Food drying enhancement by ultrasound – A review

BackgroundDrying is one of the most popular methods of preserving a wide variety of food and agricultural products. Unfortunately, this unit operation may negatively influence product quality. Moreover, due to the high heat capacity of water, drying is usually a long-lasting and energy-intensive process, thus new drying techniques are continuously being sought.Scope and approachThis review presents the current state of art in ultrasonic-assisted drying. Despite immense knowledge on the principles of ultrasound generation and action, this technology has found no practical application in industrial drying yet. In this paper we tried to find the reasons for this state of affairs. Up-to-date designs of dryers using ultrasound to enhance the drying process and the various possible mechanisms of accelerating the drying process with the application of ultrasonic waves are discussed. The influence of ultrasound on the product's quality (dried food) is judged and described.Key findings and conclusionsThe analysis of the results presented by the researchers here allows to state that applying ultrasound to drying caused a shortening of the drying time and could reduce total energy consumption. Moreover, due to the small “temperature effect”, the quality of the obtained products was noticeably better as compared to the control processes (without ultrasound enhancement). The lack of an effective technology for generating power ultrasound in air was distinguished as the primary constraint for industrial application of this technology. The necessity of conducting detailed studies on ultrasound application in drying was emphasized.     

远红外辅助热泵干燥食用玫瑰花瓣及产品品质分析

为了探究远红外辅助热泵干燥食用玫瑰花瓣的可行性以及远红外辅助热泵干燥对食用玫瑰花品质的影响。本文以远红外辅助热泵技术干燥食用玫瑰花瓣,研究不同热泵温度（40、50、60 ℃）和远红外辅助方式（远红外分别在热泵干燥的全程、前程或后程辅助）下的干燥特性,以及对玫瑰花瓣品质和生物活性成分的影响。结果表明,热泵温度60 ℃条件下干燥45 min时,单位能耗除湿量最大,为2.73 g/(kW·h),确定该时刻为划分干燥前程和后程的时间点。当热泵温度60 ℃,远红外功率4 kW,采用远红外后程辅助热泵干燥时,干燥时间最短,总能耗最低,干燥120 min后湿基含水率为11.59%。与单一热泵干燥相比,干燥时间缩短33.33%,总能耗降低36.18%,产品原花青素、维生素C和多糖成分均得到较好保持,DPPH自由基清除率最高,且更接近于新鲜玫瑰花的色泽。利用tian model方程可以较好地拟合玫瑰花瓣在远红外辅助热泵干燥过程中的水分含量变化。研究表明远红外辅助热泵技术干燥食用玫瑰花瓣安全、高效,能耗较低,产品品质高,该技术有望在行业内试行推广。     

Foam-mat drying technology: A review

This article reviews various aspects of foam-mat drying such as foam-mat drying processing technique, main additives used for foam-mat drying, foam-mat drying of liquid and solid foods, quality characteristics of foam-mat dried foods, and economic and technical benefits for employing foam-mat drying. Foam-mat drying process is an alternative method that allows the removal of water from liquid materials and pureed materials. In this drying process, a liquid material is converted into foam that is stable by being whipped after adding an edible foaming agent. The stable foam is then spread out in sheet or mat and dried by using hot air (40–90°C) at atmospheric pressure. Methyl cellulose (0.25–2%), egg white (3–20%), maltodextrin (0.5–05%), and gum Arabic (2–9%) are the commonly utilized additives for the foam-mat drying process at the given range, either combined together for their effectiveness or individual effect. The foam-mat drying process is suitable for heat sensitive, viscous, and sticky products that cannot be dried using other forms of drying methods such as spray drying because of the state of product. More interest has developed for foam-mat drying because of the simplicity, cost effectiveness, high speed drying, and improved product quality it provides.     

Effects of ultrasound on the physicochemical properties and microstructure of salted‐dried grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idella)

Ultrasound treatment was used for accelerating drying process and shortening drying time of salted‐dried grass carp, in parallel with evaluation of physicochemical properties and microstructure. The grass carp blocks were salted with ultrasound‐assisted treatment at 0–480 W, 40 kHz for 120 min, then put into heat pump dryer for drying at 50% humidity, 30 °C for 50 hr. The moisture content results showed that ultrasound treatment could significantly promote water loss rate. As the ultrasound power increased, the hardness, the relative content of monounsaturated fatty acid and polyunsaturated fatty acid and total content of free amino acid decreased while the saturated fatty acid and sensory scores increased, respectively. Furthermore, microstructure of the dried‐salted grass carp was studied using paraffin sections and the scanning electron microscope to understand the change of microstructure. In general, ultrasound‐assisted salting significantly increased drying rate, and improved the quality of salted‐dried grass carp. This study shows the potential application of ultrasound in food drying process.

Practical applications

The ultrasound was applied in order to facilitate the traditional process to produce salted‐dried grass carp. And physicochemical properties and microstructure of salted‐dried fish were measured. The results showed that the application of ultrasound could significantly promote the mass transfer of water and improved the product's appeal for customers. The outcome of this study demonstrated a method for producing better quality dried‐salted fish products with a fast speed in the future and showed a great potential of ultrasound in food drying process.     

基于Weibull分布函数的双孢菇热泵干燥特性研究

为提升双孢菇干制品品质,采用热泵式冷风干燥对双孢菇进行脱水处理,以双孢菇热风干燥和冷冻干燥为参照实验,对不同热泵式冷风干燥条件下(进口风速、干燥温度)双孢菇的干燥耗时、干燥能耗、产品硬度以及产品白度进行研究;利用Weibull分布函数对双孢菇热泵式冷风干燥过程中的水分扩散机制进行分析;基于干燥效率指标和产品品质指标,采用加权综合评分法对双孢菇热泵式冷风干燥过程进行评价。实验表明:加快进口风速干燥耗时最小值比最大值降低9.09%,提升干燥温度干燥耗时最小值比最大值降低27.27%;干燥温度对双孢菇热泵式冷风干燥能耗、产品硬度和产品白度影响更为显著(p<0.05);Weibull分布函数能够准确描述(R2>0.99)双孢菇热泵式冷风干燥过程,不同干燥条件下双孢菇冷风干燥的形状参数均小于1,整个干燥主要受内部水分扩散控制;相对于冷冻干燥,双孢菇热泵式冷风干燥耗时及能耗分别降低了50%和26.35%;而相对于热风干燥,冷风干燥技术将双孢菇干制品的产品硬度降低13.44%,同时干制品产品白度提升了59.92%;实验操作条件范围,双孢菇冷风干燥最佳干燥条件为25 ℃干燥温度和2 m/s进口风速。结论:热泵式冷风干燥技术能够提升双孢菇干制品品质同时降低干燥耗时和能耗。     

功率超声对肌原纤维蛋白功能特性及肉品品质的影响研究进展

肌原纤维蛋白是肉制品中的主要蛋白质,其结构和功能特性很大程度上决定了肉制品的品质特性。功率超声作为一项非热加工技术在肉类工业中得到了广泛的应用。超声波在液体介质中引发空化效应从而产生的物理力被认为是造成蛋白质结构和功能特性变化的主要机制。本文在介绍功率超声作用原理的基础上,详细综述了功率超声对肌原纤维蛋白结构和功能特性的影响,并从肉的嫩度、保水性、色泽和风味4 个方面进一步论述了功率超声在肉的食用品质改良中的研究进展,同时对其应用前景进行展望,以期为功率超声在肉制品中的应用和推广提供理论参考。     

Evaluation at industrial scale of electric-driven heat pump dryers (HPD)

Electric-driven heat pump drying is evaluated in lumber from different softwoods (Maritime, radiata and Scot pines) and hardwoods (Iroko, Beech). The evaluation was carried out at industrial scale being controlled by five different driers over a two-year period. Up to 235 different cycles of drying were evaluated. Specific energy consumption seems to be between 0.64 kWh/l to 0.73 kWh/l in softwoods and between 1.0 to 1.3 kWh/l in hardwoods. These values are much lower than those usually reported for the traditional kiln drying. In moderate permeable lumber, the overall duration of drying is very similar to traditional kiln drying, but is longer in the case of very permeable softwoods. This drying technology seems to be efficient when drying lumber, at least when medium temperatures (65–70°C) are involved.     

基于Weibull分布函数的超声强化热风干燥紫薯的干燥特性及过程模拟

为探讨直触式超声对热风干燥过程的强化效果,以紫薯为干燥试材,利用超声热风干燥设备,研究不同干燥温度(40、50、60、70℃)及不同超声功率(0、30、60 W)条件下,紫薯片的干燥特性和品质变化规律,并利用Weibull函数对干燥过程进行了动力学模拟。结果表明:随着干燥温度的升高和超声波功率的增加,干燥时间明显缩短,干燥速率显著提高;Weibull分布函数可实现较高的模型精度;尺度参数α范围在92.317~345.764 min之间,且随着干燥温度升高和超声功率增大而减小,形状参数β在0.817~1.032之间,表明超声强化热风干燥紫薯的干燥过程由内部扩散阻力控制;水分扩散系数D_(cal)的范围为1.205×10~(-10)~4.513×10~(-10) m~2/s,其值随干燥温度和超声功率的升高而增大;干燥活化能随着超声功率的增加而相应减少;在相同超声功率下,随着干燥温度升高,总酚和总黄酮含量基本呈现先升高后下降的趋势;在较低干燥温度条件下,增大超声功率有利于提高总酚和总黄酮含量,但在较高温度条件下,增大超声功率则不利于总酚和总黄酮成分的保持。将超声技术用于热风干燥过程的强化可有效提高干燥速率和干燥品质。     

High power airborne ultrasound assist in combined drying of raspberries

A new approach to fruit drying with the application of ultrasound to enhance convective and combined convective–microwave drying is presented. High-power ultrasound was used in the experimental studies, in which the acoustic energy significantly affected the drying of sensitive biological material like raspberries. The raspberries were first subjected to pure convective drying as a reference process and then to hybrid drying as a combination of convective, microwave and ultrasound drying methods. The combined hybrid processes significantly improved the drying kinetics as well as the energy utilization, however, not in each case given the acceptable product quality in comparison with the pure convective drying. The global model of drying was used to compare the theoretical drying kinetics with the experimental one. Moreover, the effectiveness of ultrasound-assisted convective drying was evaluated in terms of drying rate and such ultrasound phenomena as “heating effect”, “vibration effect” and “synergistic effect” were analyzed.Industrial relevance1. Research objectivesProduct quality is a very important indicator that enables to assess the effectiveness of the drying process. For biological materials such as vegetables and fruits, that are characterized by instability and a delicate and sensitive internal structure to temperature, quality is a priority because it determines the functional value of these products. The traditional drying techniques, eg. convective drying, affect negatively on the final quality of dried biomaterials. Due to long exposure to a relatively high temperature and a high content of harmful oxygen in the drying agent, there is a change in the internal structure, deterioration of the sensory properties (color, aroma, texture) and changes in chemical composition (loss of bioactive components). One of the recommended modes to minimize these adverse changes is to carry out the drying process in non-stationary conditions. This method is based on the periodical changes in the process parameters such as temperature, humidity or flow rate. As a result, product quality is definitely better, at approximately the same drying time. Alternatively, drying may be carried out by hybrid method, providing the energy by a combination of several mechanisms, such as convection with microwave radiation, or with ultrasounds, which also leads to a significant improvement in quality of dried fruits and vegetables.The purpose of this article is a deep analysis of the effect of variable hybrid drying conditions, ie. cyclic supply of microwave and ultrasound energy during convective drying on a variety of properties of dried biomaterials. The research assumes that if drying results in changes of the biological material properties, a modification of the process parameters should minimize its negative effects and gain better quality products. The authors believe that a proper and skillful combination of different drying techniques will develop an optimal and effective drying method of thermo-labile materials, which retains their high quality, with reduced time and lower power consumption. Therefore, it is necessary to optimize the convective drying with microwave and ultrasound enhancement, in order to select the best process parameters for the established objective functions.2. Research project impactThe experimental results will contribute to the development of modern drying technologies of biological materials, characterized by, eg.:

• •much better and more controlled product quality (low level of processing),
• •much shorter process time resulting from the intensification of heat and mass processes due to additional sources of energy (microwaves and ultrasounds),
• •lower energy consumption resulting from the possibility of carrying out the drying process at much lower temperatures of the drying agent.

The expected results of the drying tests relate to the development of research activities in this field and to link a cooperation between science and industry. The effective transfer of new solutions in the field of chemical engineering and technology between science and industry is a hope of improving the quality of dried products, as well as the rational use of raw biomaterials (to prevent their losses from reaching about 50% of produced foods). The proposed drying method will also have a positive value for consumers and contribute to the reduction in influence of that branch of industry on the environment. In the consideration of the increasing demands of product quality, the need for better control of unit processes and minimization of its energy intensity, this new technique would be extremely competitive with currently used, expensive and environmentally damaging drying methods.     

德国米葱热泵干燥设备及工艺研究

利用空气能热泵干燥技术,结合热风干燥香葱失水规律,设计了干燥100 kg德国米葱热泵干燥设备的干燥室系统,并对热泵干燥室进行应用试验。结果表明:热泵干燥系统供热充足,控制系统工作准确,可以满足德国米葱的干燥工艺;比较了干燥室内5处德国米葱的干燥品质,并与燃煤干燥室产品进行比较,热泵干燥德国米葱在色泽、复水性、感官评价及能耗方面均有一定的优势;本次干燥总耗电35 k W·h,单位能耗除湿量为2.64 kg/(k W·h),总费用为17.5元,核算干燥成本为2.3元/kg,能源成本降低了23.3%,对于生产实践具有很好的指导意义。     

Effect of ultrasound‐assisted osmotic dehydration on cell structure of sapotas

BACKGROUND: Drying is a traditional way of fruit preservation. Because of the high energy costs associated with air‐drying, osmotic dehydration is often applied as a pretreatment to reduce air‐drying time. Ultrasound is an emerging technology with several applications in food processing. The effect of ultrasound on fruit tissue depends on the tissue structure and composition, and ultrasound might be beneficial to improve air‐drying efficiency, with consequent reduction in process costs. In this study the effect of ultrasound and ultrasound‐assisted osmotic dehydration on sapota tissue structure was evaluated. RESULTS: Ultrasound induced cell disruption and breakdown of cells with high phenolic content (dense cells) and also induced elongation of parenchyma cells. Ultrasound application combined with high osmotic gradient enhanced water loss and solid gain because of the formation of microscopic channels. Ultrasound‐assisted osmotic dehydration induced gradual distortion of the shape of cells, cell breakdown and formation of microscopic channels. Micrographs of the fruit tissue showed that ultrasound preferentially affected dense cells. CONCLUSION: Ultrasonic pretreatment was able to preserve the tissue structure of the fruit when distilled water was used as liquid medium. The application of ultrasound‐assisted osmotic dehydration resulted in severe changes in the tissue structure of the fruit, with consequent increase in the effective water diffusivity, because of the formation of microscopic channels and cell rupture. Copyright © 2009 Society of Chemical Industry     

超声在食品干燥领域中的研究进展

如何快速而经济地干燥物料并获得高品质的产品,是干燥领域需要解决的核心问题。目前传统单一的干燥技术在一些方面已无法满足实际需求,探索各种干燥技术的组合成为近年来的研究热点。功率超声(声强大于1 W/cm_²)作为一种绿色、无污染的物理加工方法,在干燥过程中强化水分的传热和传质方面已显示出独特的优越性,在食品干燥领域方面具有广阔的应用前景。本论文主要介绍了超声在食品干燥前预处理、超声强化渗透脱水、超声耦合热风干燥、超声耦合喷雾干燥、超声耦合冷冻干燥、超声耦合热泵干燥、超声耦合太阳能干燥等方面的研究进展,分析了超声干燥的作用效应及机理,总结了超声干燥的优点并指出目前存在的问题及今后的研究方向。     

The effect of drying on black tea quality

Drying is an important part of tea manufacture, where enzyme reactions in earlier phases are terminated by heat and moisture loss, and new compounds are produced by the action of heat. This work is an attempt to quantify the temperatures required to produce the desired changes without damage through exposure to excess heat. Experiments were carried out giving already‐dried tea further heat exposure, drying tea from wet dhool in a thin layer, and drying a larger sample in a batch fluidized bed dryer. Temperatures in the range of 60–140 °C were used. Effects were monitored by commercial tasters, thin layer chromatography, reverse phase HPLC and size exclusion HPLC. Exposure to at least 80 °C was found to be necessary for quality development. For periods of less than 1 min, tea particle temperatures of up to 120 °C may be tolerated, but, in general, temperatures of 110 °C and above may be considered deleterious. Inlet air temperatures may be in excess of these values, but only while drying rates are high. The stewing phenomenon, cited by several authors, could not be found when drying times of less than 15 min were used. © 2001 Society of Chemical Industry     

热泵温度对白萝卜干燥速率及品质的影响

分别以热泵温度50,55,60,65℃对白萝卜进行干燥,比较不同热泵温度下的白萝卜干燥速率、色泽、营养成分、复水率、微观组织结构等。结果表明:热泵温度50,55,60,65℃下,白萝卜含水量降至(8±1)%分别需12,11,10,9h;热泵温度55,60℃对白萝卜色泽保持较好;影响白萝卜干复水率的热泵温度依次为55℃>60℃>50℃>65℃,其中55,60℃下差异不显著(P>0.05);白萝卜干总糖、蛋白质和VC含量以热泵温度50℃干燥的较高,且随热泵温度的升高而降低;而热泵温度过低或过高都会对产品品质产生不利影响。综合考虑,热泵温度55℃可作为白萝卜热泵干燥的最佳干燥温度,此条件下获得的白萝卜干具有最佳的综合品质。     

热管—热泵和红外—热泵联合干燥技术在

This paper reviews the research progress of heat pipe-heat pump and infrared-heat pump dry agricultural products with the advantages of short time, good quality and energy saving. The drying efficiency and drying quality change in the drying process are analyzed. The problems of heat pipe-heat pump drying technology and infrared-heat pump drying technology are summarized, which provides new ideas for optimizing dry agricultural products.     

Improvement of water transport mechanisms during potato drying by applying ultrasound

BACKGROUND: The drying rate of vegetables is limited by internal moisture diffusion and convective transport mechanisms. The increase of drying air temperature leads to faster water mobility; however, it provokes quality loss in the product and presents a higher energy demand. Therefore, the search for new strategies to improve water mobility during convective drying constitutes a topic of relevant research. The aim of this work was to evaluate the use of power ultrasound to improve convective drying of potato and quantify the influence of the applied power in the water transport mechanisms. RESULTS: Drying kinetics of potato cubes were increased by the ultrasonic application. The influence of power ultrasound was dependent on the ultrasonic power (from 0 to 37 kW m^?3), the higher the applied power, the faster the drying kinetic. The diffusion model considering external resistance to mass transfer provided a good fit of drying kinetics. From modelling, it was observed a proportional and significant (P < 0.05) influence of the applied ultrasonic power on the identified kinetic parameters: effective moisture diffusivity and mass transfer coefficient. CONCLUSIONS: The ultrasonic application during drying represents an interesting alternative to traditional convective drying by shortening drying time, which may involve an energy saving concerning industrial applications. In addition, the ultrasonic effect in the water transport is based on mechanical phenomena with a low heating capacity, which is highly relevant for drying heat sensitive materials and also for obtaining high‐quality dry products. Copyright © 2011 Society of Chemical Industry     

不同溶氧量下功率超声波控制成核对过氧化氢酶溶液冷冻干燥的影响

功率超声波是一种能有效触发溶液初始成核的方法,能够使随机自发的冰晶成核过程转变为可预测的、易于控制的过程。本研究采用平板接触超声法对不同溶氧量的过氧化氢酶（catalase,CAT）溶液进行超声波控制成核并冷冻干燥,考察溶液充气法用于超声波控制成核在升华干燥速率、孔隙率、酶活力回收率方面的影响。结果显示：在4.10～13.44 mg/L溶氧范围内超声波控制成核,随着溶液中溶氧量的增加,升华干燥时间缩短了9.36%～41.63%;4.10～10.24 mg/L溶氧量的CAT溶液的酶活力回收率均高于95%。充气法用于功率超声波控制成核,辅助食品药品的真空冷冻干燥,对于缩短冷冻干燥时间、减少能耗、提高冻干产品的品质等具有积极意义。     

Effect of water activity on thermal resistance of Salmonella krefeld in liquid medium and on rawhide surface

The thermal resistivity of Salmonella krefeld at 60 and 65 degrees C as affected by water activity (0.99-0.60) was investigated in a liquid medium viz. Trypticase Soy Broth (TSB) and on rawhide surface. A reduction of the a(w) of the liquid medium resulted in an increase in the heat resistance of Salmonella krefeld. At a particular water activity the type of solute played a significant role with Salmonella krefeld exhibiting much higher heat sensitivity in the media with glycerol compared to the media with sucrose. The heat resistance of Salmonella krefeld inoculated onto the surface of rawhide was also investigated during hot air drying at 60 and 65 degrees C at two initial levels of a(w), 0.99 and 0.90, prior to drying as determined at 250 degrees C. The rate of water loss or a(w) decrease during drying was not significantly influenced by the initial water activity but was clearly dependent on the drying temperature with all survival curves displaying an upward concavity. Salmonella on rawhide with an initial a(w) of 0.90 exhibited higher heat tolerance than with an initial a(w) of 0.99 during a prolonged heating period with the initial a(w) significantly affecting the heat resistance particularly at higher drying temperatures.     

火龙果热泵干燥数值模拟及试验

目的:提高火龙果干制品的品质。方法:基于多孔介质理论和菲克定律,建立火龙果传热传质与固体力学多物理场耦合的数学模型,并研究火龙果在热泵干燥过程中的温度与含水率的变化规律。结果:考虑体积收缩的模型计算精度更高,达到干燥标准时,模拟值与试验值的最大相对误差为9.2%。火龙果片在干燥初期温度分布由表面向中心逐渐降低,后期达到平衡,而水分分布呈相反趋势。火龙果片在热泵干燥过程中的温度、湿度梯度力是导致其收缩变形的主要因素。不同干燥温度和切片厚度下火龙果片的干基含水率的计算值与试验值变化趋势一致,相对误差均<10%,证明了模型的准确性。结论:试验建立的多物理场耦合的数学模型能够准确模拟火龙果热泵干燥过程。     

Effects of fluidized bed drying temperature and tempering time on quality of waxy rice

Waxy rice, which is soft and sticky in nature, can be used as a raw material to produce many food products. After being harvested, high-moisture waxy paddy must be dried to appropriate moisture content to prolong its storage life and to achieve higher head rice yield. Fluidized bed dryer could be used to dry waxy rice at high-temperature. However, due to the high heat and mass transfer rates during drying, stresses are generated in a rice kernel, leading to crack and low head rice yield. Tempering is thus recommended to reduce the moisture-induced stresses in the kernel after rapid drying. In this study, the effects of fluidized bed drying temperature (90, 110, 130 °C) and tempering time (30–120 min) on the quality of waxy rice, i.e., head rice yield, thermal properties, pasting properties, color, translucent kernel and microstructure, were investigated. The results showed that head rice yield of waxy rice after drying was significantly lower than that of the reference sample even when tempering was performed. Higher drying temperatures led to higher head rice yield while the tempering time did not have any effect on the head rice yield except when the drying temperature of 90 °C was used. Drying at higher temperatures also affected the starch granule morphology and the pasting properties. Waxy rice changed its appearance from opaque white to translucent when being dried at 130 °C.