Optimization of Hydrogen Peroxide Vapour Inactivating Bacillus subtilis in PET Bottles by Response Surface Methodology

Abstract:

This study aims to inactivate Bacillus subtilis in Polyethylene Terephthalate（PET） preforms by hydrogen peroxide vapour. Based on single factor experiment combined with Box-Behnken central combination design，sterilization processes，such as H2O2 flowrate，treatment and temperature，are optimized by response surface methodology. The optimum process parameters are：H2O2 flowrate= 14 mL/min，treatment time= 9 s，and temperature= 120 ℃.Under the optimized conditions，the reduction of Bacillus subtilis could be up to 5.40 log. It provides theoretical basis for the industrial application of hydrogen peroxide vapour sterilization.