Applications of several hybrid drying methods for a bioproduct: Effects on drying kinetics and product colour

Abstract

In response to growing expectations for more effective drying of bioproducts with improved quality, this paper presents recent experimental results obtained from employing several hybrid drying techniques. The hybrid drying methods could be classified into thermal and non-thermal processes. The thermal processes included combined convective/infrared and convective-microwave drying while non-thermal process refers to dehydration under conditions of successive pressure drops incorporating an adsorption bed. Potato samples were taken to be the model bioproduct. A comparison of the drying kinetics with product colour degradation showed convective-microwave drying to be an effective method in shortening the drying time to achieve the desired moisture content whilst maintaining acceptable product quality. Bioproduct dehydration in a non-thermal cyclic pressure drop adsorption system resulted in substantial minimisation of the product colour change but at the expense of a longer drying time. Copyright ©2007 The Berkeley Electronic Press. All rights reserved.