ENERGY

Modeling intermittent microwave-convective drying (IMCD) of food materials

Modeling intermittent microwave-convective drying (IMCD) of food materialsModeling intermittent microwave-convective drying (IMCD) of food materialsDrying of foodstuffs is an important and the oldest method of food processing. However, drying is a very energy-intensive process and consumes about 20–25% of the energy used by food processing industry. The energy efficiency of the process and the quality of the dried product are the two most crucial concerns in food drying. The global energy crisis and increasing demand for quality dried food further challenge researchers to explore innovative techniques in food drying to address these issues. Intermittent microwave-convective drying (IMCD) has proved to be an advanced technology, which improves both energy efficiency and food quality in drying. However, the physical understanding of the heat and mass transport mechanism of IMCD is still not understood properly. To understand and optimize IMCD, it is critical to developing mathematical models that can provide insight into the physics involved in the process. Although there are some experimental investigations of IMCD, there are until now no mathematical models to describe heat and mass transfer in IMCD process for food. 

This study aims to develop a mathematical model for IMCD of food materials. First diffusion based and then multiphase porous media based IMCD models have been developed in the study. The final model in this thesis is the first fundamental and the most comprehensive multiphase model for IMCD, which considers 3D electromagnetics coupled with multiphase porous media heat and mass transport. The 3D electromagnetics considered Maxwell’s equation and a multiphase transport model considering three different phases: solid matrix, liquid water and gas (water vapour and air) and considered pressure-driven flow, capillary diffusion, binary diffusion, and evaporation. Thus, the model provides an in-depth understanding of IMCD drying enabling investigation of moisture distribution, temperature distribution and redistribution, evaporation, and fluxes due to different mechanisms. Water and vapour fluxes obtained from the model showed that the pressure gradient flow of water and vapour in IMCD is about 5–20 times higher than convective drying, which significantly reduces the drying time in IMCD. Understanding of these factors can, in turn, lead to an improvement in the food quality, the energy efficiency, increased the ability to automation and optimization.

Related Publications

• Joardder, Mohammad Uzzal Hossain, Karim, Azharul, Brown, Richard J., & Kumar, Chandan (2016) Porosity: Establishing the relationship between drying parameters and dried food quality [SpringerBriefs in Food, Health, and Nutrition]. Springer, Switzerland. 
• Khan, Md. Imran H., Kumar, Chandan, Joardder, Mohammad Uzzal Hossain, & Karim, Azharul (2016) Multiphase porous media modelling: A novel approach to predicting food processing performance. Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition. 
• Khan, M.I.H., Kumar, Chandan, Joardder, M.U.H., & Karim, M.A. (2016) Determination of appropriate effective diffusivity for different food materials. Drying Technology. (In Press)
   
• Kumar, C., Joardder, M.U.H., Farrell, T.W., & Karim, M.A. (2016) Multiphase porous media model for Intermittent Microwave Convective Drying (IMCD) of food. International Journal of Thermal Sciences, 104, pp. 304-314.
   
• Kumar, Chandan, Farrell, Troy W., Joardder, Mohammad Uzzal Hossain, Millar, Graeme J., & Karim, Azharul (2016) Mathematical model for intermittent microwave convective drying of food materials. Drying Technology: An International Journal, 34(8), pp. 962-973.  
• Joardder, Mohammad Uzzal Hossain, Brown, Richard J., Kumar, Chandan, & Karim, Azharul (2015) Effect of cell wall properties on porosity and shrinkage of dried apple. International Journal of Food Properties, 18(10), pp. 2327-2337.  
• Kumar, Chandan, Millar, Graeme J., & Karim, Azharul (2015) Effective diffusivity and evaporative cooling in convective drying of food material. Drying Technology, 33(2), pp. 227-237.  
• Joardder, Mohammad Uzzal Hossain, Kumar, Chandan, & Karim, Azharul (2015) Food structure : its formation and relationships with other properties. Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition. (In Press) 
• Joardder, Mohammad Uzzal Hossain, Brown, Richard J., Kumar, Chandan, & Karim, Azharul (2015) A micro-level investigation of the solid displacement method for porosity determination of dried food. Journal of Food Engineering, 166, pp. 156-164.
   
• Perussello, Camila Augusto, Kumar, Chandan, de Castilhos, Fernanda, & Karim, M.A. (2014) Heat and mass transfer modeling of the osmo-convective drying of yacon roots (Smallanthus sonchifolius). Applied Thermal Engineering, 63(1), pp. 23-32.  
• Joardder, Mohammad Uzzal Hossain, Karim, Azharul, Brown, Richard J., & Kumar, Chandan (2014) Determination of effective moisture diffusivity of banana using thermogravimetric analysis. Procedia Engineering, 90, pp. 538-543.
   
• Kumar, Chandan, Joardder, Mohammad Uzzal Hossain, Karim, Azharul, Millar, Graeme J., & Amin, Zakaria Mohd (2014) Temperature redistribution modelling during intermittent microwave convective heating. Procedia Engineering, 90, pp. 544-549.
   
• Joardder, Mohammad Uzzal Hossain, Karim, Azharul, & Kumar, Chandan (2013) Effect of temperature distribution on predicting quality of microwave dehydrated food. Journal of Mechanical Engineering and Sciences, 5, pp. 562-568.
   
• Kumar, Chandan, Karim, Azharul, & Joardder, Mohammad Uzzal (2013) Intermittent drying of food products : a critical review. Journal of Food Engineering, 121, pp. 48-57. 
   

Conference Paper

• Welsh, Zachary, Kumar, Chandan, & Karim, Azharul (2017) Preliminary investigation of the flow distribution in an innovative Intermittent Convective Microwave Dryer (IMCD). InEnergy Procedia, Elsevier BV, RMIT University, Melbourne, VIC, pp. 465-470. 
• Pham, Nghia Duc, Kumar, Chandan, Joardder, Mohammad Uzzal Hossain, Khan, Md. Imran H., Martens, Wayde N., & Karim, Azharul (2016) Effect of different power ratio mode of intermittent microwave convective drying on quality attributes of kiwifruit slices. In Yoshinor, ITAYA (Ed.) 20th International Drying Symposium, 7-10 August 2016, Gifu, Japan. (Unpublished) 
• Kumar, Chandan, Saha, Suvash C., Sauret, Emilie, Karim, Azharul, & Gu, YuanTong (2016) Mathematical modelling of heat and mass transfer during Intermittent Microwave-Convective Drying (IMCD) of food materials. In Proceedings of the 10th Australasian Heat and Mass Transfer Conference: Selected, Peer Reviewed Papers, School of Chemistry, Physics and Mechanical Engineering, Queensland University of Technology, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Qld, pp. 171-176. 
• Kumar, Chandan, Joardder, Mohammad Uzzal Hossain, Farrell, Troy W., Millar, Graeme J., & Karim, Azharul (2014) Multiphase porous media model for heat and mass transfer during drying of agricultural products. In 19th Australasian Fluid Mechanics Conference, 8-11 December 2014, RMIT University, Melbourne, VIC. 
• Joardder, Mohammad Uzzal Hossain, Karim, Azharul, Kumar, Chandan, & Brown, Richard J. (2014) Effect of cell wall properties of plant tissue on porosity and shrinkage of dried apple.In Proceedings of the 2014 International Conference on Food Properties (ICFP2014), Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.  
• Joardder, Mohammad Uzzal Hossain, Karim, M.A., & Kumar, Chandan (2013) Better understanding of food material on the basis of water distribution using Thermogravimetric analysis.In International Conference on Mechanical, Industrial and Materials Engineering (ICMIME2013), 1-3 November 2013, Rajshahi University of Engineering & Technology, Rajshahi, Bangladesh. 
• Joardder, Mohammad Uzzal Hossain, Karim, Azharul, & Kumar, Chandan (2013) Effect of moisture and temperature distribution on dried food microstructure and porosity. InProceedings of From Model Foods to Food Models: The DREAM Project International Conference, Nantes, France. 
• Kumar, Chandan, Karim, Azharul, Saha, Suvash C., Joardder, Mohammad Uzzal Hossain, Brown, Richard J., & Biswas, Dipankar (2012) Multiphysics modelling of convective drying of food materials. In Proceedings of the Global Engineering, Science, and Technology Conference, Global Institute of Science and Technology, Dhaka, Bangladesh. 
• Kumar, Chandan, Karim, Azharul, Joardder, Mohammad Uzzal Hossain, & Miller, Graeme (2012) Modeling heat and mass transfer process during convection drying of fruit. In The 4th International Conference on Computational Methods (ICCM2012), Crowne Plaza, Gold Coast, Australia. 
• Kumar, Chandan, Razzaque , Muhammed Mahbubur, & Das, Debabrata (2009) Analysis of a negatively buoyant jet. In International Conference on Mechanical Engineering ICME2009, 26-28th December, 2009, Dhaka, Bangladesh. 
• Kumar, Chandan, Millar, Graeme J., Farrell, Troy W., & Karim, Azharul (2015) Multiphase porous media transport in apple tissue during drying. In 12th International Congress on Engineering and Food (ICEF12), 14-18 June 2015, Québec City Convention Centre, Québec City.
• Joardder, Mohammad Uzzal Hossain, Kumar, Chandan, Karim, Azharul, & Brown, Richard J. (2013) Fractal dimension of dried foods : a correlation between microstructure and porosity.In Food Structures, Digestion and Health International Conference, 21 – 24 October 2013, Bayview Eden Hotel, Melbourne, VIC.
• Kumar, Chandan (2015) Modelling intermittent microwave convective drying (IMCD) of food materials. PhD by Publication, Queensland University of Technology.