Modeling of Microwave Drying of Fruits and Vegetables

ARBALLO, JAVIER RAMIRO; CAMPAÑONE, LAURA ANALÍA; MASCHERONI, RODOLFO HORACIO

Montréal, Quebec, Canada

Congreso; 8th World Congress of Chemical Engineering; 2009

École Polytechnique de Montréal, McGill University and Canadian Society for Chemical Engineering (CSChE)

Heat and mass transfer in foods dried using microwave ovens is determined experimentally and modelled. The food is considered as a system with physical properties that can change with composition, structure, temperature and electromagnetic field. Inner heat generation due to the electromagnetic field is considered using the approximation of Lambert´s Law. Two successive stages are considered: heating and later evaporation, with the generation of a dehydrated recessing front and different properties in both zones, which are separated by the evaporation front. The coupled system of partial differential equations is coded in FORTRAN and run to simulate the experimental runs of pear slices drying in a household microwave oven. Predicted results of temperatures histories at surface and center of the slab and of weight loss are in good agreement with experimental results.