Abstract:

The development of technology and drying equipment tackles a triune task: to intensify drying processes, to save energy, to ensure that proper product quality is achieved. This issue is resolved by modern advancements by supplying thermal energy throughout the entire sample volume. The simplest option among the known techniques is to heat wet raw materials by passing an electric current directly, with an external blowing by a hot heat carrier. This paper reports an experimental study of the combined process of drying apple raw materials using direct electric heating. The influence of control factors such as the field intensity and a heat carrier temperature on the kinetic parameters of the process has been determined, namely: the duration of the combined drying of apples, the rate of moisture removal, and a change in the temperature of the sample. It was established that the application of additional electric heating with an electric field intensity of 20–40 V/cm during convective drying with a heat carrier temperature of 25–55 °C reduces the duration of apple dehydration by 3‒5 times. Permissible limits for changing the combinations of basic technological parameters have been determined, as well as the rational modes for treating raw materials in order to ensure the predefined quality of finished products. Such combinations of technological parameters of heating, in particular the intensity of the electric field and air in the dryer, are 30 V/cm+40 °C, and 25 V/cm+55 °C. The energy parameters of the proposed combined technique of drying apple raw materials have been determined. It was established that the specific energy consumption for the removal of 1 kg of moisture at direct electric heating is 2,350–2,400 kJ/kg (0.66 kWh/kg). The study performed could provide a prerequisite for devising an energy-efficient technique for the combined drying of fruit and vegetable raw materials using direct electric heating Author Biographies Oleksandr Savoiskyi, Sumy National Agrarian University Senior Lecturer Department of Energy and Electrical Engineering Systems

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