Optimization of osmotic dehydration of melons followed by air-drying |
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Authors: | Ulisses M. Teles,Fabiano A. N. Fernandes ,Sueli Rodrigues,ré a S. Lima,Geraldo A. Maia,& Raimundo W. Figueiredo |
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Affiliation: | Departamento de Engenharia Química, Universidade Federal do Ceará, Campus do Pici, Bloco 709, 60455-760 Fortaleza, CE, Brazil; Departamento de Tecnologia dos Alimentos, Universidade Federal do Ceará, Campus do Pici, Bloco 858, 60356-000 Fortaleza, CE, Brazil |
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Abstract: | ![]() Osmotic dehydration represents a technological alternative to reduce post‐harvest losses of fruits. In this work, the influence of the osmotic solution concentration and osmotic solution to fruit weight ratio was examined on the osmotic dehydration of melons under vacuum. The process of osmotic dehydration followed by air‐drying was studied and modelled so that it could be optimised. The developed model has been validated with experimental data and simulations have shown that how the operating conditions affect the process. An optimisation was done using the model in order to search for the best operating condition that would reduce the total processing time. |
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Keywords: | Cucumis melo L melon drying optimisation osmotic dehydration |
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