FOOD ENGINEERING

TRAY DRYING AND DRYING CURVES

Drying is a means of removing water from semi-solid, and occasionally liquid, products typically to preserve the food or impart a desirable texture. Many types of dryers exist including tray, rotary, vacuum, drum and spray drying. In tray dryers, be they batch or continuous, a hot air stream passes over the surface of the product, providing some of the heat of evaporation, and acting as a medium by which water vapor is carried away from the food. Many mechanisms come into play controlling the rate of drying. During initial drying, in the constant-rate drying period, water evaporates freely away from the surface. During later periods, water must move from the interior of the product to the surface. This may happen due to liquid diffusion, capillary movement, surface diffusion, gaseous diffusion, or may be related to product shrinkage. Drying curves can be determined for a food product in a given dryer and drying conditions, and these will usually show characteristic drying periods, including constant rate drying and falling rate drying periods. Tray Drying and Drying Curves: In this section of the lab, we will be drying apple slices, determining drying rate plots, and using derived information to predict drying times. Experimental: 1. Preheat the dryer to the desired temperature. We will use drying temperatures of 60C. Select an air flow rate of approximately 3 m/s. 2. Cut the apples into uniform slices using the slicer. Record the slice thickness. Save some samples for moisture determination. 3. Dip samples in 10% sucrose solution containing lemon juice (or ascorbic acid). 4. Distribute the slices on the tray. Measure the area, or take a picture of the apples and use image software to calculate the exposed area of the trays. 5. Take measurements of the product weight at 30 sec intervals for the first 5 minutes, and at 1 minute intervals after. the experiment should run until the equilibrium moisture is reached. 6. Insert a thermocouple sideways into one slice, and record the temperature versus time. 7. Record the dry and wet bulb temperatures of the air at different points in the dryer. 8. If possible, take pictures of the product as it dries. Analysis: 1. Make a table of weight versus time for the drying samples. 2. Convert to moisture versus time, with moisture calculated on the dry basis (kgH2O/kg solids). If W is the total product weight at each time, and Ws is the weight of the dry solids, the moisture content at time t is:

3. Plot Xt versus t to estimate the equilibrium moisture content Xe.

4. Make a column to calculate the so-called free moisture content: X = Xt- Xe Plot the free moisture X versus time in hours.

5. To calculate the rate of drying, first determine the slope of the line tangent to the curve

at several points. For example, in this example, the slope is relatively constant for the first 1.5 h, with slope dX/dt = -1.070 kgH2O/kgDS.h. At t = 5 h, the slope is dX/dt = -0.383 kgH2O/kgDS.h. The rate R is determined by: RWs dX A dt where A is the exposed surface area.

6. Plot R versus free moisture content X.

Questions: 1. What are the critical moisture contents for each drying regime. Is there more than one falling rate period? 2. Assume you are drying apple slices in a situation similar to that above. The slices are to be dried from 87% moisture (wet basis) to 23% moisture (wet basis). Also, the ratio Ws/A = 2.45 kg/m3. Calculate the drying time needed. You may use the following equations to help (if there is only one falling-rate period): Constant rate period : First falling rate period :

In this case, I recommend using the formula above for the constant rate period, and using something else (graphical integration) for the falling rate periods. 3. During constant rate drying, the rate of drying is partly controlled by the ability to bring heat to the surface. In that case, the drying rate is given by:

Hv = latent heat of vaporization at the surface temperature of the material TA= air temperature Ts= surface temperature of the solids h= heat transfer coefficient A = surface area of drying sample Ws= mass of dry solids L= product thickness and we can estimate heat transfer coefficients from the air flow:

h = 14.305G0.8

where G is the mass velocity of air in kg/m2s.

Drum Drying: In drum drying, a food paste or slurry is applied directly to one or more heated rotating drums. In one version, a number of applicator rolls over the drum apply the material, and the position between applicator and drum controls the width. In some cases, a single applicator is used beneath the drum. In some cases, the food is pumped or sprayed into the nip between two drums. Drying time is determined by the speed of rotation. Typically a flaky product is scraped off one end of the dryer.

We will be drying a slurry of sweet potatoes in order to make a dry flaky product that can be ground into a flour.

To Do: Record the drum rotation speed, drum temperature and moisture contents of the initial and dried products.

Vacuum Drying: A vacuum system may be connected to a cabinet dryer to lower the vapor pressure of water in the space surrounding the food, and thus enhance mass transfer of water out of the food. In addition, the lower pressure reduces the boiling point, and provides a greater temperature difference between products and surrounding. The reduced oxygen environment is also useful for products prone to quality loss from oxidation reactions. The leakproof vacuum system requires higher precision engineering, thus greater equipment costs are expected.

In addition, changeover times are greater due to the need to pull and release vacuum. However, drying periods may be longer, as conduction of heat from the heated side wall through the rarified air may be limiting. In one variant, microwaves are used to assist the heating process. Another possibility is to have the product ride on a belt that sits immediately atop a series of conduction heaters.

To Do: We will be drying a blueberry slurry containing rice starch and some extra sugar. We hope to get the product dry enough to be crisp. Also, bubbling action that occurs during vacuum drying may create small voids and a puffed structure that contributes to crispness.

Record all of the belt temperatures, the resident pressure, and the initial and final moisture contents of the blueberry mix.