COMBINED OSMOTIC AND MICROWAVE DRYING OF STRAWBERRIES

Strawberries pretreated with 2% ethyl oleate and 0.5% NaOH were osmotically dehydrated and their osmotic dehydration rate is compared with untreated berries. It was found that treated berries dehydrated belter compared to untreated berries. Osmotically dehydrated berries were convective and microwave dried at different power levels and results were compared with respect to drying time and rate. The rehydration ratio, texture, color and sensory values are compared with freeze dried strawberries with the same pretreatment. It was found that microwave drying was short in time and the quality parameters of the microwave dried berries were comparable to those of freeze dried berries.     

COMBINED OSMOTIC AND MICROWAVE DRYING OF STRAWBERRIES

ABSTRACT

Strawberries pretreated with 2% ethyl oleate and 0.5% NaOH were osmotically dehydrated and their osmotic dehydration rate is compared with untreated berries. It was found that treated berries dehydrated belter compared to untreated berries. Osmotically dehydrated berries were convective and microwave dried at different power levels and results were compared with respect to drying time and rate. The rehydration ratio, texture, color and sensory values are compared with freeze dried strawberries with the same pretreatment. It was found that microwave drying was short in time and the quality parameters of the microwave dried berries were comparable to those of freeze dried berries.     

Microwave Freeze Drying of Sea Cucumber Coated with Nanoscale Silver

To develop an improved dehydration method for sea cucumber, microwave freeze drying was tested as a potential method. According to our experimental results, microwave freeze drying can reduce drying time to about half of the traditional vacuum freeze-drying process. To ensure a high degree of sterilization, a novel nanoscale silver coating technique was combined with microwave freeze drying. Microwave freeze drying combined with nanoscale silver coating treatment leads to a much lower microorganism number with no significant effect on drying efficiency and sensory quality.     

Microwave Freeze Drying of Sea Cucumber Coated with Nanoscale Silver

To develop an improved dehydration method for sea cucumber, microwave freeze drying was tested as a potential method. According to our experimental results, microwave freeze drying can reduce drying time to about half of the traditional vacuum freeze-drying process. To ensure a high degree of sterilization, a novel nanoscale silver coating technique was combined with microwave freeze drying. Microwave freeze drying combined with nanoscale silver coating treatment leads to a much lower microorganism number with no significant effect on drying efficiency and sensory quality.     

Studies on the Microwave Freeze Drying Technique and Sterilization Characteristics of Cabbage

The vacuum freeze-drying (FD) technique used in the food industry can yield a high-quality product, but it is very expensive and requires a long processing time. Besides, the quantity of microorganisms in FD products can often exceed the required standard. As a result, it will be important to develop a new freeze-drying technique. In this article, cabbage was used as a model material, and the microwave field was used as a heat source to supply sublimation heat so that the drying time was shortened greatly. The effect of the microwave sterilization during the drying process was evaluated. Effects of the pressure, thickness of material being dried, and the input microwave power on such indices as drying time and the microorganism number were studied. Compared with the method of ordinary freeze drying, microwave freeze drying (MFD) can greatly reduce the drying time and has a notable sterilization effect.     

Studies on the Microwave Freeze Drying Technique and Sterilization Characteristics of Cabbage

The vacuum freeze-drying (FD) technique used in the food industry can yield a high-quality product, but it is very expensive and requires a long processing time. Besides, the quantity of microorganisms in FD products can often exceed the required standard. As a result, it will be important to develop a new freeze-drying technique. In this article, cabbage was used as a model material, and the microwave field was used as a heat source to supply sublimation heat so that the drying time was shortened greatly. The effect of the microwave sterilization during the drying process was evaluated. Effects of the pressure, thickness of material being dried, and the input microwave power on such indices as drying time and the microorganism number were studied. Compared with the method of ordinary freeze drying, microwave freeze drying (MFD) can greatly reduce the drying time and has a notable sterilization effect.     

Modularer Trocknungsprozessor zur Anwendung kombinierter Trocknungsverfahren

A modular drying processor for the development of energy and time efficient combined drying processes was constructed. It allows the serial and/or parallel application of different drying methods such as freeze‐, hot‐air‐, infrared‐, contact‐, microwave‐ or vacuum‐drying without interruption between the processes. Depending on the drying method precise product structures could be achieved by using the example of carrot cubes. The serial combination of freeze‐ and microwave vacuum drying shortened the process time about 40 % while highest product quality was obtained.     

Effect of Dielectric Material on Microwave Freeze Drying of Skim Milk

Abstract:

A simultaneous heat and mass transfer model of the dielectric material–assisted microwave freeze drying was derived in this study considering the vapor sublimation-desublimation in the frozen region. The mathematical model was solved numerically by using the finite-difference technique with two moving boundaries. Silicon carbide (SiC) was selected as the dielectric material, and the skim milk was used as the representative solid material in the aqueous solution to be freeze-dried. The results show that the dielectric material can significantly enhance the microwave freeze drying process. The drying time is greatly reduced compared to cases without the aid of the dielectric material. Profiles of the temperature, ice saturation, vapor concentration, and pressure during freeze drying were presented. Mechanisms of the heat and mass transfer inside the material sphere were analyzed. For an initially unsaturated frozen sample of 16 mm in diameter with a 4-mm-diameter dielectric material core, the drying time is 288.2 min, much shorter than 380.1 min of ordinary microwave freeze drying and 455.0 min of conventional vacuum freeze drying, respectively, under typical operating conditions.     

The Application of Ultrasound Pretreatment and Pulse-Spouted Bed Microwave Freeze Drying to Produce Desalted Duck Egg White Powders

Fresh duck egg white (FDEW) powders and desalted duck egg white (DDEW) powders were produced by using a novel pulse-spouted bed microwave freeze dryer and a conventional freeze dryer. The desalting process of the salted egg white was carried out in the presence or absence of ultrasound pretreatment. The drying time, microstructure, apparent density, color, and functional properties (gelling, foaming, and emulsifying) of FDEW and DDEW powders obtained from both the pulse-spouted bed microwave freeze-drying (PSMFD) and a conventional freeze-drying (CFD) were studied in order to evaluate the physicochemical and functional properties of these powders. The results show that PSMFD produced FDEW powders with better color appeal (higher L^* and lower b^*), lower apparent density, as well as shorter drying time compared to the FDEW powders produced by the CFD. FDEW powders produced from PSMFD produced more transparent gels, emulsions with higher foam stability, and higher emulsifying activity index compared to the FDEW powders obtained from CFD. Regarding the powders obtained from DDEW by using PSMFD, the ultrasound pretreatment during the desalting process produced DDEW powders with higher gel strength, higher foaming capacity, higher foam stability, higher emulsion stability index, as well as shorter drying time compared to the DDEW powders in which ultrasound treatment was not carried out during the desalting process in the upstream.     

Trends in Microwave-Assisted Freeze Drying of Foods

Microwave-assisted freeze drying (MFD) can be accomplished in two distinct ways: freeze drying assisted concurrently with microwave application (MFD-1) and freeze drying and assisted microwave/vacuum microwave drying in two consecutive separate drying stages (MFD-2). MFD is a rapid dehydration technique that can be applied to certain foods, particularly to seafoods, solid soup, and fruits and vegetables. MFD involves much less drying time and energy consumption than conventional freeze-drying methods. Currently, this technology has been successfully used to dry many food materials and has potential in the food industry. Increasing concerns over product quality, energy savings, and production costs have motivated researchers and the industry to adopt MFD technologies. The advantages of MFD include shorter drying time, energy savings, improved product quality, and flexibility in producing a wide variety of dried products. However, current applications are limited to small categories of foods due to high startup costs and relatively complex technology compared to conventional freeze drying. This article presents a concise review of recent progress in MFD R&D and makes recommendations for future research to bridge the gap between laboratory research and industrial applications.     

Microwave Freeze–Drying Characteristics and Sensory Quality of Instant Vegetable Soup

Instant vegetable soup mix was dehydrated in a microwave freeze dryer to study the drying characteristics and sensory properties of the dried product. The mix was dried at different microwave power levels, material thicknesses, and material loads. As expected, microwave power significantly influenced the total drying time and sensory quality of the final product. The total drying time increased with the increase of material thickness and load. A material layer that is too thin causes the product quality to deteriorate.     

Effect of freeze‐thaw pretreatment on thermal drying process and physicochemical properties of chitosan

The effect of freeze‐thaw pretreatment on the thermal drying process and physicochemical properties of chitosan was investigated in this study. Results showed that the freeze‐thaw treatment changed the form of chitosan paste and reduced 75.6–77.7% of the water content. The freeze‐thaw treatment decreased the drying time of chitosan from 16–19 h to 2.75–4 h and the dried product was loosely packed powder. After freeze‐thaw treatment, the molecular weight of chitosan was unchanged during the thermal drying. The heat‐induced browning effect of chitosan during drying was greatly alleviated by the pretreatment. Furthermore, the pretreatment increased the 1,1‐diphenyl‐2‐picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical‐scavenging activity of dried product by 40.4–59.8%. The molecular weight, color, and DPPH radical‐scavenging activity of the pretreated dried chitosan product were close to those of freeze‐dried product. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2014 , 131, 41017.     

介电材料辅助的微波冷冻干燥的实验研究

设计、加工和装配了一套实验室规模的微波冷冻干燥装置,旨在实验验证介电材料对微波冷冻干燥液体物料的强化作用。介电材料用烧结的碳化硅(SiC),石英玻璃作为介电材料的参照物;甘露醇,一种典型的药物赋形剂被选为待干溶液中的溶质。实验结果表明使用介电材料可以有效地强化微波冷冻干燥过程。与传统冷冻干燥相比干燥速率大大加快,在试验条件下干燥时间可以节省20%。微波加热逐渐生效并且主要体现在干燥过程的后半部分。当溶液中的固含量很低或者固体物质具有很小的介电损耗因子时,如果不用介电材料,微波加热的效果不明显。     

Microwave-Assisted Spouted Bed Drying of Lettuce Cubes

Microwave-assisted spouted bed (MSBD) drying of lettuce cubes was investigated experimentally. Response surface methodology was used to optimize the process with spouting air temperature, microwave power level, and superficial air velocity. The dried product obtained was compared with that obtained using other drying technologies such as hot air drying, air spouted bed drying, vacuum microwave drying, and vacuum freeze drying. The comparison is based on the rehydration ratio, chlorophyll content of the product, color, and the drying time required.     

Drying kinetics and product quality of green soybean under different microwave drying methods

The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of different microwave drying techniques on the drying kinetics and product quality of dried green soybean. Experiments were conducted using microwave vacuum drying (MVD), pulse-spouted vacuum microwave drying (PSMVD), pulse-spouted microwave drying (PSMD), and microwave freeze drying (MFD). Parameters of apparent density, color, processing temperature, expansion ratio, rehydration ratio, texture, and microstructure of the dried products were determined. The results showed that the MFD green soybean had a small change on bright color, compared with the fresh samples, but the drying time was the longest among the four methods. The bright color value of PSMVD/PSMD/MVD, respectively, was 79.77, 71.43, and 55.45, and drying time of them was slightly different. The PSMVD/PSMD showed advantages over MVD by improving the product quality.     

MICROWAVE FREEZE DRYING CHARACTERISTICS OF BEEF

Microwave freeze drying characteristics of unsaturated raw beef were studied experimentally for various levels of electric field strength, vacuum pressure, sample thickness and initial saturation. The results show that drying time is proportional to initial saturation and inversely proportional to the electric field strength and sample thickness. The effect of vacuum pressure on drying time is negligible. Some advantages of microwave freeze-drying over conventional freeze drying with radiant heating are pointed out     

Drying Characteristics and Quality of Restructured Wild Cabbage Chips Processed Using Different Drying Methods

The drying characteristics of restructured wild cabbage chips dried using microwave vacuum (MVD), hot air (AD), and microwave freeze drying (MFD) were compared. Some of the key quality parameters of restructured wild cabbage chips such as fracturability and color and sensory characteristics were measured. Results showed that the drying time was reduced with the increase of microwave power (MVD/MFD) and in the case of air drying by the temperature (AD). Drying time was the shortest in the MVD process. Optimal quality of dried chips was obtained with the MFD process at a microwave power level 2.0 W/g.     

Ultrasonication as pretreatment for drying of tomato slices in a hot air–microwave hybrid oven

This study aims to investigate the effect of ultrasonic pretreatment on drying time and quality properties of tomato slices dried by microwave combined with hot air at 60°C. The influence of ultrasound pretreatment (0, 20, and 40?min) and microwave power (120, 150, and 180?W) on drying time, color, total phenolic content, lycopene, vitamin C, and rehydration capacity of dried slices of tomato was studied. Results showed that as the microwave power level increased, drying time decreased significantly (about 46.4%). Ultrasound pretreatment decreased the drying time by 7.38% only at 120?W microwave power and 40?min of pretreatment compared to those without ultrasound pretreatment at the same microwave power. Depending on drying conditions, vitamin C and lycopene contents reduced from 433.94 to 81.89?mg AA/100?g dry solids and 3920.57 to 415.40?mg/100?g dry solids, respectively. The change in total phenolic content was not severe as much as vitamin C contents. Rehydration capacity of pretreated samples was larger than nontreated samples. The color values of dried tomato slices were in the acceptable range. Both microwave power and ultrasound pretreatment affected the quality of the final product significantly.     

Drying uniformity analysis of pulse-spouted microwave–freeze drying of banana cubes

This article reports the investigation of the drying uniformity of a new drying technique called pulse-spouted microwave–freeze drying. A computer vision technique and mathematical statistics were used to evaluate the drying uniformity. The results show that low microwave power results in prolonged drying time (the drying time of 1 W/g was 6 h, which was longer than that for 2 and 3 W/g), whereas spouting time and the time interval show less influence on the drying time. Analysis from infrared camera photos reveals that lower microwave power, longer spouting interval, and longer spouting time could improve the temperature distribution. Sample 4 (power: 2 W/g, time: 3 s, interval: 300 s) had the best temperature distribution uniformity.     

MICROWAVE FREEZE DRYING CHARACTERISTICS OF BEEF

ABSTRACT

Microwave freeze drying characteristics of unsaturated raw beef were studied experimentally for various levels of electric field strength, vacuum pressure, sample thickness and initial saturation. The results show that drying time is proportional to initial saturation and inversely proportional to the electric field strength and sample thickness. The effect of vacuum pressure on drying time is negligible. Some advantages of microwave freeze-drying over conventional freeze drying with radiant heating are pointed out