MICROWAVE DRYING

Microwaves are part of the electromagnetic spectrum and consequently, they

are
They consist of magnetic and electric fields. When heating food by microwave,
electric fields interact with water molecules and ions in the food, generating heat
in a volumetric manner inside it. The structure of the molecule is made up of a
negatively charged oxygen atom and two positively charged hydrogen atoms.
The water molecule is an electric dipole that, when subjected to a high-
frequency oscillating electric field, the dipoles reorient with each change in
polarity. This produces friction within the food, which makes it possible for it to
heat up.
The main difference between microwaves and infrared radiation is that the
Microwaves induce friction between water molecules, which causes heat;
Instead, infrared energy is simply absorbed and converted to heat. The heat
generated by microwaves is not uniform. Inside foods, temperature gradients
occur that cause water diffusion and cause changes in their properties, which in
turn have an effect on heat generation. In summary, we can say:

Electromagnetic waves are responsible for the generation of heat, the

transfer of moisture and the biochemical changes and physical
transformations that occur in food .

These teams consist of three main components:

 The magnetron that generates the producing electromagnetic fields

of microwave
 An aluminum tube called a guide. Inside, the energy goes
reflecting and is led to the heating chamber.
 A heating chamber where the food is arranged to be
heated.

The two properties that determine the interaction of food with microwaves are
the dielectric constant and the dielectric loss. The dielectric constant represents
the material's ability to store electromagnetic energy and the effective dielectric
loss factor takes into account energy dissipation or heat generation. The air
inside the microwave oven absorbs very little microwave energy, therefore the
food is heated directly by the electromagnetic waves; with the exception of
combined microwave ovens that also work with convection of air heated by an
electric resistance. The size, shape and properties of foods affect the spatial
distribution of microwave absorption.

Liquid water and water vapor are transported in food by two main mechanisms;
Water does so by capillarity and pressure difference and steam by diffusion and
pressure difference.

Some applications of microwaves:

Its appeal lies in the high heating speed and that it does not cause significant
changes to the surface of the food when working with appropriate microwave
times and powers. Industrial microwave treatment is restricted by its costs and
the need to tune the magnetron to different foods. The most important industrial
application is thawing, dehydrating and finishing baking. For thin products such
as sponge cakes, the effectiveness of conventional baking can be improved by
subjecting them to a final microwave treatment. Conventional ovens cause color
changes on the surface to achieve good internal cooking; This is because the
thermal conductivity of the cake decreases as it dries, so the time to bake the
internal parts of the product is
excessively large. To solve this, microwave heaters are installed at the exit of
the baking tunnels that complete the cooking without causing noticeable color
changes on the surface. The use of microwaves with foods with high moisture
content has been less successful. This is due to the low depth of penetration
reached in very large pieces and the cooling effect caused by the evaporation of
water on the surface of the food, which can cause the survival of
microorganisms in this area.

Advantages and disadvantages of using microwaves in drying

Among the main advantages we can mention (Mascheroni, 2006):

 Greater efficiency in the diffusion of heat and matter

 Development of internal humidity gradients that increase the drying speed
 Possibility of working at lower surface temperatures
 Improvement in the quality of the product obtained

And among the disadvantages:

 Non-uniform heating of the product

 High installation costs
 Low energy efficiency

However, microwave drying is considered viable for foods that

They require short drying times and significant production. That is, those foods
from which a low amount of water must be eliminated. Likewise, microwave
drying can be used on those products that have a risk of crust formation on their
surface. On the other hand, the cost of combined drying can be reduced when
microwave drying is used in conjunction with another lower cost method.

Drying with infrared rays

Currently, due to its industrial use, drying machinery that uses infrared (IR) rays
is presented as having the greatest prospects in the food industry. The infrared
radiation of solid bodies is determined by the excitation of the molecules and
atoms of the body, as a consequence of their thermal movement. By absorbing
infrared radiation (the irradiated body), it increases the thermal movement of
molecules and atoms, which produces their heating. Energy transmission
occurs from the body with a high heat transfer potential to the body with a lower
heat transfer potential. For food products, the penetration depth of infrared rays
reaches 6 to 12 mm. A small part of the irradiation energy penetrates to this
depth, but the temperature of the layer, located at a distance of 6 to 7 mm from
the surface of the material, increases significantly and intensively, compared for
example with the drying method. by convection. Short-wave infrared rays exert
their action more strongly on food products, thanks to the greater depth of
penetration, as well as a more effective action on the molecular structure of
food products.

Drying food products with infrared rays, as a

technological process, is based on the following:

Infrared radiation of a certain wavelength is actively absorbed by the water

contained in the product, but it is not absorbed by the fabrics of the processed
material (nor by the materials with which the drying machine is built), therefore
Therefore, moisture extraction is possible at low temperatures (40 – 60 °C),
which practically allows most of the vitamins, biologically active substances,
natural color, flavor and aroma of dehydrated products to be preserved.

Machinery with infrared rays is used for drying vegetables and fruits, meat and
fish, for drying medicinal plants, and is widely used in the production of semi-
finished products, snacks and instant preparation foods, among others.

Drying food products with infrared rays allows the content of vitamins and other
active biological substances in the final product to be preserved at a level of 80
– 90% in relation to the raw material. With a quick soak (10 – 20 min.) the
product processed with infrared ray equipment recovers all its natural
organoleptic, physical and chemical properties and can be used like any fresh
product and be subjected to any additional culinary process. Drying meat, fish,
and drying fruits and vegetables with this method gives us the possibility of
processing different instant food concentrates: starters, seconds, desserts,
snacks, porridge, oats, powdered fruits and vegetables, which are used in the
baking industry, in confectionery, in the preparation of infant foods, etc.
Compared to traditional drying (convection drying, conduction drying), fruits and
vegetables processed with infrared rays after recovering their natural state have
taste qualities, which are extremely close to the fresh product. In addition,
powdered foods, obtained through processing with infrared rays, have anti-
inflammatory, detoxifying and antioxidant properties. The use of products dried
in infrared ray machinery, in the dairy industry, in confectionery, in baking, gives
us the possibility of expanding the offer of food products with specific taste
properties. Drying with infrared rays allows us to obtain products that do not
contain preservatives or other foreign substances; these products are not
subjected to the action of electromagnetic fields and harmful radiation.

The infrared radiation itself, used in drying equipment, is harmless to the

environment and to humans. Drying devices with infrared rays allow us to obtain
products that are very stable for storage and resistant to the development of
microorganisms. Drying machines with infrared rays (for drying fruits and
vegetables, for drying fish and meat) allow us to obtain dry products, which can
be stored for up to a year without special packaging (only with a low relative
humidity of the environment), in these conditions the loss of vitamins is 5 –
15%. In airtight containers, dry products can be stored for up to two years. The
volume of dry products decreases by 3 – 4 times compared to the initial volume,
their weight is 4 – 8 times less than the initial weight (depending on the type of
product). Once its initial properties have been restored by soaking, the product
can be processed with any of the traditional forms of culinary processing:
cooking, frying, steaming, etc., they can also be used as food directly.

However, not only the properties of the dried products obtained deserve
attention, but also the particularities of the drying equipment used in the drying
of food products with the help of infrared radiation and technological processes
based on this principle. Drying equipment with infrared rays allows practically
100% of the energy applied to the product to be dried to be used. Because the
water molecules found in the product absorb the infrared rays, and when
excited, they heat up, that is, unlike other forms of drying, the energy is
transmitted directly to the water in the product, therefore reaches a high
coefficient of performance of the drying machine, then according to this form of
heat delivery, there is no need to significantly increase the temperature of the
process, which can be maintained at levels of 40 – 60 °C.

This type of drying of the product has two advantages: firstly, at these
temperatures in the drying machines the product is preserved to the maximum:
the cells are not broken, the vitamins are not destroyed, the sugar is not
caramelized; and secondly, low temperatures do not heat the drying equipment,
that is, there is no heat loss through the walls of the machine or through
ventilation. At the same time, infrared radiation at temperatures of 40 – 60 °C
allows you to destroy all the microflora on the surface of the product, making the
product practically sterilized.

Apart from all of the above, drying equipment is universal, that is, it can be used
for drying foods of both animal and plant origin.
Infrared drying equipment has the following
advantages:

 The lowest energy consumption, to evaporate 1 kg of moisture;

 Less than 1 Kw h/kg (twice less than any of the other drying systems;
 The drying of the products is carried out at low temperatures 50 – 60 °C;
 Drying is carried out very quickly from 30 to 200 min;
 The drying equipment is simple and safe, the return on investment is
fast.