Elsevier, Journal of Food Engineering, (128), p. 132-139
DOI: 10.1016/j.jfoodeng.2013.12.021
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The use of non-thermal technologies, such as power ultrasound, is mostly suitable for the drying of thermolabile food materials. Thereby, the air-borne ultrasonic application as a means of improving the convective drying of strawberry has been explored in this work. Experiments were conducted by setting the acoustic power applied (0, 30 and 60 W) and the air temperature (40, 50, 60 and 70 C). The desorption isotherms and the shrinkage pattern were also experimentally determined. In order to describe the drying kinetics, a diffusion model considering both convective transport and shrinkage was used. The increase in both the applied acoustic power and temperature gave rise to a significant reduction of drying time (13 44%). The application of power ultrasound involved a significant (p