Vacuum assisted intermittent microwave-infrared hybrid drying of apple slices: Synergistic energy and quality benefits
Applied Thermal Engineering, cilt.302, 2026 (SCI-Expanded, Scopus)
- Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
- Cilt numarası: 302
- Basım Tarihi: 2026
- Doi Numarası: 10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2026.132097
- Dergi Adı: Applied Thermal Engineering
- Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED), Scopus, Compendex, INSPEC, DIALNET, Business Source Ultimate (EBSCO)
- Anahtar Kelimeler: Energy efficiency, Food quality, Hybrid drying, Infrared, Microwave, Vacuum
- Bursa Uludağ Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet
Özet
In this study the vacuum-assisted intermittent microwave (MW) –infrared (IR) hybrid drying of apple slices is investigated. Standalone MW and IR trials were initially conducted to determine the optimal parameters for hybrid drying among variable vacuum levels (80, 680, 1000 mbar), IR heater surface temperatures (200, 250, 300 °C), and MW pulse ratios (1.86, 2.86, 3.86). Evaluation of food quality parameters with energy and mass transfer related parameters allowed to structure food and mechanical engineering disciplines together and justifying the distinct novelty of this work and hybrid configuration. The synergy of hybrid drying resulted in minimum specific energy consumption (∼30 MJ/kg) at 100 mbar while the fastest drying time (∼34 min) achieved at 80 mbar. Low energy efficiency (∼1.3–3.6%) but high moisture extraction ratio (∼0.28–0.85 g/min) was calculated for standalone MW drying. Low specific energy consumption (34.6–143.44 MJ/kg) but high shrinkage (71.1–79.2%) was observed for standalone IR drying. Hybrid drying significantly outperformed both standalone drying techniques especially from 680 to 1000 mbar chamber pressure. In this pressure range, hybrid setup minimized volumetric shrinkage up to 22% and maintained total color change up to 15.8 compared to standalone drying techniques. These findings demonstrate that hybrid drying provides energy efficiency in food drying application by offering quality-preserving framework for industrial-scale food dehydration.