Somchart Soponronnarit

A Comparative Study of Low-Pressure Superheated Steam and Vacuum Drying of a Heat-Sensitive Material

Abstract Using carrot cubes as a model heat-sensitive material, experimental investigations were conducted to examine the drying kinetics and various quality parameters of the dried product undergoing both low-pressure superheated steam and vacuum drying. Effects of operating parameters such as pressure and temperature on the drying characteristics as well as quality attributes, i.e., volume, shrinkage, apparent density, color, and rehydration behavior, of the dried product underwent the two drying processes were also evaluated and compared. Although low-pressure steam drying required longer dwell time to achieve the same final moisture content than vacuum drying, some of the quality attributes were superior to those obtained in vacuum drying.

DESORPTION ISOTHERMS AND DRYING CHARACTERISTICS OF SHRIMP IN SUPERHEATED STEAM AND HOT AIR

ABSTRACT Desorption isotherms for shrimp were determined at the temperatures of 50, 60, 70 and 80°C. Amongst the moisture equilibrium predictions between the BET and GAB models, the latter has a better predictable capability. The GAB parameters are correlated with the temperatures by the Arrhenius expression. Drying characteristics of shrimp in drying media at the temperature range of 120–180°C for superheated steam and of 70–140°C for hot air have been examined. Drying rate and effective diffusion coefficient are used to quantify quantitatively the difference between the superheated steam and the hot air dryings. The temperature is more important effect on drying rate and effective diffusion coefficient in the superheated steam than in the hot air. Inversion temperature exists between 140 and 150°C. Comparing to the hot air, the shrimp dried by the superheated steam shows a lower degree of shrimp shrinkage. In addition, product colours are slightly different to those from the commercial sources.

OPTIMUM STRATEGY FOR FLUIDIZED BED PADDY DRYING

Abstract A feasibility study of paddy drying by fluidization technique was conducted. Operating parameters affecting product quality, drying capacity and energy consumption were investigated. Experimental results showed that drying rate of a paddy kernel was controlled by diffusion. However, drying capacity of a dryer increased with specific air flow rates and drying air temperatures. Energy consumption was reduced when specific air flow rate decreased or when fraction of recycled air increased. Maximum temperature should be limited to 115%C and final moisture content of paddy at 24-25% dry basis if product qualities were maintained. Simulated results obtained from a developed mathematical model indicated that the optimum operating parameters should be as follows : fraction of air recycled of 80%, air velocity of 4.4 m/s, bed thickness of 9.5 cm and specific air flow rate of 0.1 kg/s-kg dry matter. An economic analysis showed that total drying cost was US

Drying Kinetics and Quality of Shrimp Undergoing Different Two-Stage Drying Processes

0.08/kg water evaporated.

Superheated steam fluidised bed paddy drying

Abstract An innovative two-stage drying concept is presented in this article. The work considered drying of shrimp using a superheated steam dryer followed by a heat pump (SSD/HPD) or a hot air dryer (SSD/AD) both from drying kinetics and dried product quality points of view. The experiments were performed using the first-stage superheated steam drying temperature of 140°C while the second-stage heat pump drying (or hot air drying) was performed at 50°C. The moisture content of shrimp at the end of the superheated steam drying stage was varied between 30 and 40% (w.b.). The effect of tempering between SSD/HPD was also investigated. Shrinkage, color, rehydration behavior, texture (toughness and hardness), and microstructure of dried shrimp were measured. The results showed that SSD/HPD dried shrimp had much lower degree of shrinkage, higher degree of rehydration, better color, less tough and softer, and more porous than single-stage SSD dried shrimp. It was also found that SSD/AD gave redder shrimp compared to shrimp dried in a single-stage superheated steam dryer. No improvement in terms of shrinkage and rehydration behavior was observed, however.

Fluidised bed drying of soybeans.

Abstract Fluidised bed paddy drying using superheated steam is a newly alternative approach instead of using the conventional hot air. The mechanism of mass transfer for paddy drying in a range of initial moisture content between 25% and 44.5% d.b. is strongly controlled by internal moisture movement inside the kernel and a two-series exponential equation is suitably used to explain its movement. Drying parameters in the equation are a function of temperature and bed depth. For the paddy quality, head rice yield from the superheated steam drying is more sustainable and has higher values than those obtained from the hot air drying, whereas the colour of white rice becomes darker, making it poorer quality. The percentage of white belly is significantly affected by the initial moisture content.

Characteristics of Rice Dried in Superheated-Steam Fluidized-Bed

The fluidised bed drying characteristics of soybeans at high temperatures (110-140 degrees C) and moisture contents, 31-49% dry basis, were modelled using drying equations from the literature. Air speeds of 2.4-4.1 m/s and bed depths from 10 to 15 cm were used. The minimum fluidised bed velocity was 1.9 m/s. From a quality point of view, fluidised bed drying was found to reduce the level of urease activity which is an indirect measure of trypsin inhibitor, with 120 degrees C being the minimum required to reduce the urease activity to an acceptable level. Increased air temperatures caused increased cracking and breakage, with temperatures below 140 degrees C giving an acceptable level for the animal feed industry in Thailand. The protein level was not significantly reduced in this temperature range. The drying rate equations and quality models were then combined to develop optimum strategies for fluidised bed drying, based on quality criteria, drying capacity, energy consumption and drying cost. The results showed that from 33.3% dry basis, soybean should not be dried below 23.5% dry basis in the fluidised bed dryer, to avoid excessive grain cracking. The optimum conditions for minimum cost, minimum energy and maximum capacity coincided at a drying temperature of 140 degrees C, bed depth of 18 cm, air velocity of 2.9 m/s and fraction of air recirculated of 0.9. These conditions resulted in 27% cracking, 1.7% breakage and an energy consumption of 6.8 MJ/kg water evaporated.

Optimization of heat pump fruit dryers

Abstract Characteristic properties of rice in a superheated-steam fluidized-bed dryer have been investigated using RVA, DSC, and SEM. The experimental results have shown that the reduction in moisture content from 41–42.5 to 25% d.b. using steam temperatures of 150–170°C was initially linear with drying time followed by the exponential decay when the moisture content was below 25% d.b. During the latter period, the water transport was controlled by the internal diffusion. Condensation of steam, along with the use of high temperature, enabled the development of gel layer as obvious from SEM. The formed gel layer caused the very low effective diffusivity when compared with the case of no gel formation in paddy kernel. The pasting properties and DSC measurements have shown that paddy dried at a higher temperature and a thinner bed depth provided a greater extent of gelatinization during the drying time, the first factor showing a profound effect. Kinetics of gelatinization is reasonably described by the zero-order reaction. For the paddy quality, the head rice yield was 70% higher than the reference value and color of white rice became yellow and low luminous after reducing moisture content to 18% d.b. The percentage of white belly was less than 1.5%.

Effect of Fluidized Bed Drying Temperature on Various Quality Attributes of Paddy

The most important factors when examining the optimum conditions of heat pump fruit dryers (HPD) and for minimizing HPD cost are recycle air ratio, evaporator bypass air ratio (BP), airflow rates, and drying air temperature. Mathematical models of papaya and mango glace drying using HPD are developed and validated experimentally. The optimum criterion is minimum annual total cost per unit of evaporating-water. The effects of initial moisture content, cubic size, and effective diffusion coefficient of products on the optimum conditions of HPD are also investigated. The results showed that the optimum conditions of both products are not similar, especially for the optimum airflow rate and evaporator BP. For sensitivity analysis, the annual total cost per unit of evaporating-water in a HPD is linearly proportional to both interest rate and electricity price, and decreased with increasing life-time. Finally, physical properties of the product significantly affect the optimum airflow rate and evaporator bypass air ratio.

EFFECT OF TEMPERING ON SUBSEQUENT DRYING OF PADDY USING FLUIDISATION TECHNIQUE

Abstract As reported by many researchers, it was found that fluidized bed paddy drying using high drying air temperatures of over 100°C affected the head rice yield and whiteness of dried rice. However, only a few studies on fluidized bed paddy drying with drying air temperatures below 100°C were so far reported. The main objective of this work was therefore to study the effect of fluidized bed drying air temperature on various quality parameters of Suphanburi 1 and Pathumthani 1 Indica rice. Paddy was dried from the initial moisture contents of 25.0, 28.8, and 32.5% dry basis to 22.5 ± 1.2% dry basis using inlet drying air temperatures between 40 and 150°C at 10°C/step. After fluidized bed drying, paddy was tempered and followed by ambient air aeration until its final moisture content was reduced to 16.3 ± 0.5% dry basis. The results showed that the head rice yield of Suphanburi 1 was significantly related to the inlet drying temperature and initial moisture content whilst there was no significant relationship between the head rice yield, drying temperature and initial moisture content for Pathumthani 1. The whiteness of the two rice varieties was slightly decreased with increase in drying air temperature and initial moisture content. It was also found that the hardness of both cooked rice varieties exhibited insignificant difference (p < 0.05) comparing to rewetted rice, which was gently dried by ambient air aeration in thin layer. The thermal analysis by DSC also showed that partial gelatinization occurred during drying at higher temperatures. Using inlet drying air temperatures in the range of 40–150°C therefore did not affected the quality of cooked rice and paddy. The milling quality of paddy was also well maintained.