Vacuum drying of food materials modeled and explored using the reaction engineering approach (REA) framework
Aditya Putranto, Xiao Dong Chen
Abstract
REA drying kinetics model has been widely examined for different materials and different operating conditions. Vacuum drying, due to its uniqueness, it presents a challenge for setting up the REA parameters, in particular the specification of the equilibrium activation energy value corresponding to each set of environmental condition. Here, the basic kinetic parameters derived from a convective drying run, is used while the effect of vacuum is captured by the equilibrium activation energy. Upon validation against the experimental data, REA is shown to be applicable. A comparison between the vacuum drying and the convective drying of the same material is also made. The vacuum drying at higher vacuum levels has been predicted, showing the expected behavior. It has been shown that REA is flexible and can be used in vacuum drying related design and optimization studies.