Increasing the efficiency of the drying process of seeded fruit products with the application of microwave tunnel treatment

Abstract

The aim of this work consists in increasing the efficiency of the drying process of seeded fruit products with the application of microwave tunnel treatment. To reach the proposed aim, an experimental electrical installation has been designed, developed, tested, optimized and implemented, applying the tunnel microwave treatment process in the drying process. Seeded fruit products in general have been selected as the object of research, because their drying is difficult, due to the occurrence of many adverse effects in the heat treatment process, and they are of great interest to consumers and to companies in the processing and marketing of agricultural food products. The essential results obtained in the application of the developed installation to the drying of fruit products, with the application of the proposed technological processing method, are: reduction of electricity consumption and treatment time, increase of productivity and quality of the products. Moreover, the elaborate installation is simple in terms of construction, low in cost and easy to use. The installation also enables the drying process to be automated and, during research, has demonstrated a high degree of operational safety. The significance of the results obtained lies in the solution to a number of current problems faced by agricultural processing companies, in particular, the significant increase in the efficiency of the drying process of fruit products, based on the application of the microwave tunnel treatment process, mainly with an increase in energy efficiency and quality of the finished products.