Combined Drying of Apple Cubes by Using of Heat Pump,Vacuum-Microwave,and Intermittent Techniques

Apple cubes of 15 mm were dried naturally without adding any chemical preservative using various drying methods namely intermittent hot air–dehumidified air drying with cyclic temperature profile and step-up temperature profile, heat-pump-assisted (HP) drying, convective vacuum-microwave (C/VM) drying, and heat pump vacuum-microwave (HP/VM) drying. The drying kinetics of apple samples dehydrated by different methods was divided into characteristic drying periods and fitted with empirical models, which gave high value of determination coefficient. The application of C/VM in drying of fruits gave the shortest drying time compared to other drying methods (about 50 % of the total drying time). The drying time was affected by effective diffusivity ranging from 3.522?×?10^?8 to 1.431?×?10^?6 m²/min depending on the drying technique used. It was found that combined drying which apply vacuum microwave (C/VM, HP/VM) gave the lowest values in hardness and chewiness. In addition, HP/VM drying gave the highest retained total polyphenol content, antioxidant activity, and the best appearance quality.     

Moisture Diffusivity Coefficient and Convective Drying Modelling of Murta (Ugni molinae Turcz): Influence of Temperature and Vacuum on Drying Kinetics

In this study, murta (Ugni molinae Turcz) or murtilla berries were dried in single layer at air temperatures of 50, 60 and 70 °C under vacuum and atmospheric pressure conditions. The effect of drying air temperature and vacuum on the basic dehydration characteristics of murta was determined. For the kinetic modelling, ten mathematical expressions were fitted to the experimental data. Kinetic parameters and diffusion coefficients as evaluated by an Arrhenius-type equation, showed temperature dependency. Fick’s second law was used to calculate the effective moisture diffusivity that varied from 3.10 to 11.27?×?10^?10 m²/s and from 5.50 to 11.30?×?10^?10 m²/s with activation energy values of 59.27 and 34.30 kJ/mol for atmospheric pressure and vacuum drying, respectively. According to the statistical tests applied, the Midilli–Ku?uk model obtained the best-fit quality on experimental data, followed closely by the Weibull distribution model, the Page and the modified Page models.     

Modeling engineering characteristics of hazelnut kernel during infrared fluidized bed drying

In this study, a laboratory scale infrared fluidized bed dryer was used to dry the hazelnut kernels. The drying experiments were performed under the following drying conditions: air temperatures of 45, 65 and 85?°C, air velocities of 1.30, 3.09 and 4.87 m/s and infrared powers of 500, 1000 and 1500 W. Maximum and minimum values of effective moisture diffusivity for hazelnut kernels were obtained 1.87?×?10^?9 and 1.75?×?10^?10 m²/s, respectively. Activation energy was obtained between 33.02 and 50.22 kJ/mol. Specific energy consumption of hazelnut kernels was obtained between 1.72?×?10³ and 2.23?×?10⁴ MJ/kg. Six mathematical models were used to predict the drying behavior of hazelnut samples. Among these models, the Midilli model sufficiently fitted the experimental drying data. The shrinkage values were obtained within the range of 0.10 and 0.24. The results obtained showed that the \({{L}^{*}},\) \({{a}^{*}},\) \({{b}^{*}}\) and \(\Delta E\) color values of the kernels were significantly affected (P?<?0.05) by air temperature. The highest color changes were related to the air temperature of 85?°C at all air velocities and infrared powers. Maximum values of energy (103.57 N mm) and force (129.84 N) at initial rupture point was related to air temperatures of 85?°C and infrared powers of 1500 W. Minimum values of energy (16.47 N mm) and force (31.74 N) at initial rupture point was related to air temperatures of 45?°C and infrared powers of 500 W.     

Study on kinetics of flow characteristics in hot air drying of pineapple

The aim was to evaluate the kinetic parameters, total color differences (?E*) and browning index differences (?BI) of air flow pineapple drying. The experiments were performed on air temperatures at 60 and 70 °C, and air velocities at 1.5 and 2.0 m/s. The kinetic parameter (k) increased when air temperature was increased for all air velocity. The effective diffusivity coefficient (D_eff) increased as high as the temperature of the heating medium. The variation of D_eff of swirling flow was ranging from 6.72?×?10^?9 to 10.23?×?10^?9 m²/s, while the variation of D_eff of non-swirling flow was ranging from 6.40?×?10^?9 to 9.42?×?10^?9 m²/s. The drying time of swirling flow was shorter than non-swirling flow in each drying condition. Moreover, the ?E* and ?BI of pineapple in swirling flow were lower than that obtained from non-swirling flow. Therefore, the convective drying using swirling flow can be minimized for drying time and color deterioration.     

Modeling Effective Moisture Diffusivity of Orange Slice (Thompson Cv.)

The present study was conducted to compute effective moisture diffusivity and activation energy of orange slices during convection drying. The thin-layer drying experiments were carried out at five air temperatures of 40, 50, 60, 70, and 80^ºC, three air velocities of 0.5, 1.0, and 2.0 m/s and three orange slice thicknesses of 2, 4, and 6 mm. Results indicated that drying took place in the falling rate period. Moisture transfer from orange slices was described by applying the Fick's diffusion model. The effective diffusivity values were increased from 6.27 × 10^?10 to 3.50 × 10^?9 m²/s for the temperature range used in this study. An Arrhenius relation with an activation energy value of 16.47 to 40.90 kJ/mol and the diffusivity constant value of 7.74 × 10^?7 to 3.93 × 10^?3 m²/s were obtained. It was found that with increasing the temperature and air velocity the effective diffusivity increases while slice thickness showed no considerable changes on the effective diffusivity.     

Characterization of hot air drying and microwave vacuum drying of fingerroot (Boesenbergia pandurata)

Fingerroot (Boesenbergia pandurata) was subjected to hot air drying and microwave vacuum drying. Effective moisture diffusion coefficient during the hot air drying at 60 and 70 °C were 0.2073 × 10^?10 and 0.4106 × 10^?10 m² s^?1 respectively. By using the microwave vacuum drying (13.3 kPa) at the power of 2880 and 3360 W, the effective moisture diffusion coefficient were increased to 5.7910 × 10^?10 and 6.8767 × 10^?10 m² s^?1 respectively. Based on Lewis model, drying rate constants were 0.0002, 0.0004, 0.0061 and 0.0072 s^?1 for the hot air drying at 60 and 70 °C and the microwave vacuum drying at 2880 and 3360 W respectively. Compared with the hot air drying, the microwave vacuum drying decreased drying time by 90%. Rehydration ability of the microwave vacuum dried samples was also significantly improved (P ≤ 0.05), because of porous structure. In addition, the rehydrating water of the microwave vacuum dried samples contained higher b*‐value (yellowness) than that of the hot‐air‐dried samples (P ≤ 0.05).     

Modeling some thermal and physical characteristics of terebinth fruit under semi industrial continuous drying

In this research, the effect of different drying conditions on thermal and physical properties of terebinth fruit was studied. Experiments were conducted with a semi industrial continuous dryer in air temperature levels of 45, 60, 75 °C, air velocity levels of 1, 1.5 and 2 m/s and belt linear speeds of 2.5, 6.5, 10.5 mm/s. Results showed that the Midilli model had the best performance in predicting the moisture ratio. Effective moisture diffusivity of terebinth fruit during experiments was 6.48 × 10^?11–2.34 × 10^?10 m²/s achieved. Activation energy of the samples between 25.45 and 35.16 kJ/mol was obtained. The highest and lowest values of specific energy consumption 65.2 and 10.5 GJ/kg were calculated. Maximum value of shrinkage (16.70 %) was calculated at air temperatures of 75 °C and minimum value (12.34 %) was achieved at air temperature of 45 °C. After drying, total color difference was increased, and hue angle and chroma were decreased. Rupture force for dried terebinth between 80.15 and 112.68 N mm were calculated.     

Prediction of Drying Characteristics of Pomegranate Arils

The thin-layer drying characteristics of pomegranate arils were investigated at the temperature of 55, 65 and 75°C, and the thin-layer drying models were used to fit the drying data. The increase in drying air temperature resulted in a decrease in drying time. Five different thin-layer drying models were used to predict the drying characteristics. The Midilli et al. model showed a better fit to experimental drying data as compared to other models. Effective moisture diffusivities were calculated based on the diffusion equation for a spherical shape using Fick’s second law, and varied from 9.373 × 10⁻¹¹ to 3.429 × 10⁻¹⁰ m²/s over the temperature range. Moisture diffusivity values increased as air temperature was increased. The dependence of moisture diffusivity on temperature was described by an Arrhenius-type equation. The activation energies of control and pre-treated samples were determined to be 49.7 and 40.1 kJ/mol, respectively.     

Numerical Simulation of Variable Water Diffusivity during Drying of Peeled and Unpeeled Tomato

Abstract: A mathematical model was formulated for the estimation, in conjunction with experimental measurements, of water diffusivity parameters during convective drying of peeled and unpeeled tomatoes. Fick's 2nd law of diffusion was solved numerically for a sphere, by explicit finite differences, considering shrinkage effect, variable diffusivity, and constant boundary conditions. Experiments were performed in a laboratory tunnel dryer. The equivalent radius of tomato decreased by 50% until the end of the process, which explains the necessity for shrinkage inclusion in the mass transfer model. The mean estimated diffusivities varied between 2.03 × 10^?10 and 15.1 × 10^?10 m²/s for peeled tomatoes and 0.59 × 10^?10 and 15.2 × 10^?10 m²/s for unpeeled tomatoes. The estimated water diffusivities and their variation with the tested drying temperatures (45, 55, and 65 °C) provide an insight of peeling effect during air‐drying. Peeling was beneficial since yielded greater drying rates and shortened significantly drying times, thus saving energy during drying. In all the studied cases, good agreement was found between experimental and predicted drying curves (≥ 0.99, mean relative deviation [MRD]≤ 0.12, and root mean square error [RMSE]≤ 0.03). In overall, the proposed methodology provides a reliable and easy estimation of temperature and moisture‐dependent mass transfer properties and drying simulation of shrinkable food products such as tomato. Practical Application: Water diffusivity is a food property, difficult in estimation but essential in drying processing optimization. This property was estimated as a function of moisture content and drying temperature employing a numerical simulation procedure. The peeling effect was also studied and found beneficial for lower temperature drying (<55 °C) which is useful in the energy optimization of the drying process as well as the retention of the end‐product quality.     

Thin-layer drying characteristics and modelling of mint leaves undergoing microwave treatment

The effect of microwave drying technique on moisture content, moisture ratio, drying rate, drying time and effective moisture diffusivity of mint leaves (Mentha spicata L.) were investigated. By increasing the microwave output powers (180–900 W) and the sample amounts (25–100 g), the drying time decreased from 12.50 to 3.0 min and increased from 6.60 to 16 min, respectively. To determine the kinetic parameters, the drying data were fitted to various models based on the ratios of the differences between the initial and final moisture contents and equilibrium moisture content versus drying time. Among of the models proposed, the semi-empirical Midilli et al. model gave a better fit for all drying conditions applied. By increasing the microwave output powers and decreasing the sample amounts, the effective moisture diffusivity values ranged from 3.982 × 10⁻¹¹ to 2.073 × 10⁻¹⁰ m² s⁻¹ and from 9.253 × 10⁻¹¹ to 3.162 × 10⁻¹¹ m² s⁻¹, respectively. The activation energy was calculated using an exponential expression based on Arrhenius equation. The relationship between the drying rate constant and effective moisture diffusivity was also estimated; and gave a linear relationship.     

Effects of infrared heating on drying kinetics,antioxidant activity,phenolic content,and color of jujube fruit

This study investigated the effects of different infrared power (IP) levels (62, 88, and 125 W) and a pretreatment (soaking in a solution of 5 % potassium carbonate and 0.5 % olive oil) on the drying kinetics and some quality parameters of jujube fruit. The drying characteristics of jujube were greatly influenced by the pretreatment and IP level. The models of Lewis, Logarithmic, Page, and Aghbashlo et al. were fitted to the obtained experimental data using nonlinear regression analysis. The Page model showed a better fit to the experimental drying data when compared to the other models. The effective moisture diffusivity, calculated using Fick’s second law, ranged from 4.75 × 10^?10 to 4.17 × 10^?9 m²/s. Significantly, higher total phenolic content (TPC) and antioxidant capacity values were obtained for the pretreated samples subjected to higher IP levels. The total color change (ΔE) of the dried samples significantly increased with increasing IP level. Jujube fruits should be pretreated and then dried at 88 W IP to reduce phenolic degradation and undesired color changes and to increase the quality of the dried product.     

Mass transfer characteristics during convective,microwave and combined microwave–convective drying of lemon slices

BACKGROUND: The investigation of drying kinetics and mass transfer phenomena is important for selecting optimum operating conditions, and obtaining a high quality dried product. Two analytical models, conventional solution of the diffusion equation and the Dincer and Dost model, were used to investigate mass transfer characteristics during combined microwave‐convective drying of lemon slices. Air temperatures of 50, 55 and 60 °C, and specific microwave powers of 0.97 and 2.04 W g^?1 were the process variables. RESULTS: Kinetics curves for drying indicated one constant rate period followed by one falling rate period in convective and microwave drying methods, and only one falling rate period with the exception of a very short accelerating period at the beginning of microwave‐convective treatments. Applying the conventional method, the effective moisture diffusivity varied from 2.4 × 10^?11 to 1.2 × 10^?9 m² s^?1. The Biot number, the moisture transfer coefficient, and the moisture diffusivity, respectively in the ranges of 0.2 to 3.0 (indicating simultaneous internal and external mass transfer control), 3.7 × 10^?8 to 4.3 × 10^?6 m s^?1, and 2.2 × 10^?10 to 4.2 × 10^?9 m² s^?1 were also determined using the Dincer and Dost model. CONCLUSIONS: The higher degree of prediction accuracy was achieved by using the Dincer and Dost model for all treatments. Therefore, this model could be applied as an effective tool for predicting mass transfer characteristics during the drying of lemon slices. © 2012 Society of Chemical Industry     

Drying kinetics and effective moisture diffusivity of bamboo shoot slices undergoing microwave drying

Effect of microwave power on moisture content, moisture ratio, drying rate, drying time and effective moisture diffusivity (D_eff) of bamboo shoot was investigated using microwave drying. To study the effect of microwave power on drying, bamboo shoot samples (250 g) were dried at different power levels ranging from 140 to 350 W. To determine the kinetic parameters, drying data were fitted to various models based on the ratios of differences between initial and final moisture contents and equilibrium moisture content. Among the models proposed, Wang and Singh model gave a better fit for all drying conditions used. By increasing microwave output power, the D_eff values increased from 4.153 × 10^?10 to 22.835 × 10^?10 m² s^?1. A third‐order polynomial relationship was found to correlate the D_eff with moisture content. Further scope of this research work would include the effect of certain factors (shrinkage, case hardening, distortion of product and shape of bamboo shoot samples as an infinite slab) of practical significance to improve the model.     

Dehydration of red beet root (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Beta vulgaris</Emphasis>) by hot air drying: Process optimization and mathematical modeling

Convective hot air drying was optimized with the objective of maximum color retention of red beet. The process was mathematically modelled as a function of hot air temperature, batch time, and moisture. New semitheoretical model was tested with experimental data (50 to 120°C) and was found better than 9 other reported models. Estimated effective moisture diffusivity was 3.01×10⁻⁹ to 7.21×10⁻⁷ m²/s and it obeyed Arrhenius’s equation. Color and rehydration ratio were used to assess the quality of beet powder. An unusual trend of color minima was also observed; which was attributed to the physical phenomena of surface moisture. The final color of beet was temperature dependent and maximum color retention was achieved at lowest drying temperature. Best drying condition required sequential reduction in temperature (120 to 50°C) resulting in good color retention. This reduced batch time to 4 h compared to 6 h batch of conventional isothermal drying at 50°C.     

Comparison of Freeze-Drying and Freeze-Drying Combined with Microwave Vacuum Drying Methods on Drying Kinetics and Rehydration Characteristics of Button Mushroom (Agaricus bisporus) Slices

Button mushroom slices were dried using freeze-drying (FD) and freeze-drying combined with microwave vacuum drying (FD?+?MVD) methods. Drying parameters including drying temperatures (20, 30, and 40 °C), chamber pressures (70, 100, and 130 Pa) and material layer thicknesses (single, double, and triple) during FD process, and microwave power densities (20, 40, and 60 W/g) and material layer thicknesses (single, double and triple) during MVD period of FD?+?MVD process, were investigated for their drying characteristics. The FD and FD?+?MVD products were then rehydrated at two temperatures (20 and 70 °C). Different mathematical models were tested with the drying and rehydration behaviors of button mushroom slices, and the effective diffusivities (D _eff) in the FD and FD?+?MVD processes were also calculated. The results indicated that based on the statistical tests, the Page model and logarithmic model provided the best fit for FD (in both FD and FD?+?MVD processes) and MVD (in FD?+?MVD process) curves, respectively. The regression equations obtained from selected models can accurately predict the relationships between moisture ratio (MR) and time (t). Furthermore, the D _eff values of the MVD period in FD?+?MVD process (2.318–5.565?×?10^?5 m²/s) were about ten times greater than those in FD process (1.291–3.389?×?10^?6 m²/s). In addition, the Peleg model gave a better fit for rehydration conditions applied in both FD and FD?+?MVD products. The values of equilibrium moisture content (W _e) of FD?+?MVD products were almost similar to those of FD products, which indicated that the rehydration capacities of the two dehydrated products were comparable.     

Evaluation of Mathematical Models for Prediction of Thin-Layer Drying of Banana Slices

Drying characteristics of bananas were experimentally determined. The drying experiments were carried out in a hot air dryer at four inlet temperatures of 50, 60, 70 and 80°C, at a constant air velocity of 2.4 m/s and relative humidity of 4–25%. The experimental results were fitted to five thin-layer drying models and it was found that the Page and Logarithmic models gave better fit that the other models. Values of the effective diffusivity ranged from 7.374 × 10^?11 to 2.148 × 10^?10 m²/s. Activation energy for moisture diffusion of the banana slices was found to be 32.65 kJ/mol.     

Experimental characterization and modelling of drying of pear slices

The effect of temperature on the drying kinetics of pear slices was investigated. The drying process was carried out at temperatures of 55, 65, and 75°C. Drying time decreased considerably with increased air temperature. Seven mathematical models available in the literature were tested with the drying patterns. The Wang and Singh, and Midilli et al. models were given the best results in describing drying of pear slices. Effective moisture diffusivity increased with increasing air temperature, and varied from 0.85 to 2.18×10^?10 m²/s over the temperature range investigated, with activation energy equal to 44.78 kJ/mol.     

Mathematical modeling of uvaia byproduct drying and evaluation of quality parameters

Uvaia (Eugenia pyriformis) frozen pulp processing generates a solid byproduct that can potentially contain important components of human nutrition. In this study, the drying of uvaia byproduct was studied. Two different drying treatments were tested: drying of wet waste and drying of waste with prior removal of water by centrifugation. Three drying temperatures were used: 40, 60, and 80 °C. Eight models were applied to fit the drying curves: Page, Lewis, Modified Page, Logarithmic, Midilli, Wang and Singh, Henderson and Pabis, and Weibull. Midilli presented an excellent fit to the curves. The effective moisture diffusivity of the uvaia byproduct ranged between 8.52 × 10^?10 and 3.22 × 10^?9 m²/s. The activation energy was 25.65 and 24.97 kJ/mol for non-centrifuged and centrifuged assays, respectively. The dried byproducts had a reduction of 3–21% of the total phenolic content against the control. The assay performed at 40 °C with centrifugation presented the lowest total color difference value.     

Thermal Properties of Kerstingiella geocarpa Seeds as Influenced by Moisture Content

The specific heat capacity, thermal conductivity and thermal diffusivity of Kerstingiella geocarpa seeds were determined as a function of moisture content. The initial moisture content of the seeds determined using the ASAE standard test was 10.0 % (d.b). The specific heat capacity of Kerstingiella geocarpa seed increased from 155.83 to 204.45 Jkg^?1k?1, as the moisture content increased from 10 to 30 % (d.b). The thermal conductivity of the seed increased from 5.13 × 10^?2 to 4.87 × 10^?1 Wm^?1k^?1, as the moisture content increased. The thermal diffusivity of the seed increased from 2.35 × 10^?4 to 3.66 × 10^?3 m²s^?1, as the moisture content increased. These values indicate the ability of the Kerstingiella geocarpa seed to retain heat when processed. The regression models that could be used to adequately express the relationships existing between the thermal properties of the Kerstingiella geocarpa seed and moisture content were established.     

Mathematical Modeling and Experimental Study on Thin-Layer Vacuum Drying of Ginger (Zingiber Officinale R.) Slices

The vacuum-drying characteristics of ginger (Zingiber officinale R.) slices were investigated. Drying experiments were carried out at a constant chamber pressure of 8 kPa, and at four different drying temperatures (40 °C, 50 °C, 60 °C, and 65 °C).The effects of drying temperature on the drying rate and moisture ratio of the ginger samples were evaluated. Efficient model for describing the vacuum-drying process was chosen by fitting five commonly used drying models and a suggested polynomial was fitted to the experimental data. The effective moisture diffusivity and activation energy were calculated using an infinite series solution of Fick’s diffusion equation. The results showed that increasing drying temperature accelerated the vacuum-drying process. All drying experiments had only falling rate period. The goodness of fit tests indicated that the proposed two-term exponential model gave the best fit to experimental results among the five tested drying models. The average effective diffusivity values varied from 1.859 × 10⁻⁸ to 4.777 × 10⁻⁸ m²/s over the temperature range. The temperature dependence of the effective moisture diffusivity for the vacuum drying of the ginger samples was satisfactorily described by an Arrhenius-type relationship with activation energy value of 35.675 kJ/mol within 40–65 °C temperature range.