SIMULATION OF THE EVAPORATIVE COOLING PROCESS FOR TORTILLAS |
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| Authors: | TA TAYLOR DR HELDMAN RR CHAO HL KRAMER |
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| Affiliation: | Food for the 21st Century Program Food Science and Engineering Unit University of Missouri Columbia, MO 65211 |
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| Abstract: | A simulation model was developed to predict temperature, moisture content and water activity of evaporatively cooled tortillas. The overall model was based on three parts: (1) the predicted equilibrium moisture isotherm for the product, (2) a correlation model for predicting the saturated water vapor pressure for a given temperature, and (3) the energy and mass balances for simultaneous convective heat and moisture transfer between product and cooling air. The simulation model was verified with experimental data and was found to accurately describe the behavior of the tortilla cooling system. The model predicted the simultaneous decrease in temperature, moisture content, and water activity of the product exposed to varying simulated processing conditions. It was found that cooling air velocity and temperature had the primary effect on product cooling and moisture loss rates. |
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