flow path 49, which provides an additional contribution to improve the heat exchange due to the secondary flow that occurs.

In the reactor shown in fig. 6, liquid heat transfer medium is conveyed by the spray bars 52 to the closed opposite ends of the support tubes 62, where it is introduced into the annular gap 47, through which it flows in opposite directions. The operation of the temperature control module is thus considerably simplified, since the flange 53 can be integrated into the module, a pre-assembly of the flange ends 37, 41 on the support tube 34, as shown in fig. 5, can be dispensed with. Furthermore, by moving the delivery and discharge points of the temperature control medium to the same end, the assembly work involved in installation in the production plant is reduced to fixing the single flange connections 53, 54, 42. In the case of a heat transfer medium in the form of steam, the flow direction is reversed to eliminate condensate so that steam is first introduced into the annular gap 47 and flows downwardly through the annular gap before flowing upwardly through the spray bar 52 with the condensate. In order to avoid problems with some condensate in the bottom, the bottom area is preferably connected to a condensate drain or equipped with a demisting system.

In the arrangement shown in fig. 7, indirect heating by the flow of the heat transfer medium has been replaced by direct electrical heating by a cylindrical heating source 57. For this purpose, the heating source 57 is inserted into a support tube 63 which is closed at the opposite end. The filling with the special heat transfer medium 59 makes it possible to avoid the poor heat transfer properties which are found in the case of a rarefied air-filled annular gap 47 between the heating source 57 and the support tube 63. When a liquid heat transfer medium is used in a vertically positioned support tube, the liquid transferred by the insertion heating source 57 may be collected in a receiving receptacle 58 connected to the support tube.

Index directory of reference numbers in figures

1 fluid medium

2 heating

3 Cooling

4UV radiation treatment

5 corrugated spiral hose

6 cylindrical supporting tube

7 radiation or heat source

8 spiral channel

9/10 distributor head

11/12 attachment

13 annular gap

14O-shaped ring

15/16 attachment

17 connecting clamp

18 seal

19 fluid medium inlet

20 outlet for fluid medium

21 sheath

22 contact point

23 main flow direction

24 secondary flow

25UV emitter

26/27UV sensor

28 gap width

29 overall height

30 window

31O-shaped sealing ring

32 connecting ring

33O-shaped sealing ring

34 thin-wall metal tube (Heat transfer)

35 two-part cylindrical insert (Top)

36/37 Flange connector

38O-shaped ring

39O-shaped sealing ring

40 radial holes

41 Flange connection

42 connecting clamp

43 two-part cylindrical insert (bottom)

44 Bayonet closure (bottom)

45 bayonet closure (Top)

46 flange connector

47 annular gap

48 insert element

49 spiral fluid passage

50 metal reinforcement

51 heat transfer medium outlet

52 spray bar

53/54 connecting flange

55 hold

56 heat transfer medium inlet

57 electric heating source

58 receiving container

59 special heat transfer medium

60/61 temperature sensor

62/63 supporting tube

64 (Quartz) window

65 pass through UV quartz capsule

Claims (29)

1. Continuous process for sterilisation and/or for viral inactivation of a fluid medium (1) by combined application of a heat treatment (2, 3, 55) and a UV radiation treatment (4), wherein the heat treatment of the fluid medium takes place at a sterilisation temperature of 40 ℃ to 135 ℃, the radiation being between 5 and 300W/m²Is heated to a sterilization temperature at which the fluid medium is cooled after treatment, said heating and cooling taking place independently of each other within 0.1 to 10 seconds.

2. The process according to claim 1, characterized in that: the fluid medium is maintained at the sterilization temperature for up to 50 seconds.

3. Process according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: the heat treatment occurs in successive steps of heating (2), temperature maintenance (55) and cooling (3), and the UV treatment (4) occurs during the heat treatment.

4. Process according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: the heat conductivity coefficient k used for heat treatment is more than 1000W/m²xK, high performance heat exchangers.

5. The process according to claim 4, characterized in that: one or more of the process steps are performed using a pre-sterilized disposable reactor that has been cleaned according to GMP.

6. Process according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: the fluid medium is selected from chemical products.

7. The process according to claim 6, characterized in that: the chemical product is selected from the group comprising foodstuffs, pharmaceuticals, active substances produced by genetic engineering and blood plasma or products obtained from blood plasma.

8. The process according to claim 7, characterized in that: the active substance is a protein.

9. Apparatus for performing a process according to any one of claims 1 to 8, comprising at least one thermal treatment reactor (2) with an optional temperature maintenance section (55), a UV radiation reactor (4) and a cooling reactor (3), wherein the thermal treatment reactor (2) and/or the cooling reactor (3) comprises a thermal conductivity k > 1000W/m²xK high performance heat exchanger, at least the heat treatment reactor and the UV radiation reactionThe apparatus comprises a sterilisation and/or inactivation chamber (8) through which the fluid medium (1) flows, the sterilisation and/or inactivation chamber (8) being formed by a deformable, helical, shaped hollow cylinder (5) which is tightly fitted over the wall of a rigid, straight, cylindrical support body (6) made of a heat-conductive material, the cylindrical support body of the UV radiation reactor being transparent to ultraviolet radiation.

10. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein: the deformable, spiral-shaped hollow cylinder (5) is a corrugated plastic hose which is connected at both ends to dispenser heads (9, 10) for conveying and discharging the fluid medium.

11. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein: the distributor head (9, 10) has tangential or radial product conveying and outflow conduits in the annular gap (13) between the distributor head (9, 10) and the support tube (6), without dead zones.

12. The apparatus according to claim 10 or 11, characterized in that: the dispenser head (9, 10) is acted upon by the thermal deformation of the corrugated hose from the hose end of the helical hollow cylinder (5), or is made of a plastic material which is produced and acted upon by injection molding or drawing, respectively, or by a combination of injection molding and drawing, and is connected to the cylindrical widened hose end by press fitting, and the upper O-ring connection (32, 33) is pressed on from the outside.

13. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein: the corrugated hose has an outer envelope (21) or a reinforcement (50).

14. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein: the outer envelope (21) is formed by a collapsible plastic tube, a tube pushed onto a coiled hose, or a two-part cylindrical shell, and the reinforcement is formed by a steel or plastic coil.

15. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein: the UV radiation reactor comprises one or more UV emitters (25) as an energy source in a cylindrical support body (6), and the cylindrical support body (6) is made of a UV-ray-transparent material and has a corrugated plastic hose as the deformable, helically shaped hollow cylinder (5).

16. Apparatus according to claim 10 or 11, further comprising a window (64) formed in the dispenser head (9, 10) and sealed in the dispenser head (9, 10) by an O-ring connection (31, 64) for viewing UV energy radiated into the product.

17. Apparatus according to claim 16, further comprising a UV sensor (26, 27) mounted in the dispenser head (9, 10) for detecting the UV radiation density radiated into the product chamber.

18. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein: the thermal treatment reactor (2) comprises a tube made of a heat transfer material as a support body (34) and a corrugated hose made of plastic as the deformable helically shaped hollow cylinder.

19. An apparatus according to claim 9 or 18, further comprising an insert element (35, 43) incorporated in the middle of the support tube (34) of the heat treatment reactor (2) so that the cross section of the heat transfer fluid flowing through the support tube (34) is narrowed.

20. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein: the insertion elements (35, 43) have terminal flange connections which are releasably connected by means of screw threads or bayonet closures (44, 45) and seal the interior space of the support tube (34).

21. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein: the insert element (35, 43) has a radial distributor (40) for the heat transfer fluid.

22. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein: the insertion element (35, 43) has a helical inner contour.

23. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein: the thermal treatment reactor comprises a support tube (62) which is closed at one end and open at the other end and which has an insert element (35, 43, 52) with an inlet and an outlet for a heat transfer fluid at the other open end.

24. The apparatus of claim 23, wherein: the insert element (35, 43, 52) comprises a flanged tube, wherein the inlet conduit is connected to the interior of the tube and the outlet conduit is connected to a gap (47) between the insert element and the support tube (62).

25. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein: the thermal treatment reactor comprises a resistive heating source (57) inserted into a support tube (63).

26. Apparatus according to claim 25, further comprising an annular gap (47) between said heating source (57) and said support tube (63), which annular gap is filled with a heat transfer medium (59).

27. Apparatus according to claim 26, further comprising a receiving vessel (58) connected to the support tube (63) adapted to receive a heat transfer fluid (59) that is transferred when the heating source (57) is inserted into the support tube or when the heating source is operating.

28. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein: the thermal treatment reactor (2) includes an inlet and an outlet with PT100 resistance sensors (60, 61) for determining the temperature of the heat transfer medium, the product temperature, or both.

29. The apparatus of claim 28, wherein: the sensors (60, 61) are connected to flow regulators for the flow of heat transfer medium, the flow of product, or both.