Design of a forced-air-twin-chamber for investigating the effects of controlled levels of non-uniformity in heat treatment of tomatoes on product quality

A twin-chambered forced-air apparatus was built to simultaneously apply different environments to each hemisphere of tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Merr.) fruit. This setup enabled one hemisphere of each fruit to be exposed to an air temperature–velocity combination of 39 °C/0.24 m s⁻¹; while the other hemisphere was simultaneously exposed to a combination of 36 °C/0.24 m s⁻¹, 37 °C/0.24 m s⁻¹, or 36 °C/0.12 m s⁻¹. Tomato fruits were divided into four lots: one left untreated; two lots were uniformly heat treated by maintaining the same environment in each chamber; and the remaining were subjected to twin chamber heat treatment. The fruits were then transferred to storage conditions at 14 °C, and allowed to ripen at 20 °C or subjected to chilling injury at 2 °C. The temperature difference between the two chambers significantly influenced the uniformity of color, whereas the firmness, titratable acidity and sugar to acid ratio were only marginally affected. Decreasing the temperature difference between the two chambers or increasing air velocity in heated chamber significantly improved the uniformity of quality.     

Thermal properties and resistant starch content of green banana flour (Musa cavendishii) produced at different drying conditions

The objective of this research was to verify the effect of drying conditions on thermal properties and resistant starch content of green banana flour (Musa cavendishii). The green banana flour is a complex-carbohydrates source, mainly of resistant starch, and quantifying its gelatinization is important to understand how it affects food processing and the functional properties of the flour. The green banana flour was obtained by drying unripe peeled bananas (first stage of ripening) in a dryer tunnel at 52 °C, 55 °C and 58 °C and air velocity at 0.6 m s⁻¹, 1.0 m s⁻¹ and 1.4 m s⁻¹. The results obtained from differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) curves show a single endothermic transition and a flow of maximum heating at peak temperatures from (67.95 ± 0.31) °C to (68.63 ± 0.28) °C. ANOVA shows that only drying temperature influenced significantly (P < 0.05) the gelatinization peak temperature (Tp). Gelatinization enthalpy (ΔH) varied from 9.04 J g⁻¹ to 11.63 J g⁻¹ and no significant difference was observed for either temperature or air velocity. The resistant starch content of the flour produced varied from (40.9 ± 0.4) g/100 g to (58.5 ± 5.4) g/100 g, on dry basis (d. b.), and was influenced by the combination of drying conditions: flour produced at 55 °C/1.4 m s⁻¹ and 55 °C/1.0 m s⁻¹ presented higher content of resistant starch.     

Kinetics and modeling of whole longan with combined infrared and hot air

The aim of this research was to evaluate the effects of operating variables on the drying behavior of whole longan undergoing a combined infrared and hot air drying process, to determine its kinetic parameters, and to develop drying kinetic models. The single-layer drying experiments were carried out at infrared powers of 300, 500 and 700 W, drying air temperatures of 40, 60 and 80 °C, and air velocities of 0.5, 1.0 and 1.5 m/s. The samples were dried until attaining a final moisture content of 0.2 kg water/kg dry solid. The results show that the drying had a short constant rate period followed by a falling rate period in all cases. The drying rate and product temperature were significantly influenced by infrared power, temperature and velocity of ambient air. In the constant rate period, the mass transfer coefficient varied from 3.646 × 10⁻³ to 1.914 × 10⁻² m/s. It increased with increasing infrared power, but decreased as air velocity and air temperature increased. In the falling rate period, theoretical and semi-empirical drying kinetic equations were used to describe the drying kinetics of the product. It was found that the overall effective diffusion coefficient and drying constant varied from 7.012 × 10⁻¹¹ to 6.681 × 10⁻¹⁰ m²/s and 0.026 to 0.234 h⁻¹, respectively. Both parameters increased with increasing infrared power and air temperature, but decreased with increasing air velocity. Combined regression equations developed to predict the drying kinetic parameters (h_D, D_eff and k) for all three models gave a fairly good fit.     

Preservation of saffron floral bio-residues by hot air convection

Large amounts of floral bio-residues are wasted in saffron spice production, which need to be stabilized because of how quickly they deteriorate. These bio-residues are rich in phenolic compounds, and the aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of drying temperatures and air flows on their color and phenolic composition. Anthocyanins and flavonols were degraded at 110 and 125 °C. The best drying temperatures were 70 and 90 °C for maintaining their physicochemical quality. The duration at 70 °C was double than that of 90 °C. Anthocyanins and flavonols were stable at 70 and 90 °C with 2, 4, 6 and 8 m s⁻¹. Dehydrations at 90 °C with 2, 4 and 6 m s⁻¹ were the most appropriate, due to a better color and greater similarity to control samples for their flavonols and anthocyanins.     

Optimization of the antioxidant capacity of thyme (Thymus vulgaris L.) extracts: Management of the convective drying process assisted by power ultrasound

Food properties change during processing, altering the quality of the final product. Sometimes, the important causal relationships are not well known and thus process management is difficult. This is especially true when chemical changes can occur as in the case of the drying of bioactive materials. The aim of this work was to develop a management tool for the thyme drying process, assisted by power ultrasound, to allow the appropriate values of the operating conditions that maximize the antioxidant capacity (AC) of the dried thyme extracts to be determined. For this proposal, the thyme drying process was analyzed at different drying air temperatures (T) (40–80 °C), drying air velocities (v_a) (1–3 m/s) and levels of power ultrasound (US) (0, 6.2, 12.3, 18.5 kW m⁻³). The essential oil was extracted by means of a supercritical fluid extraction method, and its AC was measured by FRAP. The drying velocity and the AC of the dried thyme extracts were both influenced by the magnitude of the air velocity and temperature, and also by power ultrasound. Artificial neural networks were developed to formulate and solve the optimization problem. The developed management tool allowed the optimal conditions of the process to be established, thereby maximizing the AC values in function of the raw materials, process characteristics and room air conditions.     

Influence of drying conditions on colour,betacyanin content and antioxidant capacities in dried red-fleshed dragon fruit (Hylocereus polyrhizus)

In this study, drying of red-fleshed dragon fruit at different temperatures (40, 50, 60, 70 and 80 °C) and air velocities (1.0 and 1.5 m s⁻¹) was conducted under the specific humidity of 25 g H₂O kg⁻¹ dry air. The results showed that drying at higher temperatures resulted in shorter drying times. However, temperature and air velocity did not significantly affect the total betacyanin contents and antioxidant capacities in dried products. Seven betacyanins identified by LC-MS were betanin, isobetanin, phyllocactin, isophyllocactin, betanidin 5 –O-(6′O-3-hydroxybutyryl)-β-glucoside, isobetanidin 5 –O-(6′O-3-hydroxybutyryl)-β-glucoside and decarboxylated phyllocactin. In addition, the temperature increased the isomerisation of betacyanins. The most preferable condition for preserving the colour and betacyanin contents of red-fleshed dragon fruit was the drying at a temperature of 80 °C and air velocity of 1.5 m s⁻¹ since it could shorten the drying time and give a bright red colour to the dried product as well as it had no significant impact on the betacyanins.     

Spray-dried rosemary extracts: Physicochemical and antioxidant properties

In this work, spray-dried rosemary extracts were obtained. A 3³ Box-Behnken design was followed to evaluate the influence of drying conditions on the contents of chemical markers and “in vitro” antioxidant activity of the powder. Although the dry products lost some of their polyphenols, they still had antioxidant activities (IC₅₀) ranging from 17.6 to 24.8 μg · mL⁻¹. Analysis of variance proved that studied factors and some of their interactions significantly affected most of the quality indicators. The best combination of conditions to use for obtaining dry rosemary extracts with adequate physicochemical and functional properties involves an extract feed rate of 6 mL · min⁻¹, a drying air inlet temperature of 140 °C and a spray nozzle air flow rate of 50 L · min⁻¹.     

Weibull distribution for modeling air drying of coroba slices

Application of Weibull distribution model was investigated for describing the moisture content of coroba slices during air drying. One set of experiments was performed following a full factorial design at three levels for air temperature (71, 82 and 93 °C) and velocity (0.82, 1.00 and 1.18 m/s). The set was designed to assess the adequacy of the Weibull model to describe water losses. The high regression coefficients (R² > 0.99) and low reduced chi-square indicated the acceptability of Weibull model for predicting moisture content. Values of scale parameter ranged from 41.77 to 71.52 (min) and values of shape parameter ranged from 1.06 to 1.21. Temperature sensitivity of scale parameter increased with increasing air velocity from 0.82 m/s (E_a = 210.45 J/mol) to 1.00 m/s (E_a = 214.93 J/mol) and then decreased with increasing velocity to 1.18 m/s (E_a = 139.03 J/mol). The normalized Weibull model was investigated for determining the effective diffusion coefficient (D_e). The D_e values ranged approximately from 2.51 × 10⁻¹² m²/s to 4.27 × 10⁻¹² m²/s.     

Foaming and drying behaviour of ripe bananas

The foaming of ripe bananas and the forced air-drying characteristics of the resulting banana foam mats were studied. Fresh banana puree with a density of 0.93 g/ml was foamed to a density of 0.50 g/ml after 12 min of whipping by the addition of 10 g/100 g soy protein as a foam inducer. Glyceryl monostearate did not induce foaming while commercially available food ingredients, Dream Whip and Gelatine induced foaming but such foams were not suitable for subsequent drying. Banana foam mats were dried at temperatures from 45°C to 90°C in a forced air, cabinet dryer, to a hard, porous and brittle solid which was amenable to grinding so as to produce a dehydrated banana powder. The transient drying behaviour of such mats was described by a capillary model of the form ln(M/M₀)=−Kt and over the bulk of the moisture ratio range, 0.05?M/M₀?1.0. The drying time (t) was directly related to the thickness of the foam mats. K values increased from 0.248 to 0.809 h⁻¹ as the drying air temperature was raised from 45°C to 90°C. Increasing the air velocity from 0.62 to 1.03 m/s did not profoundly influence the drying rate.     

Application of computer vision technique for on-line monitoring of shrimp color changes during drying

The effects of drying temperature and drying medium velocity on color change kinetics of shrimp viz. lightness (L^∗), redness (a^∗), yellowness (b^∗), total color difference (ΔE), chroma (CH), hue angle (H°), and browning index (BI) were on-lineally investigated. Drying experiments were carried out on dryer equipped with computer vision systems using hot air drying (HAD) temperatures of 50–90 °C and superheated steam drying (SSD) temperatures of 110–120 °C at drying medium velocities of 1–2 m/s. Zero-, first-order, and fractional conversion models were utilized to describe the color changes of shrimps and the fractional conversion model successfully tracked the experimental data. The results showed that the color parameters were significantly influenced by the studied parameters. Lightness of the samples decreased, while other color parameters increased as drying proceeded. Generally, increasing drying medium temperature decreased L^∗ and H°, whereas increased other color parameters. The color characteristic of the SSD finished products were acceptable than the HAD processed samples. Finally, dimensionless moisture content of shrimps during drying was accurately correlated to the color parameters and drying time using a quadratic regression model. Moisture ratio had strong relationship with the lightness change compared with the redness and yellowness variations.     

Effect of hot air drying and sun drying on color values and β-carotene content of apricot (Prunus armenica L.)

In this study, sulphurated and nonsulphurated Hacihaliloglu apricots (Prunus armenica L.) which is the most widely produced cultivar in Turkey were used to study the effects of different hot air drying temperatures (50, 60, 70, and 80 °C) and sun drying on color and β-carotene content of apricot. The time required to obtain the desired final dry matter in hot air drying was lower than sun drying. Sulphuration also decreased drying time at all drying conditions. Color values and β-carotene content of hot air dried samples were favorable in comparison to air drying. β-carotene content in dried apricots at 70 and 80 °C was 7.14, 7.17 mg 100 g⁻¹ dry matter and 6.12, 6.48 mg 100 g⁻¹ dry matter for sulphurated and nonsulphurated apricots, respectively. A good relationship was found between treatments (drying temperatures and drying times) and β-carotene content for sulphurated and nonsulphurated apricots (R²=0.9422 and 0.9129, respectively).     

Thin layer drying characteristics of rapeseed (Brassica napus L.)

This study was performed to determine the most appropriate thin layer drying model and the effective moisture diffusivity of rapeseed. The thin layer drying tests were conducted at three different combinations of drying air temperature levels of 40, 50, and 60 °C and relative humidity levels of 30, 45, and 60%. The thin layer drying characteristics of rapeseed were determined. The Page (1949) model was the most adequate model for describing the thin layer drying of rapeseed. Drying occurred in the falling rate period and the rate of moisture removal from rapeseed was governed by the rate of water diffusion to the surface of the seed. Effective moisture diffusivities were calculated based on the diffusion equation for a spherical shape using Fick’s second law. Effective moisture diffusivity during drying varied from 1.72 × 10⁻¹¹ to 3.31 × 10⁻¹¹ m² s⁻¹ over the temperature range. The dependence of moisture diffusivity on temperature was described by an Arrhenius-type equation. The activation energy for moisture diffusion during drying was 28.47 kJ mol⁻¹.     

Drying of yellow pea starch on inert carriers: Drying kinetics,moisture diffusivity,and product quality

This study aimed at investigating the drying of yellow pea starch dispersions on inert solid carriers and determining the drying kinetics, moisture diffusivity and the product quality, quantified through damage index and final moisture content. Drying kinetics accomplished in a convective drying tunnel show that the overall mass transfer is controlled by internal migration of moisture within the starch particles. For a given inlet air temperature from 100 to 180 °C, the apparent diffusion coefficient derived from the drying curves increases exponentially with the instantaneous moisture content, with values ranging from 4 × 10⁻¹¹ to 3 × 10⁻⁸ m²/s. Due to low diffusivity and the thin coat formed on the surface of solid carriers, the resistance to internal diffusion is negligible as compared to the overall mass transfer resistance when drying of starch dispersions takes place on inert solid carriers. Drying of yellow pea starch dispersion on Teflon particles as inert carriers was studied in laboratory and pilot fast spouted bed dryer for inlet air temperatures from 140 to 240 °C, and initial solid content of 38%, mass (d.b.). The starch damage index for targeted product moisture content was below 2.5% in the inlet air temperature range from 120 to 210 °C, when atomizing from the bottom of dryer.     

Effect of rotating tray drying on antioxidant components,color and rehydration ratio of tomato saladette slices

A rotating tray drier was built and controlled for drying of tomato slices at different temperatures (45, 50 and 60 °C) and air velocities (0.6 and 1.2 m s^?1) with and without tray rotation. Drying curves were fitted using the Page mathematical model. Effective diffusivities for the different drying conditions correlated well with the chemical composition variables; lycopene, ascorbic acid and total polyphenols (TPP). The effect of drying conditions over quality of dried tomato slices was evaluated by quantifying their contents of lycopene, ascorbic acid and TPP, and measuring their color and rehydration ratio. The best drying conditions were 60 °C drying temperature and 0.6 m s^?1 air velocity with the use of tray rotation. These conditions minimized the degradation of lycopene (2.9%), ascorbic acid (17.3%) and TPP (2.1%) during drying. Tray rotation has a contribution on the a* color value, as well as on the lycopene and ascorbic acid concentrations (5% significance level).     

Effect of processing methods on the concentrations of bioactive components of ginseng (Panax ginseng C.A. Meyer) adventitious roots

Adventitious roots of Korean mountain ginseng (Panax ginseng C.A. Meyer) were processed by using forced air drying methodology at 30, 50 and 70 °C for 1, 3, 5, 10 and 20 h with objective of developing suitable processing/drying technique. Drying of adventitious roots at 50 °C for 10 h was found suitable as desirable moisture content (3.13 g water/dry matter i.e. 10%) could be reached with dried roots. Roots which were dried by such treatment were also possessing higher amount of ginsenosides (1.5 mg g⁻¹ DW triols, 15.9 mg g⁻¹ DW diols and 17.4 mg g⁻¹ DW of total ginsenosides) and phenolics. Adventitious roots were also processed by using far infrared and freeze drying methods and results revealed that forced air drying method is superior to far infrared and freeze drying methods.     

Analysis of giant pumpkin (Cucurbita maxima) drying kinetics in various technologies of convective drying

The paper analyses the results of the research on drying a variety of giant pumpkin (Justynka – 957). The research involved drying kinetics of pumpkin as well as changes in the volume of 10 mm pumpkin cubes, dried at the temperature of 80 °C, using free (natural) convection and in the forced convection in the tunnel dryer, with the drying factor speed of 1.2 m s⁻¹ and in the fluid bed dryer. Drying kinetics of pumpkin pieces dried in the tunnel dryer, fluid bed dryer and during two-stage initial drying in the tunnel, and in the fluid bed dryer were examined. Measurements results were used to verify the theoretical models of drying kinetics of the first period taking volume shrinkage into consideration, and the second period of the examined processes.     

Drying and quality characteristics of fresh and sugar-infused blueberries dried with infrared radiation heating

We evaluated the finished product quality and infrared (IR) drying characteristics of fresh and sugar-infused blueberries dried with a catalytic infrared (CIR) dryer. IR drying tests were conducted at four product temperatures (60, 70, 80, and 90 °C) to evaluate the drying rate and the color and texture of the finished product. Fresh blueberries dried with convective hot air drying at 60 °C were used as control for comparison. The experimental data of moisture changes during IR drying were modeled with eight different models, including Page, modified Page, Thompson, Newton, Wang and Singh, and Henderson and Pabis, and two models developed in this study. The Thompson model showed the best fit to all experimental data. The CIR drying produced firmer-texture products with much reduced drying time compared with hot air drying. For fresh blueberries, CIR drying conserved drying time by 44% at 60 °C. The effective moisture diffusivity ranged from 2.24 × 10⁻¹⁰ to 16.4 × 10⁻¹⁰ m²/s and from 0.61 × 10⁻¹⁰ to 3.84 × 10⁻¹⁰ m²/s for fresh and sugar-infused blueberries, respectively.     

Effect of chemical and physical pretreatments on the convective drying of cape gooseberry fruits (Physalis peruviana)

Drying of cape gooseberry fruits is a slow process because of the low permeability to moisture of the fruit’s waxy skin. In this work, the effect of chemical pretreatments (sunflower oil/K₂CO₃ or olive oil/K₂CO₃ at 28 °C, and NaOH/olive oil at 96 °C) and physical pretreatments (blanching) to break down the waxy surface and accelerate moisture diffusion during drying, was assessed. Drying was carried out at 60 °C and 2 m/s air velocity for 10 h. The lowest moisture content (0.27 kg water/kg db), the highest vitamin C content (0.36 mg/g), and the greatest rehydration capacity (1.89) were obtained in fruits pretreated with olive oil (9.48%) and K₂CO₃ (4.74%). However, the greatest changes in color (ΔE^* = 15.05) and chroma (ΔC^* = 9.03) were also associated to fruits pretreated with olive oil and K₂CO₃. The effective diffusivity of water during drying was 7.37 × 10⁻¹¹ m²/s in pretreated samples compared with 6.61×10⁻¹¹ m²/s for untreated samples.     

Effect of ultrasound on banana cv Pacovan drying kinetics

The aim of this work was to study and to model the drying kinetics of fresh and ultrasonic pretreated banana cv Pacovan using the diffusional model (Fick’s second law) and an empirical two parameters model (Page model). The pretreatment was carried out in an ultrasonic bath at 30 °C. The drying process was carried out in a fixed bed dryer at two different temperatures (50 and 70 °C) and 3.0 m/s air velocity. Page empirical model provided the best simulation of the drying curves. The diffusional model was used to describe the moisture transfer and the effective diffusivities of water were determined and were in the order of 10⁻⁹ m²/s. These diffusivities increased with increasing temperature and with the application of ultrasound, while the process time reduced, which can represent an economy of energy, since air drying is cost intensive.