A Quick Method of determining the Moisture Content of Fruits and Vegetables

Using Microwaves
Senthilkumar*,T.,Sivakumar*,K.,Sudha*,R., and K.Alagusundaram#
*Students and # National fellow
Agricultural Engineering College and Research Institute
Kumulur, Lalgudi, Tiruchirappali-621712
Abstract
A study was conducted to evaluate the use of a domestic microwave oven for
quick moisture determination of fruits and vegetables like potato, onion, cucumber and
banana. A Samsung microwave oven with 10 discrete power levels ranging from 90-900
W was used for drying. The samples were dried at 180 and 270 W power levels because
at greater power levels the samples charred due to excessive heating. The moisture
content values determined by the microwave oven drying method were compared with
the moisture content values determined using the hot air convection oven drying method.
The time required for determining the moisture content using 270 W power level was 35
min for potato, onion, and cucumber, and 30 min for banana. At 180W power level the
time required was 85 min for potato and onion and 70 min for cucumber and banana.
Microwave method of determining moisture content is a quick and easy. The time and
energy required for microwave drying was less when compared to hot air oven.

Introduction
Water is an important constituent of all foods we eat. On a lighter note, moisture
in foods can be considered as necessary evil. The palatability freshness and the very
appearance of the fruits and vegetables are enhanced by the presence of water. On the
other hand, the spoilage and the rate of spoilage are directly proportional to the water
content of foods. Fruits and vegetables are often dried to enhance their shelf life. The
moisture content of fruits and vegetables are determined for various reasons. Estimating
the market value, determining the harvest conditions and shelf life and knowing the
progress of drying are some of the few important objectives of determining the fruits and
vegetables moisture content. Currently, oven-drying methods are commonly used for
determining the moisture content of foods. The time required to dry the foods in the air
convection oven is very long and prohibitive.

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 Food industry in recent years has witnessed the use of microwave oven as a
substitute to the thermal ovens for a number of food manufacturing process and products.
Microwaves are electromagnetic waves in the frequency range of 300MHz to 300GHz,
generated by a magnetron type vacuum tube. Electromagnetic energy at 915 and 2450
MHz can be absorbed by water containing materials or other “lossy” substances, such as
carbon and other organics, and converted to heat (Khraisheh, Cooper & Magee, 1997).
The microwave has the property of penetrating deep into the depth of 2-3 cm and transfer
the heat from inside to out, whereas in the case of hot air convection oven, heating is
done from outside to in .The heating in the microwave is due to the molecular friction of
water and due its bipolarity its get agitated. Since the waves can penetrate directly into
the material, heating is volumetric and provides fast and uniform heating throughout the
entire product. The quick energy absorption by water molecules causes rapid evaporation
of water, creating an outward flux of rapidly escaping vapour
Microwaves have been successfully used for drying and determining moisture
content of foods. Becwar et al., (1977) showed that sweet corn could be dried in three
minutes compared to 24 h in air oven for comparable results. Shelled corn and sorghum
grain with initial moisture of about 35 % were dried using a microwave method in
conjuction with heated forced by Gorakhpurwalla et al., (1975), Lee and Lathan (1976)
repeated that the microwave oven is simple, rapid and accurate method for determining
moisture content of meats used as pet foods in 74 to 79 % moisture range.
Other studies with forage materials have also confirmed that microwave drying is
rapid and relatively accurate for determining moisture content. Kraszewski (1980) dried
25 g alfalfa samples in 10 min where as the same 25 g sample when dried in an air
convection oven at 103C required 24 h. Taylor (1965) used microwaves to dry fresh
Lucerne and pasture grass samples of about 500 g. It took them 10 min to the samples to
10% moistue levels for analyzing the organic compounds.
Microwave oven has been used for rapid moisture determination of high moisture
slag. (Aerts, et.al. 1974), refuse (Cardens, 1977), sweet corn (Becwar, 1972), grain
(Gorakhpurwala, et.al. 1975), mean (Pettinadi, 1975), and canned pot loud (Lee, 1976).

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The present study was initiated with the following specific objectives
(i) To determine the effectiveness of microwave for determining the moisture content
of fruits and vegetables like potato, onion, cucumber and banana.
(ii) To compare the moisture content results obtained by the microwave oven drying
and hot air oven drying methods.

Materials and methods

The fruits and vegetables required for the experiment were brought from a
local market. Ripe banana (Musa sp.), potato (Solanum tuberosum), onion (Allium cepa
L.), and cucumber (Cucurbitaceae) were hand peeled and cut into equal sizes of 0.7 cm.
The samples of 5g each were taken in a glass bowl. This glass bowl, containing the
sample was placed near the center of turntable for even absorption of microwave energy.
A programmable domestic microwave oven (Samsung microwave oven
model CE118 KF, Samsung inc. India) with 10 discrete power levels ranging from 90 to
900 W was used for drying. The oven has the facility to adjust power (wattage) supply
and the time of processing. The hot air drying experiments were performed in a hot air
convection oven with five trays (EVERFLOW scientific instruments Ltd. Chennai.) has a
facility to adjust the temperature. Air was drawn in to the duct through mesh guard by a
motor driven axial flow fan impeller.
The oven was operated at a temp of 701C, with an air velocity of 1.45 m s-1.
The samples were kept in a petridish and placed in the hot air oven. Moisture loss was
recorded at every 1 h interval during drying for determining the drying curves.
For microwave drying 180 and 270 W power levels were used. Premiliay
studies indicated at higher power levels the samples charred quickly. The drying was
performed according to the preset power and time schedule. Moisture loss was measured
by taking out and weighing the dish on the digital balances after every 5 minutes.
Attention was paid to ensure the sample was not charred.

Results and discussion

The microwaves because of their high penetration power and volumetric heating
reduce the drying time as well as the energy required. Time taken to dry the samples were
different according to the power level used. As expected, it was observed that as the
power level increased the drying time decreased.

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 The time required to dry the potato samples were 35 min for 270 W power level
and 84 min for 180 W power level. The moisture content of the potato samples was 79.9
0.2%. This result was same as that of results obtained from hot air oven method, but the
time required to determine the moisture content of the samples in hot air oven was 6 h.

Fig.1 Measured mass loss of potato samples dried using 180W and 270W
power level microwaves and a air convection hot air oven

The time required to dry the onion samples were 85 min for 180 W power level
and 40 min for 270 W power level. The moisture content of the potato samples was
86.42.2 %. This result was same as that of results obtained from hot air oven method,
but the time required to determine the same samples in hot air oven was 5 h

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Mass of the sample (g)

5
4 180 W
3 270 W
2 Hot air oven

1
0
0 100 200 300
Time (min )

Fig.2 Measured moisture contents of onion samples when dried using 180W and
270W power levels microwaves and a air convection hot air oven

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 The time required to dry the cucumber samples were 70 min for 180 W power
level and 35 min for 270 W power level. The moisture content of the cucumber samples
were 94.4%. This result was same as that of results obtained from hot air oven method,
but the time required to determine the same samples in hot air oven was 9 h.

Fig.3. Measured moisture content of cucumber samples when dried using 180W and
270W power level microwave and a air convection hot air oven

The time required to dry the banana samples were 70 min for 180 W power level
and 35 min for 270 W power level. The moisture content of the cucumber samples
were 65.5%. This result was same as that of results obtained from hot air oven method,
but the time required to determine the same samples in hot air oven was 24 h.

Fig.4. Measured moisture content of banana samples when dried using 180W and
270 W power levels microwave and air convection hot air oven
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Conclusion:

Based on the results of this study the following conclusions can be drawn:
1. A microwave oven can be used for quick and accurate moisture
determinations of potato, Onion, Cucumber and Banana.
2. Power levels of 180 W and 270 W are suitable for moisture determination
because at greater power levels the products get charred.
3. Both the microwave and air convection oven results were about the same
accurate.

References

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Becwar, M.R., Msnsour, N.S., and Varseveld, G.W., 1977. Microwave drying: A rapid
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Cardens.Raul R.Jr.1977.Rapid moisture determination in compost for process control.

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