Sarp Korkut Sümer

Quality properties, mass transfer characteristics and energy consumption during shortwave infrared radiation drying of tomato

The influence of infrared radiation intensity (1,830, 2,640 and 3,165 W/m2) and air velocity (1.0, 1.5 and 2.0 m/s) on product quality, drying behaviour of tomato and energy consumption were investigated. Five analytical models were used to investigate mass transfer characteristics during infrared drying of tomato slices. The drying time and specific energy consumption varied between 141 and 246 min, and 10.04 and 15.13 MJ/kg water, respectively, and were significantly influenced by infrared radiation intensity and air velocity. Effective moisture diffusivity ranged from 3.89×10-7 to 6.67×10-7 m2/s and was significantly affected by the process variables. Vitamin C content decreased, while lycopene content increased during drying. Total colour change varied between 7.92 and 10.87 for all drying conditions. The logarithmic model gave the best predictions for the drying characteristics of tomato slices for all treatments. Some drying conditions had quite similar results with respect to the operational and qu...