## 3 Results
### Modifications in the Structural and Thermal Properties of Flour Segments Due to PEF Treatment
#### 3.2.1 Particle Size and Volume Distribution
\begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c c c c c c c} \hline \hline
**Particle Size** & **Control** & **2-A** & **2-B** & **2-C** & **4-A** & **4-B** & **4-C** \\
**(\(\mu\)m)** & **No PEF** & **2.2 kV/cm** & **2.2 kV/cm** & **2.1 kV/cm** & **4.5 kV/cm** & **4.3 kV/cm** & **4.2 kV/cm** \\  & & 53 kJ/kg & 218 kJ/kg & **421 kJ/kg** & 52 kJ/kg & **216 kJ/kg** & **438 kJ/kg** \\ \hline \hline \multicolumn{1}{c}{_Solid Segment_} & & & & & & & \\
1 (_SS1_) & & & & & & & \\
4 (0.1) & 5–6 \({}^{\rm c}\)\({}_{\rm B}\) & 4–5 \({}^{\rm c}\)\({}_{\rm B}\) & 5 \({}^{\rm c}\)\({}_{\rm C}\) & 14–20 \({}^{\rm b}\)\({}^{\rm A}\) & 5–6 \({}^{\rm c}\)\({}_{\rm B}\) & 6 \({}^{\rm c}\)\({}_{\rm B}\) & 44–45 \({}^{\rm a}\)\({}^{\rm A}\) \\
4 (0.5) & 15–18 \({}^{\rm c}\)\({}_{\rm B}\) & 14–16 \({}^{\rm c}\)\({}_{\rm B}\) & 15–16 \({}^{\rm c}\)\({}_{\rm B}\) & 85–102 \({}^{\rm b}\)\({}^{\rm A}\) & 18 \({}^{\rm c}\)\({}_{\rm B}\) & 15–16 \({}^{\rm c}\)\({}_{\rm B}\) & 134–143 \({}^{\rm a}\)\({}^{\rm A}\) \\
4 (0.9) & 51–56 \({}^{\rm c}\)\({}_{\rm B}\) & 44–58 \({}^{\rm c}\)\({}_{\rm B}\) & 54–62 \({}^{\rm c}\)\({}_{\rm B}\) & 188–216 \({}^{\rm b}\)\({}^{\rm A}\) & 54–66 \({}^{\rm c}\)\({}_{\rm B}\) & 54–57 \({}^{\rm c}\)\({}_{\rm B}\) & 338–552 \({}^{\rm a}\)\({}^{\rm A}\) \\ \multicolumn{1}{c}{_Solid Segment_} & & & & & & & \\
2 (_SS2_) & & & & & & & \\
4 (0.1) & 5–6 \({}^{\rm c}\)\({}_{\rm B}\) & 6–7 \({}^{\rm c}\)\({}_{\rm B}\) & 6–7 \({}^{\rm c}\)\({}_{\rm B}\) & 7–8 \({}^{\rm b}\)\({}_{\rm B}\) & 5–6 \({}^{\rm c}\)\({}_{\rm B}\) & 5 \({}^{\rm c}\)\({}_{\rm C}\) & 11–12 \({}^{\rm a}\)\({}_{\rm B}\) \\
4 (0.5) & 16–19 \({}^{\rm b}\)\({}^{\rm B}\) & 16–21 \({}^{\rm b}\)\({}^{\rm B}\) & 17–21 \({}^{\rm b}\)\({}^{\rm B}\) & 20–22 \({}^{\rm B}\)\({}^{\rm B}\) & 20–21 \({}^{\rm b}\)\({}^{\rm B}\) & 18–19 \({}^{\rm b}\)\({}^{\rm B}\) & 44–49 \({}^{\rm a}\)\({}^{\rm B}\) \\
4 (0.9) & 44–62 \({}^{\rm b}\)\({}_{\rm B}\) & 40–66 \({}^{\rm b}\)\({}_{\rm B}\) & 52–88 \({}^{\rm b}\)\({}_{\rm B}\) & 66–98 \({}^{\rm b}\)\({}_{\rm B}\) & 69–126 \({}^{\rm b}\)\({}_{\rm B}\) & 121–167 \({}^{\rm b}\)\({}_{\rm B}\) & 164–185 \({}^{\rm b}\)\({}_{\rm B}\) \\ \multicolumn{1}{c}{_Solid Segment_} & & & & & & \\
3 (_SS3_) & & & & & & & \\
4 (0.1) & 7–8 \({}^{\rm a}\)\({}_{\rm A}\) & 8–9 \({}^{\rm a}\)\({}_{\rm A}\) & 8–9 \({}^{\rm a}\)\({}_{\rm A}\) & 8 \({}^{\rm a}\)\({}_{\rm A}\) & 8 \({}^{\rm a}\)\({}_{\rm B}\) & 8 \({}^{\rm a}\)\({}_{\rm A}\) & 8–9 \({}^{\rm a}\)\({}_{\rm C}\) \\
4 (0.5) & 31–36 \({}^{\rm a}\)\({}_{\rm A}\) & 31–33 \({}^{\rm a}\)\({}_{\rm A}\) & 32–36 \({}^{\rm a}\)\({}_{\rm A}\) & 26–32 \({}^{\rm a}\)\({}_{\rm B}\) & 33–35 \({}^{\rm a}\)\({}_{\rm A}\) & 33–43 \({}^{\rm a}\)\({}_{\rm A}\) & 32–34 \({}^{\rm a}\)\({}_{\rm C}\) \\
4 (0.9) & 247–336 \({}^{\rm a}\)\({}_{\rm A}\) & 262–284 \({}^{\rm a}\)\({}_{\rm A}\) & 351–426 \({}^{\rm a}\)\({}_{\rm A}\) & 154–249 \({}^{\rm b}\)\({}_{\rm A}\) & 343–378 \({}^{\rm a}\)\({}_{\rm A}\) & 327–468 \({}^{\rm a}\)\({}_{\rm A}\) & 297–337 \({}^{\rm a}\)\({}_{\rm AB}\) \\ \hline \hline \end{tabular}
\end{table} 
Table 2: Particle size distribution of different flour segments collected after PEF treatment of oat flour. Figure 3: Volume distribution of particles in selected representative flour segments (Solid Segment 1/SS1, Solid Segment 2/SS2, and Solid Segment 3/SS3) obtained from PEF-treated oat flour. Red arrows on the figure points out to the shoulders (indicate particle aggregation) observed on the distribution curve of the samples. When examining the three separate oat flour segments within a treatment, it was observed that samples from SS3 generally displayed the biggest particle sizes compared to SS1 and SS2. However, SS3 samples from 2-C and 4-C (421-438 kJ/kg, Table 2) are of exception. It is interesting that SS3 from 2-C and 4-C were the smallest, while SS1 samples were the biggest within the treatment (Table 2). The largest mean particle size of 2-C and 4-C SSI samples were found to be 85-102 \(\upmu\)m and 134-143 \(\upmu\)m, respectively (d\({}_{0.5}\), 2-C and 4-C, Table 2).