Factors affecting relative humidity during wood vacuum drying

Effects of pressure and temperature in the chamber during vacuum drying on the relative humidity and evaporation of wood surface were investigated by using the vacuum chamber. The setting temperature during vacuum drying included dry-bulb temperature ta, the wet-bulb temperature tw and the temperature difference between the air in the vacuum chamber and the cooling water in the condenser. Results indicated that relative humidity during vacuum drying was affected by the dry-bulb temperature td, the wet-bulb temperature tw and the temperature difference between the air in the vacuum chamber and the water in the condenser. Relative humidity of wood decreased with the increase in temperature at the given temperature of the water in the condenser. The relative humidity was affected slightly by pressure in the vacuum chamber pA, and it decreased from 70% to 65% with pA increased from 50 kPa to 101 kPa. Moreover, there was nearly no evaporation under the vacuum without external heating.

Drying Kinetics and Energy Consumption in Vacuum Drying Process with Microwave and Radiant Heating

The general objective of this work is to analyze energy input in a vacuum process with the incorporation of microwave heating. Thus, necessary criteria for designing an efficient freeze-drying operation are considered through the analysis of strategies based on the combination of different intensities of radiant and microwave heating.The other aim of this research topic is to study the kinetics of drying in relation to mass transfer parameters.Five freeze-drying strategies using both heating systems were used. Consequently, energy input could be related to diffusivity coefficients, temperature and pressure profiles during dehydration of the product and analyzed in comparison to a conventional freeze-drying process.

Vacuum press drying studies on two fast-growing Indian wood species

Two fast-growing Indian species, Melia composita Benth. and Eucalyptus tereticornis Sm., which have different sets of physical properties, were dried together in a vacuum press dryer(VPD) under two drying conditions,i.e., above boiling point(ABP) and below boiling point(BBP). The ABP and BBP conditions were maintained by keeping the temperature constant at 75 ℃ and maintaining two pressure levels: 300 mm of Hg(ABP) and 450 mm of Hg(BBP). In order to understand pressure conditions at the core during vacuum drying, a cylindrical brass pipe was inserted in both wood cores and attached with pressure gauges placed outside of the VPD. The results indicate that the Melia wood core attained equilibrium pressure immediately with the pressure of VPD, while Eucalyptus attained it very slowly, reaching equilibrium at later stages of drying when cracks and checks advanced to the core.The drying rate was higher for Melia than Eucalyptus under both drying conditions. The drying rate of Melia(ABP) was higher than Melia(BBP), however, the drying rate for Eucalyptus(ABP) was not significantly different from the BBP drying rate.

Effect of steam pretreatment on wood moisture content and characteristics of vacuum drying

The effects of high temperature steam pretreatment on the change in wood moisture content （MC） and characteristics of vacuum drying were investigated in this study. Poplar and manchurian walnut woods were pretreated with high temperature steam at 100~C and 140~C, prior to vacuum drying. A comparison of the characteristics of vacuum drying between steam pretreated wood and untreated wood was carried out. The results show that during steam pretreatment, the MC of wood decreased within a few hours. The reduction of MC varied with the temperature; the higher the temperature, the faster the MC dropped. During the vacuum drying stage, the rates of drying ofpretreated samples were higher than those of untreated samples when MC was below the fiber saturation point. Furthermore, the total drying time of samples treated at a steam temperature of 140~C was lower than that of untreated samples. Therefore, a vacuum procedure after steam pretreatment can effectively shorten the drying time when drying wood.

Application of Vacuum Drying to Silica Sol Ceramic Mold

Silica sol ceramic mold was made at room temperature with JN-30 silica sol, silica powder and NH4Cl. It is found that the harden time of silica sol ceramic mold is only 0.5 to 1.5 h under the amount of NH4Cl solution of 7% to 8% with 15% concentration, and less surface cracks occur by using vacuum drying. The proper vacuum drying process parameters： vacuum drying temperature is 80 to 100℃, drying time is 5 h and vacuum is 0.06 to 0.07MPa. The harden mechanics, vacuum drying mechanics and the reason of less surface cracks of silica sol ceramic mold by vacuum drying： were also analyzed in this paper.

Microwave vacuum drying characteristics of Pinus massoniana wood

Microwave-vacuum （MV） drying characteristics of plantation Masson pine （Pinus massoniana） were studied experimentally for various levels of microwave radiation time, initial moisture content 0VIC）, vacuum level and wood thickness. The results show that the process of MV drying for wood can be significantly divided into a short accelerating rate drying period, a long constant rate drying period and falling rate drying period, and the second drying period can extend to levels of mean MC below the fiber saturation point. With the increase of initial MC and microwave radiation time, the drying rate of wood increases significantly. The vacuum level affects the drying rate in a slightly positive way. Within the range of 2 to 6 cm, the effects of sample thickness on the drying rate can be negligible.

Mathematical Models for Vacuum Drying Characteristics of Pomegranate Aril

The aim of this study was to investigate and determine the best mathematical models in describing vacuum drying characteristic of pomegranate arils in the range of 55-75 ℃. The vacuum batch dryer used in the evaluation was successful in drying a thin layer of pomegranate arils from the initial moisture content of 464.02% （d.b.） to 6.18% （d.b.） within 6.5 to 13.5 hr of continuous drying at the above mentioned temperature range. The drying rates increased with an increase in temperature and drying time. Five of the well known semi-theoretical and empirical models were fitted to the vacuum drying of pomegranate arils. The semi-empirical Midilli model has shown an excellent fit to predict drying behavior of the pomegranate arils because this model gave the highest coefficient of determination （RE）, the least chi-square （X2）, and the lowest root mean square error （RMSE）. The total drying occurs during falling period, signifying the influence of moisture diffusion during the drying. The effective diffusivity varied from 1.25× 10^10 to 2.91 × 10^10 m^2/s over the temperature range. Temperature dependence of the diffusivity was well documented by Arrhenius models. The activation energy of moisture diffusion during drying was found to be 40.46 kJ/mol.

Effect of microwave-vacuum drying(MVD)method on quality properties of agro-products

Microwave-vacuum drying is an accepted drying method for agro-products, which is nonetheless still relatively unknown to some. This paper attempted to give an overview of the most important aspects of microwaves-vacuum drying （MVD） and their relevance to agro-products processing. Some advantages on microwave-vacuum drying properties were discussed to provide a better insight into the reasons for the use of microwaves. Also the effects of the MVD on the quality of several agro-products and reasonable processing parameters were given, which develop the guidance to the application of MVD on the agro-products dehydration. As a potential drying technology, MVD will be broadly utilized for the other agro-products processing

Factors affecting relative humidity during wood vacuum drying

Effects of pressure and temperature in the chamber during vacuum drying on the relative humidity and evaporation of wood surface were investigated by using the vacuum chamber.The setting temperature during vacuum drying included dry-bulb temperature td, the wet-bulb temperature tw and the temperature difference between the air in the vacuum chamber and the cooling water in the condenser.Results indicated that relative humidity during vacuum drying was affected by the dry-bulb temperature td, the wet-bulb temperature tw and the temperature difference between the air in the vacuum chamber and the water in the condenser.Relative humidity of wood decreased with the increase in temperature at the given temperature of the water in the condenser.The relative humidity was affected slightly by pressure in the vacuum chamber pA, and it decreased from 70% to 65% with pA increased from 50 kPa to 101 kPa.Moreover, there was nearly no evaporation under the vacuum without external heating.

Artificial neural network techniques to predict the moisture ratio content during hot air drying and vacuum drying of Radix isatidis extract

Background:To predict the moisture ratio of Radix isatidis extract during drying.Methods:Artificial neural networks were designed using the MATLAB neural network toolbox to produce a moisture ratio prediction model of Radix isatidis extract during hot air drying and vacuum drying,where regression values and mean squared error were used as evaluation indexes to optimize the number of hidden layer nodes and determine the topological structure of artificial neural networks model.In addition,the drying curves for the different drying parameters were analyzed.Results:The optimal topological structure of the moisture ratio prediction model for hot air drying and vacuum drying of Radix isatidis extract were“4-9-1”and“5-9-1”respectively,and the regression values between the predicted value and the experimental value is close to 1.This indicates that it has a high prediction accuracy.The moisture ratio gradually decreases with an increase in the drying time,reducing the loading,initial moisture content,increasing the temperature,and pressure can shorten the drying time and improve the drying efficiency.Conclusion:Artificial neural networks technology has the advantages of rapid and accurate prediction,and can provide a theoretical basis and technical support for online prediction during the drying process of the extract.

A valid evaluation method for UPLC fingerprint analysis and moisture ratio prediction model:application to microwave vacuum drying of Radix isatidis extract

Background:Drying is a necessary component of traditional Chinese medicine extracts.The heating principle of microwave vacuum drying is different from that of the conventional heat method.However,at present,there is paucity of information on the drying process of traditional Chinese medicine extract by microwave vacuum drying,and the results of such process are unclear.Methods:To study the dynamic changes in the chemical characteristics of microwave vacuum drying under different drying conditions,ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography fingerprint profiles were established using Radix isatidis extract as a model drug and analyzed using similarity analysis,partial least squares-discriminant analysis,and semi-quantitative analysis.In addition,a backpropagation artificial neural network model was developed to predict the moisture ratio of the drying process.Results:Qualitative results showed that the similarity between different drying conditions was greater than 0.95,and 2 amino acid components(peaks 5 and 6)affected by process fluctuations were screened out.The quantitative results showed that the mass concentration of component 1 fluctuated after drying,while that of component 2 increased.The optimal backpropagation artificial neural network model structure used to predict the moisture ratio was 5-4-1,with regression and mean squared error values of 0.996 and 0.0003,respectively,after training,which were well fitted and had a strong approximation ability.Conclusion:Upon comparison of fingerprints and the evaluation of statistical methods,common components of Radix isatidis extract had little variation under different drying conditions,and the selected components provided a reference for the establishment of process evaluation indexes.The establishment of backpropagation artificial neural network provides a theoretical basis for the application of microwave vacuum drying technology and online monitoring of moisture ratio.

Drying Characteristics of Wood under Vacuum-superheated Steam

This paper presents comparison and analysis of thermal-dynamic characteristics of air-drying and superheated steam drying under vacuum. The result reveals that for both convective heat transfer coefficient and resistance of mass transfer on the surface, superheated steam drying under vacuum is superior to air-drying under the same condition. With Masson pine as specimen, we found that the inversion temperature really exists through comparable experiments of air-drying and superheated steam drying under vacuum. When temperature is above inversion point of temperature, drying speed is faster than that of air-drying; however, if temperature is below the point, the result is opposite. The inversion temperature of experiment ranges from 80 to 85 ℃.

Research on vacuum drying process and internal heat conduction of Li-ion battery core

In this research, an innovative cylindrical automatic battery core oven was designed to avoid the structural deformation that frequently occurs in traditional ovens. The oven could be automatically connected with the electrolyte injection process after baking, achieving improvement in a battery's baking consistency. This contributed to the feasibility of studying the internal heat conduction process of batch battery cores during actual baking processes. A mathematical model of a certain plate battery cell during the baking process was established. The simulation results of the temperature change inside the battery core during the baking process were consistent with the calculation results of the mathematical model. The temperature distribution at each point inside the battery core could be fitted through the thermal conductivity at different temperatures and the temperature distribution between the layers of the battery core.Finally, based on the thermodynamic balance energy conservation method, the relationship between the temperature change inside the battery core and the entire baking process was established. A feasible algorithm for studying the thermal conduction of complex material and internal structure objects in the baking process was obtained.

Effects of Different Drying Processes on the Effective Components of Stichopus japonicus Viscera

Drying is a basic link in seafood processing, and the effects of forced air drying and vacuum drying on the effective components of Stichopus japonicus viscera were compared with the moisture, total saponin and polysaccharide contents as the detection indexes. The contents of effective components obtained using forced air drying were slightly lower than those obtained using vacuum drying, but the forced air drying method used short drying time and low economic energy consumption. Excellent drying effects and low cost of forced air drying made it can be adapted to the requirements of large-scale production applications.

Effect of different drying methods on the taste and volatile compounds,sensory characteristics of Takifugu obscurus

Pufferfish is prone to deterioration due to abundant nutrients and high moisture content.Drying technology can extend the shelf life and enhance the flavor quality of aquatic products.The study investigated the effect of hot air drying(HAD),microwave vacuum drying(MVD)and hot air assisted radio frequency drying(HARFD)on the taste and volatile profiles of Takifugu obscurus.Different drying methods had significant influence on the color,rehydration,5’-nucleotides,free amino acids and volatile components(P<0.05).The results showed that HAD and HARFD could promote the flavor of T.obscurus by producing higher equivalent umami concentration(EUC)values,which were about two times of MVD group,and more pronounced pleasant odor according to sensory analysis.HAD is more appropriate for industrial application than HARFD and MVD considering the economic benefits.This study could provide a reference for the industrial application of drying T.obscurus.

Recycling of valuable metals from spent zinc-manganese batteries by vacuum metallurgy

At the total chamber pressure of 1.01×10 1 Pa, Hg, Cd and Zn were distilled at 773973 K from spent zinc manganese batteries, Pb was volatilized at 1 1731 273 K while Mn, Cu, Fe and C were remained in the residual. MnO 2 and ZnO were reduced by carbon in spent dry batteries at 7731 273 K. Pure metals including Zn, Cd, Hg and Pb were recovered respectively from their mixed vapor by fractional condensation.

Study of the Solar Energy Drying Device and Its Application in Traditional Chinese Medicine in Drying

Background: We referred to nearly 40 years of development and application progress of solar dryer in China literature, especially its application in the field of Chinese herbal medicine drying. Objective: We explored the development direction of China’s development and application of solar dryers, especially focusing on its development and application in traditional Chinese medicine drying. Method: Five types of solar dryers including the greenhouse type solar dryer, the collector type solar dryer, the collector-greenhouse type hybrid solar dryer, the integrated solar dryer and the focusing type solar dryer accounted for the development and application of solar dryers up to 95% in China. The first three types of solar dryers are low temperature dryer (less than or equal to 70°C), while the latter two kinds of solar dryers are high temperature dryer (more than 70°C). In this paper, we respectively introduced and compared the structure, working principle, applications, advantages and disadvantages, and the research status of these five dryer. Results: The integrated solar dryer and the focusing type solar dryer belong to the high temperature dryer types are the future direction of development. Among them, the integrated solar dryer is relatively simple structure and has more promotion prospects. These two kinds of key drying device used in the dryer is the development direction of high efficient vacuum tube. On the other hand, because of their low cost, simple structure and the dry material requirements etc., the three types of low temperature dryers at low temperature for drying materials are also indispensable in the practical application. In contrast, the collector-greenhouse type hybrid solar dryer has more advantages, is the development direction of low temperature drying category. Conclusion: The collector tube which is the key element of the dryer was the core technology of solar dryer. Our country develops more successful of the all-glass vacuum solar thermal collectors and heat pipe-glass vacuum tube. Efficient vacuum tube collector technology is the future developed direction and is equally important to improve the quality of traditional Chinese medicine and dried.

Effects of different drying methods on quality,bacterial viability and storage stability of probiotic enriched apple snacks

Effects of four different drying methods on the colour, texture, sensory quality, microstructure, bacterial viability and storage stability of probiotic-enriched apple snacks were assessed. The drying methods were air drying （AD）, freeze drying （FD）, freeze drying followed by microwave vacuum drying （FD＋MVD） and air drying followed by explosion puffing drying （AD＋EPD）. Overall, FD＋MVD can be used as a suitable drying method for the development of probiotic enriched apple snacks in consideration of colour, texture, sensory quality, bacterial viability and storage stability. Probiotic bacteria in FD＋MVD-dried samples remained above 1×106 CFU g 1 for 120 days at 25℃C. Interestingly, bacterial viability in FD＋MVD-dried samples turned out to be significantly higher than FD-dried samples during storage for 120 days.

Antioxidant Activity of Anthocyanins Extracted from Iraqi <i>Iresine herbstii</i>L. Flowers after Drying and Freezing

Any processing method that maintains the level of compounds known for their health benefits will be of interest to the food industries. Therefore, the effects of vacuum drying, storage and freezing on the anthocyanin content and their antioxidant properties of Iresine herbstii L. flowers were investigated. The results showed that fresh samples (AEFF) had the highest amount of total anthosyanin content (8.31 ± 0.23 mg/g dry matter, expressed as cyaniding 3-glucoside equivalents), followed by 7.17 ± 0.12 mg/g solid content, 13.72% loss of vacuum dried samples (AEDF). In comparison with fresh samples, total anthocyanins in stored samples for two weeks at 5°C (AESF) and frozen samples during 1 (AEZF1) and 3 months (AEZF3) of storage were significantly (P < 0.01) reduced to 6.43 ± 0.24 mg/g solid content, 22.63% loss, 5.65 ± 0.33 mg/g solid content, 32.01% loss and 4.71 ± 0.51 mg/g solid content, 43.33% loss, respectively. Anthocyanins from I. herbstii L. flowers exhibited a dose-dependent (AEFF > AEDF > AESF > AEZF1 > AEZF3, respectively) antioxidant activity against lipid peroxidation in a linoleic acid model system as well as strong reducing power and ferrous ion chelating abilities. Moreover, the anthocyanins extracted were found to show remarkable scavenging activity on superoxide anion radicals, hydroxyl radicals, hydrogen peroxide, nitric oxide radicals and deoxyribose degradation. Based on the results obtained, we can concluded that the Iresine herbstii L. flowers may be valuable natural antioxidant sources and are potentially applicable in both pharmacy and food