0000000000189973
AUTHOR
Laura Giordano
Infrared thermography assisted control for apples microwave drying
A microwave based system was developed for drying of apple slices while on-line controlling their temperatures. An infrared thermography assisted control system allowed to realize temperature control by detecting the instantaneous maximum temperature among the samples under test instead of a chosen slice. The effectiveness of the system at hand in realizing temperature control both in space and in time was proven for three temperatures: 55, 65 and 75 C. Temperature fluctuations became larger both with time increasing and with rising temperature levels thus causing a negative impact on dried fruit quality. In fact apples slices dried at 75 C by microwave showed L⁄ (lightness) and white index…
Influence of mode stirrer and air renewal on controlled microwave drying of sliced zucchini
An on-line temperature-controlled microwave (MW) system, based on infrared thermography, was developed for drying zucchini slices. Moreover, the effects of different configurations, including turntable rotation, mode stirrer and air renewal, alone or in combination, on drying kinetics and quality of dried product were evaluated. The combination of stirrer and air renewal reduced the drying time of zucchini slices by about 48% with respect to the basic configuration and by 22% with respect to air renewal only. The lowest oscillation of temperatures about the fixed level (65 °C) was found when operating with the stirrer mode, because of the improved uniformity of the MW distribution. The sa…
Drying rate control in microwave assisted processing of sliced apples
The most enhanced microwave systems for the preparation of quality-dehydrated fruits continuously adjust the power level in order to maintain the product temperature above a target value. As a result, typical drying curves that exhibit high drying rates in the middle stage are obtained. This can often lead to quality damage or undesirable changes on food colour and texture. In response to these issues, a microwave system is proposed that can realise drying processes keeping drying rates constant. This approach required a continuous temperature adjustment of the apple slices under test, whose temperature was detected by a computer-aided infrared thermography system. Since temperature correct…