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A system for food drying using humidity control and low temperature.

Author(s) : CATALANO P., FUCCI F., GIAMETTA F., et al.

Type of article: Article, Review

Summary

Drying and maturation processes are widely used in food production, but a scientific approach has not so widely been applied, so rather empiric rules are often used to set up industrial production, particularly in small-medium firms. Humidity control of food is often achieved by regulation of the RH (relative humidity) and room temperature, taking into account the water evaporation inside the food matrix according to the air velocity. For each phenomenon a mechanism is, in general, expressed using a driving force and a transport coefficient. In the authors' model only the dominant mechanisms are considered. For the moisture diffusion in the solid toward its external surface we applied a concentrated parameter model, constant properties and no shrinkage. The system proposed in this paper consists of humidity and temperature control during the food drying process by using a particular dehumidifier equipped with a desiccant rotor containing silica gel. In each experiment we controlled the air humidity, temperature and velocity and the authors monitored the moisture content and temperature as function of time. Most of researchers worked in conditions tested in laboratory but a few has been done to verify these results under real conditions. The model validates the experimental results obtained in real conditions and it has, also, been proved that dried products such as sausages treated by this method retain their fresh colour, texture and their organoleptic properties to ensure their final quality.

Details

  • Original title: A system for food drying using humidity control and low temperature.
  • Record ID : 2010-1953
  • Languages: English
  • Source: Agric. Eng. Int., CIGR E-J. - vol. 10
  • Publication date: 2008/01

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