H83CEL

Chemical Engineering Laboratory

Marcus Poon Chinn Yoong 004681

H83 CEL Chemical Engineering Laboratory

Drying of Rice Noodles

Name Student ID Group Members : : : Marcus Poon Chinn Yoong UNIMKL 004681 Ler Sin Yee (004669) Leong Yoong Kit (006414) Liew Chan Yip (004671) Supervisor Date : : Professor Law Chung Lim 30th April 2012

H83CEL
Declaration Form I certify that:

Chemical Engineering Laboratory

Marcus Poon Chinn Yoong 004681

1) Apart from the experimental results reported in the lab notebook which are the joint work of the team, this report is entirely my own work. 2) All information extracted from the literature has been dully attributed. 3) Any material copied verbatim from the literature has been both duly attributed and enclosed in quotation marks.

Signed:

Date:

H83CEL
Table of Contents

Chemical Engineering Laboratory

Marcus Poon Chinn Yoong 004681

Contents

Summary ................................................................................................................................................................ 1 Introduction ........................................................................................................................................................... 2 Literature Search ................................................................................................................................................. 3 Rice-noodles ...................................................................................................................................................... 3 Freeze Drying.................................................................................................................................................... 4 Heat Pump ......................................................................................................................................................... 7 Comparison ........................................................................................................................................................ 8 Future Trend...................................................................................................................................................... 9 Experimental ....................................................................................................................................................... 10 Results ................................................................................................................................................................... 13 Freeze Drying.................................................................................................................................................. 13 Heat Pump Drying ......................................................................................................................................... 13 Rice noodles in block................................................................................................................................ 13 Rice noodles in strands ........................................................................................................................... 16 Rehydration ..................................................................................................................................................... 21 Texture Hardness Analyser ....................................................................................................................... 21 Discussion ............................................................................................................................................................ 25 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................................................ 29 Nomenclature...................................................................................................................................................... 30 References ........................................................................................................................................................... 31 Appendix I ............................................................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined. Appendix II ............................................................................................................. Error! Bookmark not defined. Appendix III ........................................................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.

H83CEL

Chemical Engineering Laboratory

Marcus Poon Chinn Yoong 004681

Summary

Rice noodle is one of the most popular Asian noodles consumed in Asia, prepared mainly from three basic ingredients: rice flour, water and salt. With an increase demand of rice noodles in Asia especially as instant noodles, two different equipment, freeze drying and heat pump drying are compared in order to meet the customer expectation and commercial value of rice noodles. Development of drying technologies is important as dehydration reduces spoilage, decrease product mass, increase shelf life and gives added value without chemical treatment. The effects of two different temperatures, 40 C and 60 C on the rice noodles using heat pump is observed. Although freeze drying is claimed to be having the highest quality, the high capital and maintenance cost is the issued that need further research for improvement. Heat pump drying appears to be more suitable for rice noodles which meet the criteria to judge a raw material quality with processing properties, appearance and colour of noodles. However, its batch operation and shrinkage problem as well as oily surface remain on the rice noodles are issues to be solved. Effective diffusivities, moisture content and activation energy as well as texture hardness analyzer are performed to investigate the performance of the equipment. The characteristics and kinetics of sample for both equipment are not precise and data is not clear enough to present the information of both pro and cons of the equipment. The experiment reliability of result can be improved in the operation to produce a better quality product at lower energy consumption, environmental impact and cost.

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H83CEL Introduction

Chemical Engineering Laboratory

Marcus Poon Chinn Yoong 004681

Drying preserves the product by lowering the amount of moisture in the material. The main objectives of drying are to decrease moisture content to a level where spoilage due to reactions can be minimized (Uddin, et al., 2004), prolong shelf life, minimize spoilage, production of higher value product and reduce transportation cost (Mujumdar, 2008). With the concerned on the commercial value of rice noodles and to meet customer expectation, two equipment are suggested, heat pump drying and freeze drying to perform the drying process on rice noodles. The aim of this experiment is to study drying characteristics and kinetics of rice noodles making use of heat pump drying and freeze drying to compare the influence of different modes of drying on the dried rice in terms of quality, colour and appearance. This experiment is conducted to compare the performance of heat pump drying and freeze dryer. The temperature of heat pump drying is set to 40 C and 60 C to determine the effect of temperature on the drying rate of the samples. The samples are prepared at two different structure, block and strand. Its performance on drying rate, moisture content, rehydration capacity as well as hardness is carried out to compare between freeze dryer and heat pump drying on rice noodles.

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H83CEL Literature Search

Rice-noodles Introduction

Chemical Engineering Laboratory

Marcus Poon Chinn Yoong 004681

Since ancient time, noodles in various content, formulations and shapes have been the staple foods for many Asian countries. Rice noodle is one of the most popular Asian noodles consumed in Asia, prepared mainly from three basic ingredients: rice flour, water and salt (Samritthisuth & Thammathongchat, 2011). Rice noodles (Kway Teow) or white salted noodles generally made from flours in range of 8 to 11% protein. The appearance of rice noodles is bright, with clean colour ranging from white to creamy white, with a smooth glossy surface after boiling. Corn starch is added to improve the transparency and chewy texture of the noodles. The noodles are coated with oil to keep them away from sticking together which will cause problem in storage of rice noodles (Fu, 2008). Drying a wet material is achieved by evaporating the liquid water it contains. For food, this often results in profound changes to appearance and taste. Uniform and straight strands, white and translucent coloring with absence of broken strands are the characteristics of high quality of rice noodles. In order for rice noodles to have commercial value for consumer acceptability, increasing value, improving economic value and edible quality, adding some water to the rice noodles, it must recover the original state of the rice noodles. The dried rice noodles should retain the color, flavor and nutrition of the rice noodles (Wang, et al., 2010). Consumer expectation of noodle product quality is getting higher with the development of the Asia-Pacific economy. The market of production of instant noodles is expanding . Therefore, porous and spongy structure is needed as they are excellent for rehydration so that it is convenient for ready-to-eat after adding hot water as instant noodles. The reduction of water content helps to preserve the food and lower the material weight for convenient transportation. As a result, it can be used as frozen rice noodles especially target for outdoor usage or food supplies during disasters (Oikonomopoulou, et al., 2011). High quality noodles should be bright in color, adequate shelf life without visible microbiological deterioration and appropriate flavor and textual characteristics. It hydrate with minimum turbidity and surface stickiness when soak into hot water. The rice noodle industry is now facing problems with overuse of additives to enhance eating quality. Due to globalization and market expansion, equipment must be designed with emphasize on product quality to conform to a wide consumer preference (Colak & Hepbasli, 2009). Quality of dried food products can be assessed by the degree of degradation of the colour, flavor, as well as texture (Perera & Rahman, 1997). Development of drying technologies is important as dehydration

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H83CEL

Chemical Engineering Laboratory

Marcus Poon Chinn Yoong 004681

reduces spoilage, decrease product mass, increase shelf life and gives added value without chemical treatment (Chong, et al., 2008). Freeze Drying Introduction For many years, freeze drying (lyophilization) has been used in a number of applications, most commonly in the food and pharmaceutical industries. It is a techniques wide application to the preservation of heat-sensitive biological materials, especially foods, and is capable of removing water without impairing product quality. The first commercial used of freeze drying was during World War II when it was used to dry blood plasma and penicillin. Freeze drying works through removal of water or other solvent from a frozen product by sublimation at temperature and pressure below triple point of water 273.16 K and 611 Pa (Antal & Kerekes, 2007). It occurs when frozen product goes directly to gaseous state without passing through liquid phase which allows the preparation of a stable product which is easy to use and aesthetic in appearance, extends products shelf life and easier to transport as well as storing (Labconco, 2010). It is one of the most sophisticated dehydration methods (Antal & Kerekes, 2007) and best method of water removal with final products of highest equality compared to other type of food drying methods (Kudra & Mujumdar, 2009). Principles of Vacuum Freeze Drying Operation Vacuum Freeze drying (VFD) takes place in 3 distinct steps: pre-freezing, primary drying and secondary drying. Material must first adequately prefrozen to completely solid in order to control the ice crystals size growth and to avoid possible damage to material. The method of prefreezing and the final temperature of the frozen product can affect the ability to successfully freeze dry the material. At the end of freezing step, about 65 to 90% of initial moisture is in the frozen state and 10-35% remains at the sorbed (nonfrozen) state (Chen, 2007). The rate of sublimation of ice from a frozen product depends upon the difference in vapour pressure of the product compared to the vapour pressure of the ice collector. For primary drying, a vacuum pump is used to lower the pressure of the environment around the product. This leads to an interconnected porous structure which can be rehydrated later in an effective way while preserving the nutritional and organoleptic properties of the product (Quiroga, et al., 2012). The temperature of the material continue to fall below the freezing point and sublimation slow down until the rate of heat gain through conduction, convection and radiation to the material was equal to the rate of heat loss as the more energetic molecules sublimed and were removed. For main drying, all the free ice is removed, leaving an apparently dry material which, contain significant bound water (Baker, 1997). The products appear dry but residual moisture content may be higher as 7 to 8%. The third and

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final stage is secondary drying. The process called isothermal desorption to desorb bound water from the water is carried out. Heat is applied to the product under very low pressure (Labconco, 2010). The remaining bound water usually amount to below 20% mass basis.

Figure 1: Freezedrying physical phenomena represented on the water phase diagram (Quiroga, et al., 2012). A typical vacuum freeze dryer has four principal components: a vacuum pump, a refrigerated product chamber, a condenser and a control system. A vacuum pump used to force the air and water vapour out from the system, thereby lowering the air pressure in the chamber. Heating unit applies a small amount of heat to shelves causing ice to change phase. The refrigerated product chambers contain the material being dried. The condensers trap the water vapour that sublimes from frozen objects as they dry. The control system shows indicator of pressure in the product chamber (Cook, 2007).

Figure 2: A Schematic Drawing of the Four Principal Components of a Typical FreezeDryer (Cook, 2007)

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H83CEL

Chemical Engineering Laboratory

Marcus Poon Chinn Yoong 004681

Application on Food Products VFD mainly employed for drying of pharmaceutical products. The rate of drying is governed by both temperature and pressure (Cook, 2007). Freeze drying kills active mould and causes dormancy in spores. During drying, the drying times and temperature are the most important factors. It is valuable as a conservation procedure as it does not result in as much shrinkage, distortion, and collapse as can occur when wet objects are air-dried (Cook, 2007). The temperature of material lowering to well below 0 2007). Shrinkage is eliminated or minimized, and a near-perfect preservation results. Freeze-dried food can last longer than other preserved food and it is very light (Bellis, 2012). The product of freeze drying is a stable solid that can reconstituted by simple addition of water (Rao, et al., 2008). Therefore, it is considered as having a better quality than other dehydrated products. Furthermore, the flavor of freeze dried foods is better than the air dehydrated products (Antal & Kerekes, 2007). The low temperature employed minimizes the effects of denaturation of proteins and better retention of flavors and aromas. The solid state protects the primary structure and the shape of the products with minimal volume reduction (Mujumdar, 2008). Rehydration ratio of freeze-dried foods is generally 4 to 6 times higher than air dried foods, making it excellent for ready-to-eat instant soups or meals (Ratti, 2001). It has 98% of water removed which reduces the food weight by 90%. Among drying methods used in food processing industries, freeze drying is considered as one of the advanced methods for drying high value products sensitive to heat, prevent shrinkage and produces materials with high porosity, maintain nutrition quality, superior taste, flavors and color retention as well as completeness of rehydration. (Oikonomopoulou, et al., 2011) Unfortunately, freeze drying usually applied to batch process, require pre-freezing, time consuming and expensive process in both the capital and operating cost as well as high energy cost (Baker, 1997). Major part of the cost comes from sublimation, maintaining low vacuum and cryogenic condition (Mujumdar, 2008). throughout the process reduces the risk of drying damage. The weight of the freeze object decreases as the moisture sublimes, but stabilizes as soon as it is dried (Cook,

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H83CEL
Heat Pump Introduction

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Heat pump is known as an efficient method of energy recovery with its ability to convert latent heat of vapor condensation into sensible heat of an air stream passing through the condenser. Heat pump drying has been used in wood kilns to dehumidify air and control lumber quality for decades (Kudra & Mujumdar, 2009). With the trend to improve product quality and reduce energy consumption, many researchers have been focus on the research on heat pump drying (Kudra & Mujumdar, 2009). Principles of Heat Pump Operation It operates according to a basic air conditioning cycle or refrigeration technique which involves four main components: compressor, condenser, expansion valve and evaporator. It is attached to a drying chamber with auxiliary heater for better temperature control. Therefore, it is known as heat pump dryer (HPD). It works through two operating cycles: heat pump and drying cycles.

Figure 3: A Schematic Illustration of a Heat Pump Drying System (Colak & Hepbasli, 2009) For the heat pump drying system, refrigerant (working fluid) at low pressure is evaporates in the evaporator by heat drawn from the dryer exhaust air. The compressor raises the enthalpy of refrigerant of heat pump and discharges it as superheated vapor at high pressure. The refrigerant is condensed in the condenser and heat is transferred to the cool dry air that passes through the condenser coil. The condensed refrigerant is then expanded in valve and the cycle continues. In drying system, hot air loses its latent heat to the evaporator and cool to condensation where moisture is removed. The cool dry air is then heated after passing through the condenser

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Chemical Engineering Laboratory

Marcus Poon Chinn Yoong 004681

coil. Then, heated air is supplied to the drying chamber and the drying cycle continues (Colak & Hepbasli, 2009). The drying temperature of HPD system can be adjusted from -20 C to 60 C. Application on Food Products Heat pump systems are widely used in space heating and cooling, desalination and drying. Its application can be seen in residential such as existing refrigeration and air conditioning system (Goh, et al., 2011). It has advantages of energy saving potential as it consumes 60-80% less energy than conventional dryers which operates at the same temperature. High energy efficiencies are achievable through the recovered of sensible and latent heat of vaporization. It is able to control drying temperature and air humidity which then creates several possibility of a wide range of drying conditions. It can be carried out at a lower temperature which is suitable for heat sensitive product. It can be conducted independent of the ambient weather condition. HPDs provide better quality product, operate independently of outside ambient weather conditions. This technology is environmental friendly as it requires lower energy and no release of toxic gases and fumes into the atmosphere. The color and aroma qualities using HPD were better than using conventional hot air dryer (Colak & Hepbasli, 2009). A combination of both heat pump and drying unit, both latent heat and sensible heat can then be recovered from exhaust air, hence improving the overall thermal performance and effective control of air conditions at the dryer inlet. It is suitable for high value products (Goh, et al., 2011). However, it is limited to batch operation. Its capital cost and maintenance cost are higher than air drying as it needs to maintain the compressor and it needs refrigerant filter as well as charging of refrigerant. Another constraint is that too low temperature will limit drying rates which give rise to microbial growth problems (Perera & Rahman, 1997). Leakages of refrigerant might occurs and additional floor space requirement (Mujumdar, 2008). Comparison

Figure 4: General Comparison of Heat Pump with Vacuum and Hot-Air Drying (Mujumdar, 2007).

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H83CEL

Chemical Engineering Laboratory

Marcus Poon Chinn Yoong 004681

Heat pump drying is more economical than freezing drying, in both capital and running cost, by 10 times and 4.5 times less, respectively (Law, et al., 2008). Future Trend An application of HPD dryers in combination with fluidized-bed dryers has been investigated to improve drying efficiency and product quality (Perera & Rahman, 1997). Hybrid technologies based on heat pumps and vacuum freeze dryer can be achieved through further research and development.

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H83CEL Experimental

Chemical Engineering Laboratory

Marcus Poon Chinn Yoong 004681

Figure 5: Freeze Dryer

Figure 6: Front View and Side View of Heat Pump Dryer Procedures: 1) Material Preparation a) A few packets of rice noodles are bought from market. b) Several sets of rice noodles were prepared in 2 categories, which are strands of rice noodles and arrangement of rice noodles in block. c) It was cut into several strands with equal dimensions and the dimension is measured by using a vernier caliper. d) Two different equipment, freeze dryer and heat pump dryer, are used to carried out the drying rice noodles process.

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Chemical Engineering Laboratory

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2) Operating freeze dryer a) The initial mass of container is measured. b) The sample is arranged in the container in order to get a block structure and the mass of container with rice noodles is measured. c) The water in the freeze dryer is ensured to be empty before operating it to avoid extra energy needed for vacuum pump to perform the pumping work. d) The lid is removed and the pump is warmed up for 30 minutes. e) The sample is then placed into the trays. f) The vacuum condition is set to -40 C and 0.12 bar. g) Freeze dryer is operated at auto mode and the sample is freeze for 24 hours. h) The vacuum valve is open so that the lid can be removed i) j) The sample is collected and the mass, dimensions is measured. Comparison is made between the initial and final condition of both the sample (strand and block) of rice noodles. k) The sample is then placed into the oven for a day. l) The borne dry weight is measured. m) The freeze dryer is cleaned by draining out all the water through a valve. n) Steps b to m is repeated with several samples of strand and block to get average values from several data. 3) Operating heat pump dryer a) Wire mesh is prepared to place the rice noodles in block in the wire mesh to maintain the structure. b) The initial mass of wire mesh is measured. c) The sample is arranged in the wire mesh in order to get a block structure and the mass of wire mesh with rice noodles is measured. d) The main switch is turned on followed by the compressor. e) The temperature is adjusted to 60 C. f) It is allowed to warm up for 30 minutes until the temperature is stable. humidity and the values are recorded. h) The samples are then placed into several trays. i) j) The samples are taken out to measure the mass using electronic balance every 5 minutes initially then the interval increases to 10 minutes or 15 minutes depends on the drying rate. The mass is recorded accordingly until a constant value is achieved. k) Heat pump is switched off accordingly once the data is collected. g) Hygrometer is placed in the drying chamber to measure the temperature and relative

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H83CEL
l)

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The sample is then placed into the oven for a day.

Marcus Poon Chinn Yoong 004681

m) The borne dry weight is measured. n) Steps b to m is repeated with samples of strand and block rice noodles at 40 C. 4) Texture profile analyzer (TPA) a) It is used to determine the initial texture and final texture of dried noodles. b) The sample is placed at the platform. c) A 2mm stainless steel probe is used to test the hardness of the sample. d) Tables and graphs of sample hardness are obtained electronically through the software installed. 5) Rehydration a) A petri dish filled with water is prepared. b) An empty petri dish initial mass is measured. c) Strand of rice noodles after freeze drying is placed in the petri dish filled with water immediately. d) The mass of the strand is then placed in the empty petri dish and measured every 5 minutes. e) Steps c and d is carried out until the strand of sample achieving a constant value (no longer gaining mass). f) Steps c to e is repeated by using a stand or rice noodles after heat pump drying.

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H83CEL Results
Freeze Drying

Chemical Engineering Laboratory

Marcus Poon Chinn Yoong 004681

Table 1: Borne dry weight of samples Type Block Strand Initial Weight (g) 68.95 3.83 Final Weight (g) 24.42 1.43 Borne dry weight (g) 23.76 1.32 Change in weight (g) 45.19 2.51 Change in weight (%) 65.54 65.54

Table 2: Change in moisture content of samples Type Initial Moisture Content (g H2O/ g dry solid) Block Strand 1.902 1.902 Final Moisture Content (g H2O/ g dry solid) 0.0278 0.0833 1.874 1.819 Change in moisture content (g H2O/ g dry solid)

Table 3: Shrinkage of samples Type Initial Dimension (cm) Block Strand 8.77 x 7.73 x 2.41 8 x 1 x 0.144 Initial Capacity (cm3) 163.38 1.152 8.01 x 7.55 x 2.38 7 x 1 x 0.144 Final Dimension (cm) Final Capacity (cm3) 143.93 1.008 19.45 0.144 11.90 12.50 Shrinkage (cm3) Shrinkage (%)

Heat Pump Drying Rice noodles in block Table 4: Borne dry weight of block samples at different temperature Temperature ( C) 60 40 Initial Weight (g) 60.878 60.611 Final Weight (g) 20.945 21.655 Borne dry weight (g) 19.51 19.73 Change in weight (g) 41.368 40.881 Change in weight (%) 67.95 67.45

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Table 5: Change in moisture content of block samples at different temperature Temperature ( C) Initial Moisture Content (g H2O/ g dry solid) 60 40 2.120 2.072 Final Moisture Content (g H2O/ g dry solid) 0.0736 0.0976 Change in moisture content (g H2O/ g dry solid) 2.0464 1.9744

Table 6: Shrinkage of block samples at different temperature Temperature ( C) 60 40 Initial Dimension (cm) 7.8 x 7.7 x 2.3 10.38 x 9.08 x 1.96 184.73 Initial Capacity (cm3) 138.14 1.9 9.28 x 8.0 x 1.8 133.632 51.098 27.66 Final Dimension (cm) 6.8 x 6.7 x Final Capacity (cm3) 86.564 51.576 37.34 Shrinkage (cm3) Shrinkage (%)

Graph of Moisture Content against Drying Time (Block rice noodles)

Moisture content, MC (gH2O/g dried solid)

2.500 2.000 1.500 1.000 0.500 0.000 0 100 200 300 400 500
Drying Time. t (min) y = 7E-16x6 - 9E-13x5 + 5E-10x4 - 2E-07x3 + 8E-05x2 0.0189x + 2.0693 60 degree with dimension R= 0.9999

7.8cm*7.7cm*2.3cm

40 degree with dimension 10.38cm*9.08cm*1.96cm

y = -4E-15x6 + 3E-12x5 - 4E-10x4 - 5E-07x3 + 0.0002x2 - 0.0346x + 2.0712 R= 0.9992

Graph 1: Graph of moisture content against drying time for block rice noodles

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Chemical Engineering Laboratory

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Graph of Drying rate against moisture content (Block rice noodles)

90.000
Drying rate, R (g H2O/m2.min)

80.000 70.000 60.000 50.000 40.000 30.000 20.000 10.000 0.000 0.000 -10.000 0.500 1.000 1.500 2.000
y = 7.2619x - 0.0626 R= 0.9848 y = 24.001x - 2.1112 R= 0.8188

60 degree with dimension 7.8cm*7.7cm*2.3cm 40 degree with dimension 10.38cm*9.08cm*1.96cm

2.500

Moisture content, MC (gH2O/g dried solid)

Graph 2: Graph of drying rate against moisture content for block rice noodles

Graph of Moisture Ratio against Drying Time (Block rice noodles)

1.200 1.000
Moisture Ratio, MR
y = 3E-16x6 - 5E-13x5 + 3E-10x4 - 1E-07x3 + 4E05x2 - 0.0096x + 0.9986 R= 0.9999

0.800 0.600 0.400 0.200 0.000 0 -0.200

60 degree with dimension 7.8cm*7.7cm*2.3cm 40 degree with dimension 10.38cm*9.08cm*1.96cm

y = -2E-15x6 + 2E-12x5 - 2E-10x4 - 3E-07x3 + 0.0001x2 - 0.0169x + 0.976 R= 0.9992

100

200

300

400

500

Drying Time, t (min)

Graph 3: Graph of moisture ratio against drying time for block rice noodles

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Graph of ln (MR) against Drying Time (Block rice noodles)

2.000 0.000 -2.000
ln MR

100

200

300

400

500

60 degree with dimension 7.8cm*7.7cm*2.3cm 40 degree with dimension 10.38cm*9.08cm*1. 96cm

-4.000 -6.000 -8.000 -10.000 -12.000

y = -0.0237x + 0.1174 R= 0.9809

y = -0.0182x + 0.5773 R= 0.9165

Drying Time, t (min)

Graph 4: Graph of ln MR against drying time for block rice noodles

Rice noodles in strands

Table 7: Borne dry weight of strand samples at different temperature Temperature ( C) 60 40 Initial Weight (g) 1.524 1.507 Final Weight (g) 0.463 0.619 Borne dry weight (g) 0.43 0.55 Change in weight (g) 1.094 0.957 Change in weight (%) 71.78 63.50

Table 8: Change in moisture content of strand samples at different temperature Temperature ( C) Initial Moisture Content (g H2O/ g dry solid) 60 40 2.544 1.74 Final Moisture Content (g H2O/ g dry solid) 0.0767 0.125 2.4673 1.615 Change in moisture content (g H2O/ g dry solid)

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Table 9: Shrinkage of strand samples at different temperature Temperature ( C) Initial Dimension (cm) 60 8 x 1 x 0.144 Initial Capacity (cm3) 1.152 Final Dimension (cm) 7.2 x 0.7 x 0.144 40 8 x 1 x 0.144 1.152 7.3 x 0.8 x 0.144 0.841 0.311 27.00 Final Capacity (cm3) 0.726 0.426 36.98 Shrinkage (cm3) Shrinkage (%)

Moisture Content, MC (g H2O/g dry solid)

3.000 2.500 2.000 1.500 1.000 0.500 0.000 0

Graph of Moisture Content against Time (Strand Rice Noodles)

y = 5E-11x6 - 2E-08x5 + 3E-06x4 - 0.0002x3 + 0.0092x2 - 0.2062x + 2.4263 R= 0.985

40 degree with dimension 8cm*1cm*0.144cm 60 degree with dimension 8cm*1cm*0.144cm

y = -2E-12x6 + 1E-09x5 - 2E-07x4 + 1E-05x3 - 0.0002x2 - 0.0339x + 1.7848 R= 0.9981

50

100
Drying Time, t (min)

150

200

Graph 5: Graph of moisture content against drying time for strand rice noodles

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H83CEL

Chemical Engineering Laboratory

Marcus Poon Chinn Yoong 004681

90.000
Drying Rate, R (g H2O/m2.min)

Graph of Drying Rate against Moisture Content (Strand Rice Noodles)

80.000 70.000 60.000 50.000 40.000 30.000 20.000 10.000 0.500 1.000 1.500 2.000 2.500 3.000
y = 6.1802x + 0.3718 R= 0.724 y = 27.861x - 4.7219 R= 0.9121

60 degree with dimension 8cm*1cm*0.144cm 40 degree with dimension 8cm*1cm*0.144cm

0.000 0.000 -10.000

Moisture Content, MC (gH2O/g dry solid)

Graph 6: Graph of drying rate against moisture content for strand rice noodles

Graph of Moisture Ratio against Time (Strand Rice Noodles)

1.2000 1.0000
Moisture Ratio, MR y = -1E-12x6 + 7E-10x5 - 1E-07x4 + 9E-06x3 0.0001x2 - 0.021x + 1.0278 R= 0.9981

0.8000 0.6000 0.4000 0.2000 0.0000 0 -0.2000 50 100

Drying Time (min)

60 degree with dimension 8cm*1cm*0.144cm 40 degree with dimension 8cm*1cm*0.144cm

y = 2E-11x6 - 8E-09x5 + 1E-06x4 - 9E-05x3 + 0.0037x2 - 0.0836x + 0.9522 R= 0.985

150

200

Graph 7: Graph of moisture ratio against drying time for strand rice noodles

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Chemical Engineering Laboratory

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1 0 -1
Ln (MR)

Graph of ln MR against Drying Time (Strand rice noodles)

0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160

-2 -3 -4 -5 -6 -7

y = -0.0446x + 0.4472 R= 0.9854

60 degree with dimension 8cm*1cm*0.144cm 40 degree with dimension 8cm*1cm*0.144cm

y = -0.0466x - 0.5939 R= 0.9626

Drying Time, t (min)

Graph 8: Graph of ln MR against drying time for strand rice noodles

Table 10: Table for determining constant moisture diffusivity, Drying Temperature, T (K) 313 333 Slope, 9Deff/4L2 (min1 ) 0.0446 0.0466

and activation energy,

1/T (1/K) 0.0032 0.003

Effective diffusivity, Deff (m2min-1) 1.009E-05 1.055E-05

ln Deff -11.503 -11.460

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Graph of ln (Deff) against 1/T

-11.455 0.00295 -11.46 -11.465 -11.47 -11.475 ln (Deff) -11.48 -11.485 -11.49 -11.495 -11.5 -11.505 -11.51 1/T (1/K) y = -224.09x - 10.787 R = 1 0.003 0.00305 0.0031 0.00315 0.0032 0.00325

Graph 9: Graph of ln Deff against drying time for strand rice noodles Intercept = ln

Slope =

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H83CEL
Rehydration

Chemical Engineering Laboratory

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Graph of Moisture Content against Time after Rehydration

Moisture Content. MC (g H2O/g dried soild)

0.18 0.16 0.14 0.12 0.1 0.08 0.06 0.04 0.02 0 0 50 100 150 200

y = -3E-06x2 + 0.001x + 0.0559 R= 0.831

y = -3E-06x2 + 0.0011x + 0.0338 R= 0.9368

Freeze Drying Heat Pump Drying

250

300

Drying Time, t (min)

Graph 10: Graph of moisture content against drying time after rehydration for both freeze drying and heat pump drying

Rehydration capacity of freeze drying is 1.147. Rehydration capacity of heat pump drying is 1.149.

Texture Hardness Analyser

Figure 7: Initial hardness test of rice noodles (results tabulated)

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Figure 8: Initial hardness test of rice noodles (graphical representation)

Figure 9: Hardness test of rice noodles after freeze drying (results tabulated)

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Figure 10: Hardness test of rice noodles after freeze drying (graphical representation)

Figure 11: Hardness test of rice noodles after heat pump drying (results tabulated)

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Chemical Engineering Laboratory

Marcus Poon Chinn Yoong 004681

Figure 12: Hardness test of rice noodles after heat pump drying (graphical representation)

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H83CEL Discussion

Chemical Engineering Laboratory

Marcus Poon Chinn Yoong 004681

The main objective of conducting this experiment were to study the drying characteristics and kinetics of rice noodles dried in heat pump dryer and freeze dryer. The drying characteristics such as colour, texture, hardness, shrinkage and rehydration properties are the concerned in this experiment. Temperature is manipulated with 40 C and 60 C of the drying chamber of heat pump dryer and is observed to determine the effect of temperature on the drying rate. Two different equipment, heat pump dryer and freeze dryer are used to conduct this experiment to compare the performance of both the equipment on drying performance of the rice noodles. The weight of rice noodles are measured using an electronic balance. The experiment for every sample ended when the weight of the sample decreases until a constant value was obtained. Borne dried weight of each sample was obtained by placing the sample into the oven for further drying for a day. For freeze drying, the vacuum is maintained at 0.12 bar and -40 C. Vacuum drying is performed as low pressure, which is an advantage because boiling point of water is lower under reduced pressure. The internal pressure of the food was greater than the ambient pressure in the drying chamber and hence, it prevents shrinkage and maintains the structure of the rice noodle. From table 1 to 3, the percentage change in weight of both block and strand are similar, which is about 65.5% decrease from the initial weight. The change in moisture content for both block and strand is about 1.8 g H2O/ g dry solid and shrinkage of sample in block is about 11.9% while strand is about 12.5%. It shows that the drying characteristics of rice noodles in freezer drying are about the same in either block or strand. Block is slightly lower for its final moisture content and shrinkage compared to strand rice noodles. For heat pump drying, the temperature in the drying chamber is maintained by using a hygrometer to ensure that it operates at the setting temperature. From table 4 to 9, it shows that higher temperature has a higher change in weight and lower final moisture content as well as higher shrinkage of sample. Higher temperature increases the driving force of diffusion process, speed up the drying rate which cause rice noodle to dry faster which possess a higher moisture gradient for diffusivity. Shrinkage occurred as the contracting of a hardened concrete mixture due to the loss of capillary water. Graph 1 and 5 shows the moisture content of both block and strand of rice noodles decrease exponentially with time until a constant value was obtained. However, fluctuation of sample occurred during the experiment where reabsorption of water back into the sample due to moisture gradient between the ambient air and sample when the sample is removed from the drying chamber and send for weighing.

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From graph 2 and 6, it shows that there is higher drying rate at the beginning for sample at 60 C and it fluctuates a little before achieving constant drying rate. For sample at 40 C, it shows constant drying rate throughout the experiment. This discrepancy might due to the sample drying at 60 C exposed to ambient air for too long while waiting the heat pump to start up which cause the drying rate to be too high which is out of the optimum range for graph plotting. From graph 3 and 7, it shows graph of moisture ratio against drying time. Higher temperature increases the rate of removal of moisture provided that the higher temperature did not alter the quality of sample during the experiment. Graph 8 is plotted to determine the effective diffusivity. At higher operating temperature, the moisture diffusivity and From Arrhenius equation, activation energy is higher. The effective diffusivities at 40 C and 60 C are respectively. Diffusivity is the rate of water molecules and constant moisture diffusivity can be obtained.

to diffuse from a material into drying air through a concentration gradient by Ficks law of diffusion. Activation energy is the minimum energy required by water molecules before diffusion of sample surface start to occur. The value of activation energy is 1.863 kJ/kmol and constant moisture diffusivity is .

Generally, there are three stages of drying, constant rate period, first falling period and second falling rate period. Constant rate period is not obvious which means the surface is not fully wetted as constant rate period took place only when surface water was removed. Once it passed the critical moisture content, most of the drying falls on 1 st and 2nd falling rate period. Capillary action occurred by moving liquid to surface from inside solid of sample. Some of the rice noodles are still wet but other parts have dried in 1st falling rate period while 2nd falling rate occurred when whole of the surface has dried and interface is completely within the pores of the sample. Hence, it was clearly shown falling rate period dominates the drying time. Several errors have been made during the conduction of the experiment which alter the accuracy and reliability of the experiment. A negative value is obtained for drying rate as shown in appendix of table of 60 C block drying of rice noodles, which is impossible in reality. This is due to the reabsorption of moisture back into the sample. Arrangement of strand and block of rice noodles in the trays provided in freeze dryer affect the drying rate. At different tray, the surface exposed to drying and drying rate is different. The sample exposed to ambient air while transferring from container into the freezer dryer. Also, the different sets of experiment were not carried out in a constant period of time. Therefore, it was difficult to compare the experiments results at a certain period. The drying chamber is not tighten throughout the experiment as the sample is taken out every few minutes to measure its weight by using electronic balance which causes the air in the

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chamber to mix with the atmospheric air. The accuracy of the experiment can be improved by repeating the experiment at least two times for each set of sample. The objective on effect of temperature on the drying rate is achieved where higher temperature has a higher drying rate with higher shrinkage and lower moisture content and larger change in term of mass. The performance of heat pump is better compared to freeze dryer for rice noodles although according to literature, freeze drying should have the best overall quality of product. Heat pump can provide better control of drying conditions which enables drying to perform at lower temperature and low relative humidity, leading to better retention of appearance. Freeze drying has the best quality for dried product but lowest energy efficiency (Uddin, et al., 2004). The characteristics and kinetics of sample for both equipment are not precise and data recorded is not clear enough to justify the information on pro and cons of heat pump and freeze dryer.

Comparison between freeze drying and heat pump drying are carried out in term of drying characteristics: Colour & Appearance It can be seen in Appendix I, before send to oven for further drying to obtain borne dry weight, the colour of rice noodles of heat pump is golden brown in color with oily surface while freeze dryer is coated with white surface. After borne dry, rice noodles from heat pump became transparent while freeze dryer product is transparent with tiny bubbles formed on the surface. In term of appearance, borne dried noodles from heat pump dryer is better in term of packaging for commercial value while freeze dryer product is preferable to be before borne dried rice noodles as the white coated surface suit customer preference better than the borne dried tiny bubbles surface. Texture Shrinkage in freeze dried noodles is about 11 to 13% while shrinkage in heat pump dryer is about 27 to 37% which is way higher than freeze drying. Hardness defined as the force necessary to attain a given deformation. The initial force for rice noodles before undergoing any drying treatment is about 118 N. After freeze dried, rice noodles hardness increases to an average of 4725 N while heat pump drying yield an average of 2810 N of hardness. It shows that freeze dried product is the strongest which resist to changes.

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H83CEL
Rehydration

Chemical Engineering Laboratory

Marcus Poon Chinn Yoong 004681

Rehydration of dried food play a major role on the quality attributes of the product. Rehydration is considered as percentage of original weight gained by dried sample during rehydration for a given time at a given temperature in water. As shown in graph 10, rehydration rate is faster in freeze dryer compared to heat pump drying. The rehydration capacity for freeze drying is 1.147 while for heat pump drying is 1.149, which is almost the same for both cases. According to literature, freeze drying should yield better and faster rehydration properties compared to others. This error might due to exposure of material to ambient air which indirectly increases its moisture content.

Although freeze drying products are considered to have a better quality than other dehydrated products and having completeness in term of rehydration, its high capital and operating cost as well as slow process are issues to be solved. Also, the appearance after rehydration could not return to the original rice noodles structure. On the other hand, for heat pump dried product, after rehydration, has a better appearance as in regain the fresh rice noodles original bright, clean colour and the cost for heat pump is cheaper than freeze drying.

Processing properties, appearance and colour of noodles are the three main important criteria to judge the quality of rice noodles. Compared to freeze drying, the dried rice noodles of heat pump drying can retain a better colour, flavour and nutrition of rice noodles. However, the only problem with heat pump dried product is oily surface and shrinkage problem. Therefore, further research on removing the oil surface and improving the product quality are needed to improve the commercial value for consumer acceptability of dried rice noodles in the future.

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H83CEL Conclusion

Chemical Engineering Laboratory

Marcus Poon Chinn Yoong 004681

In conclusion, the weight of rice noodles sample decreases with time by removing the moisture it contains until it reaches a phase where constant drying is in equilibrium state. Falling rate period dominates the drying time throughout the experiment. Comparing freeze drying to heat pump, in term of appearance, heat pump dried noodles has a better commercial value as it maintains the color of rice noodles and the structure after rehydration is the same as the original fresh rice noodles. However, the shrinkage in freeze drying is lesser compared to heat pump drying and freeze dried product is stronger in term of hardness. To improve the commercial value for consumer acceptability of dried rice noodles, further research on removing the oil surface and improving the product quality of heat pump product is needed. An increased of temperature of the drying chamber, increases in drying rate as well as shrinkage of sample. Lower final moisture content can then be achieved. Rehydration capacity of freeze drying is 1.147 and 1.149 for heat pump drying. The effective diffusivities at 40 C and 60 C are of and respectively and activation energy of 1.863 kJ/kmol and constant moisture diffusivity . The accuracy of the experiment can be improved by repeating the experiment at least two times for each set of sample. Although freeze drying products are considered to have a better quality and completeness in term of rehydration, its high capital and operating cost as well as slow process are issues to be solved which restricted the popularity of freeze drying rice noodles. There is potential to improve existing technologies through further research and development with aim of better quality product, smaller equipment size, safer operation, higher reliability, lower energy consumption, reduced environmental impact and overall cost of drying.

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H83CEL Nomenclature

Chemical Engineering Laboratory

Marcus Poon Chinn Yoong 004681

Symbols & Descriptions Drying time, t Moisture ratio, MR Operating temperature, T Effective moisture diffusivity, Constant moisture diffusivity, Borne dry weight, Sample size, Free moisture content, Moisture content, MC Drying rate, R

Units

Activation energy, Gas constant,

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H83CEL References

Chemical Engineering Laboratory

Marcus Poon Chinn Yoong 004681

Antal, T. & Kerekes, B., 2007. Establishment of a Data Processing System for Freeze Drier. [Online] Available at: http://www.nordtech.ubm.ro/issues/2007/2007.01.04.pdf [Accessed 19th April 2012]. Baker, G., 1997. Industrial Drying of Foods. Great Britain: Springer. Bellis, M., 2012. Freeze-Drying & Freeze-Dried Food. [Online] Available at: http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/blfrdrfood.htm [Accessed 20th April 2012]. Chen, G., 2007. The Proceedings of 5th Asia-Pacific Drying Conference. Singapore: World Scientific. Chong, C. H. et al., 2008. Drying Kinetics and Product Quality of Dried Chempedak. Journal of Food Engineering, 88(4), pp. 522-527. Colak, N. & Hepbasli, A., 2009. A Review of Heat Pump Drying: Part 1 - Systems, Models and Studies. Energy Conversion and Management, 50(9), pp. 2180-2186. Cook, C., 2007. Vacuum Freeze-Drying Archaeological Artifacts, Canada: Minister of Public Works and Government. Fu, B. X., 2008. Asian Noodles: History, Classification, Raw Materials, and Processing. Food Research International, 41(9), pp. 888-902. Goh, L. J. et al., 2011. Review of Heat Pump Systems for Drying Application. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 15(9), pp. 4788-4796. Harris, T., 2012. How Freeze-Drying Works. [Online] Available at: http://science.howstuffworks.com/innovation/edible-innovations/freeze-drying2.htm [Accessed 25th April 2012]. Kudra, T. & Mujumdar, A. S., 2009. Advanced Drying Technologies. 2nd ed. Florida: CRC Press. Labconco, 2010. A Guide to Freeze Drying for the Laboratory, Kansas City: Labconco Corporation. Law, C. L., Waje, S. S., Thorat, B. N. & Mujumdar, A. S., 2008. Advances and Recent Developments in Thermal Drying for Bio-Origin and Agricultural Products, United Kingdom: Stewart Postharvest Solutions. Mujumdar, A., 2008. Guide to Industrial Drying - Principles, Equipments & New Developments. Hyderabad: Three S Colors. Mujumdar, A. S., 2007. Handbook of Industrial Drying. 3rd ed. Boca Raton: CRC and Taylor & Francis.

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Mujumdar, A. S., 2008. Drying Research - Current State and Future Trends. Developments in Chemical Engineering and Mineral Processing, 10(3-4), pp. 225-246. Oikonomopoulou, V. P., Krokida, M. K. & Karathanos, V. T., 2011. Structural Properties of FreezeDried Rice. Journal of Food Engineering, 107(3-4), pp. 326-333. Perera, C. O. & Rahman, M. S., 1997. Heat Pump Dehumidifier Drying of Food. Trends in Food Science & Technology, 8(3), pp. 75-79. Quiroga, E. L., Antelo, L. T. & Alonso, A. A., 2012. Time-Scale Modeling And Optimal Control of FreezeDrying. Journal of Food Engineering, 111(4), pp. 655-666. Rao, V., Ghosh, T. & Chopra, K., 2008. Vacuum Science and Technology. New Delhi: Allied Publishers. Ratti, C., 2001. Hot Air and Freeze-Drying of High-Value Foods: A Review. Journal of Food Engineering, 49(4), pp. 311-319. Samritthisuth, C. & Thammathongchat, S., 2011. Structural Changes of Dried Rice Noodle During Rehydration. [Online] Available at: http://technology.kku.ac.th/foodtechnology/AFC2011/index.asp_files/Full_Paper/Addition_Full%28072011%29/PF_054%28Full%29 .pdf [Accessed 15th April 2012]. Uddin, M., Hawlader, M. A. & Hui, X., 2004. A Comparative Study on Heat Pump, Microwave and Freeze Drying of Fresh Fruits. Drying 2004 - Proceedings of the 14th International Drying Symposium, pp. 2035-2042. Wang, R., Zhang, M. & Mujumdar, A. S., 2010. Effect of Food Ingredient on Microwave Freeze Drying of Instant Vegetable Soup. LWT - Food Science and Technology, 43(7), pp. 1144-1150.

Total References: 24

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