Reaction engineering approach modeling of intensified drying of fruits and vegetables using microwave, ultrasonic and infrared-heating
Aditya Putranto, Xiao Dong Chen
Abstract
Process intensification is commonly implemented in engineering practice to result in higher energy efficiency. In this study, the applicability of reaction engineering approach (REA) to model several process intensification schemes of drying is assessed. The REA was employed to model microwave, ultrasonic-assisted and infrared-heating drying. For microwave and infrared-heating drying, a new formulation of equilibrium activation energy was introduced. In all schemes, the relative activation energy, generated from one accurate convective drying run, was coupled with the equilibrium activation energy to yield the activation energy. Combined with the suitable heat balance, the REA is accurate to model these enhanced drying processes. Benchmarks against diffusion-based model showed that the REA yielded a closer agreement toward the experimental data. While the REA is accurate, the REA is very efficient in generating the drying parameters. The REA-based model is readily applied in industrial settings as a basis for fine-tuning the process to manufacture the products with the desirable quality.