Journal of Food Process Engineering最新文献

Drying is an effective way to solve corn mildew. The heat and humidity flow interface in COMSOL Multiphysics heat transfer module was used to coupling fluid flow, water transport and heat transfer in multiple physical fields, and corn was used as a porous medium for simulation analysis, aiming to find the change rules of temperature field and humidity field. The research shows that the multi-component model and method should be given priority in practice. The higher the hot air temperature is, the higher the average temperature of corn kernels is, and the faster the relative humidity decreases. The drying rate of corn is the highest at 348 K, and the hot air temperature should be appropriately increased at 333 K denaturation temperature. The higher the wind speed, the better the drying effect of corn kernels, but the improvement of drying effect will decrease with the increase of wind speed. Appropriately increase the wind speed between 2 and 4 m/s to improve the drying efficiency while avoiding excessive energy consumption. The mass transfer resistance of the pericarp cannot be ignored. The drying time of corn kernels closer to the hot air entrance is shorter, and the corn kernels close to the hot air exit are prone to humidity accumulation. Multiple hot air intakes should be set up to reduce the occurrence of uneven drying.

Practical applications

Corn is prone to mildew after harvest, resulting in resource waste and economic loss, so it is of great significance to dry corn efficiently. Corn is a typical porous medium, and the research on it can provide the basis for drying other porous medium grains. According to different components, the model of single granule and multi-granule was established respectively. Use COMSOL Multiphysics simulation software to gain a deeper understanding of the complex physical processes involved in the drying process and provide valuable insights for industrial applications. COMSOL software was used to study the drying condition of corn under the synergic action of multiple physical fields, and effective drying strategies and measures to improve the structure of air drying silo were put forward.

Increased awareness by industry of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions is forcing companies to examine electrical technologies as alternatives to fossil fuel-driven thermal ones. Spray drying of milk is recognized as a high-energy process and is of particular importance to New Zealand. It requires inlet air temperatures higher than most existing electrically-driven heat-pumps can reliably achieve. Already some companies internationally are considering freezing and shipping milk concentrates rather than drying which begs the question as to whether the GHG emissions of frozen concentrate outweigh the GHG avoided by not drying. This research note assesses the relative GHG emissions and indicates a GHG advantage for frozen concentrate shipping.

Practical applications

Increased awareness of the significance of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions is forcing companies to examine alternatives to fossil fuel-driven thermal technologies. Spray drying of milk is recognized as a high-energy process and is of particular importance to New Zealand. It requires inlet air temperatures higher than most existing electrically-driven heat-pumps can achieve and so commonly requires fossil-fuel use. Already some companies internationally are considering freezing and shipping milk concentrates rather than shipping dried milk. This research note assesses the relative GHG emissions of conventional (fossil-fuelled) processes, and a novel process involving frozen concentrate. The evaluation shows that significant greenhouse gas reduction is possible by shipping frozen concentrate.

Castor oil has attracted large attention for wide applications, including lubrication oil and bioenergy resources. Castor seeds mechanical pressing is widely used for oil extraction. To better research castor seeds mechanical-structural damage behavior and oil extraction mechanism during extrusion, a self-developed mechanical pressing test setup combined with in situ observation is built for oil output behavior. Influencing factors of working pressure, speed, temperature and creep time on oil outflow were investigated. The results indicate that seeds squeezing extraction can be divided into three stages, preloading, oil discharging, compressing consolidation stage, matching with pressing cake structural evolution. As working pressure increases, oil yield shows an upper parabola relation with pressure. When pressure exceeding 25 MPa, castor oil yield increasing tends to stabilize, reaching 38%. Speed effect showed down parabola relation on oil yield, opposite to stress factor. Creep time promoted oil output with upper parabola within 720 s. When temperature below 120°C, a linear increasing relation on oil yield presents. Oil yield decreases when above 120°C. This research provides in-depth theoretical guidance for industrial castor oil extraction.

Practical Applications

Castor seeds are rich in oil content. Extracted castor oil has been widely used for industrial applications such as biodiesel, lubricants, medicine. Mechanical extraction working parameters optimization can improve oil yield of castor seeds. The research provides a basic working optimization for castor seeds oil extraction. Castor oil has unique properties and has been proved to be a high promising renewable and independent energy sources. Compared with solvent oil extraction, mechanical oil pressing extraction method has higher oil quality and safety. The mechanical extracted oil is pure without organic solvent. In the research, castor seeds compression-structural damage property and oil extraction mechanism were studied. Besides, the influence factors including compression pressure, speed, temperature and creep time are analyzed, working optimization for castor seeds oil extraction. The research provides important reference value for the mechanical pressing process and mechanical design of castor seeds in the practical applications.

This study presents a novel conceptual laboratory-scale double drum dryer (LDD) optimized for the efficient drying of wheat flour slurry into flakes. The research stems from the need to address the complexities of previous methodologies, lack of studies on industrial-sized dryers, and high cost. The methodology involved designing dryer components, transmission system, creating engineering drawings, and simulating LDD with varied operating parameters. Verification was done using industrial double drum dryer (IGD) data and MATLAB simulations. Parameters were explored including temperature (120–140°C), drum dimension (0.1–0.7 m), and film thickness (0.3–0.6 mm). The design closely matched real-world performance metrics with mean relative deviations of 2.67%, 3.30%, 10.12% for drum speed, water content, and throughput respectively. The predictive model outperformed the IGD, achieving a 9.13% increase in throughput. Optimal LDD parameters were identified 0.7 m length, 0.2 m diameter, 0.3 mm film thickness, 40% slurry TSS, 120°C temperature, and 4.47 rpm rotational speed, resulting in 3.00% water content and 132.78 kgh⁻¹ throughput offering valuable insights for similar applications in the food industries.

Practical applications

The research on the novel laboratory-scale double drum dryer for drying wheat flour-based slurry holds significant practical implications in the food industry. Firstly, the optimized design and simulation-based approach offer a cost-effective and efficient solution for small-scale food processing businesses aiming to produce wheat flour flakes. By identifying optimal drying parameters, including temperature, drum dimensions, and film thickness, the research enables precise control over the drying process, leading to enhanced product quality and throughput. Moreover, the close agreement between simulation results and industrial observations validates the effectiveness of the proposed methodology, instilling confidence in its practical applicability. The development of a prototype based on these findings facilitates the adoption of this technology by small-scale enterprises, empowering them to improve their production processes and competitiveness. Overall, this research contributes to advancing drying technology in the food industry, offering tangible benefits in terms of product quality, efficiency, and operational cost reduction.

The study presents the performance of a small-scale greenhouse solar dryer (GHSD) to demonstrate hygiene and superiority over traditional methods for medicinal Adulsa and Durva leaves. The GHSD dryer lowered the initial moisture of Adulsa leaves from 73.99% (w.b.) to the final 10.63% (w.b.) under natural and forced convection in 3 and 2.5 h, respectively. Similarly, the initial moisture of Durva leaves was reduced from 67.33% (w.b.) to 11.65% (w.b.) under natural and forced convection in 2.75 and 2.5 h, respectively. Furthermore, mathematical modeling with non-linear regression was implemented to characterize the drying of Adulsa and Durva leaves, which showed that Midilli–Kucuk and Modified Midilli were the most superior fits for reporting the drying of Adulsa leaves in GHSD and open sun drying, respectively, whereas Verma and Midilli–Kucuk models were superior fits for characterizing the drying of Durva leaves in GHSD and open sun, respectively. Furthermore, the quality of the dried Adulsa and Durva leaves was evaluated, where total phenolic content (TPC) and total flavonoid content (TFC) values were marked higher in the leaves dried by the GHSD as compared to open sun drying for both Adulsa and Durva leaves. Moreover, during antioxidant analysis, the IC₅₀ values among the leaves dried in GHSD were recorded to be greater for the natural convection greenhouse solar dryer (NCGHSD) for both Adulsa and Durva (40.67 and 122.24 μg/mL) compared to open sun drying (101.88 and 158.20 μg/mL). A quality assessment was performed on dried Adulsa and Durva leaf samples, and they exhibited appropriateness for pharmaceutical industry drug production.

Practical applications

Greenhouse solar dryer is an eco-friendly, sustainable, clean, and hygienic way to dry herbs and medicinal plants. The greenhouse solar dryer can shorten the drying time by 50%–60% compared to natural stand in the sun (open sun drying) and improve the quality of the dried herbs, medicinal plants, and reduce the decay rate of the dried products. These leaves can be best suited for Ayurveda medicine industries for herbal powder (Churna). Being an economically advantageous greenhouse solar dryer improves the shelf life of the dried leaves, reduces their density, and lower transportation costs, leading to boost farmers' income in herbal farming and nutritional security.

The effect of addition of whey protein isolate (WPI; 0%, 5%, 7.5% and 10%) and carboxy methyl cellulose (CMC; 0%, 0.25%, 0.5% and 0.75%) was studied for its foaming properties and stability in pomegranate juice (PJ). High-quality powders can be produced from fruit juices and heat-sensitive food items using foam mat drying (FMD). The PJ foam with 10% WPI, a foaming agent, and 0.25% CMC, a stabilizer had high foam expansion (FE) (455.28%) and low foam density (FD) (0.2030 g/cc) and foam drainage volume (FDV) (20.10 mL). The PJ foam was subjected to different drying temperatures (50, 60 and 70°C) and thickness (3 and 6 mm). The drying temperature of 60°C and foam thickness of 3 mm were found to be the acceptable drying conditions based on drying time (180 min) and retention of bioactive compounds. At optimum drying conditions, the retention of phenols, anthocyanin, ascorbic acid, and antioxidant capacity was 97.86%, 83.90%, 77.29%, and 87.11%, respectively. The sensory evaluation of the reconstituted foam mat dried pomegranate juice powder (FPJP) showed lower overall acceptability scores than fresh juice (FJ), but the overall acceptability of the powder dried at optimum drying conditions was within liking limits (>6). FPJP has an amorphous nature with a particle size of 3564 nm and a porous and irregular structure. Bioactive compounds in FPJP were studied after 8 months of storage, with higher retention of bioactive compounds in refrigerated conditions.

Practical application

The studies revealed that foam mat drying is suitable for the pomegranate juice which has high moisture and sugar content. It requires shorter drying time of 180 min. for drying up to moisture content of 4% (db). The foam mat dried juice powder obtained at optimum drying conditions has retained higher bioactive compounds and has higher sensorial acceptability when compared with the other treatment combinations. This drying process requires low initial investment and can easily be scaled up to the commercial level thus making it profitable business venture. Further, higher storage stability up to 8 months, low volume and consequent low transport cost improves the technical and financial viability of the process in industrial application. The Foam mat dried pomegranate juice developed can be used in many food products such as reconstituted beverages, ice creams, confectioneries, etc.