Optimization of Intermittent Variable Power Microwave Heating Process for Blueberry Pulp

To improve heating uniformity and anthocyanin content of the blueberry pulp under microwave heating,the intermittent variable power microwave heating technology was introduced in the study.The effects of technology parameters in terms of high microwave intensity heating time,intermittent time,low microwave intensity and low microwave intensity heating time on the blueberry pulp quality parameters(heating uniformity,average moisture content,the highest temperature and anthocyanin content)were investigated by using the response surface method.The results showed that the longer heating time under different microwave intensities resulted in the poorer heating uniformity.The intermittent stage promoted heat and mass transfer within the pulp and reduced the temperature difference and moisture gradient within the pulp,which enhanced desired uniformity of temperature and moisture distribution before entering the low microwave intensity heating stage.Therefore,the longer the intermittent time,the greater the heating uniformity.The optimal parameters were developed as high microwave intensity of 4 W·g^(-1),high microwave intensity heating time of 9.86 min,intermittent time of 10 min,low microwave intensity of 2.2 W·g^(-1)and low microwave intensity heating time of 6 min.This research might provide guidance for microwave heating berry fruits.

Improvement of Temperature Uniformity of Instant Rice Inside Plastic Rectangular Container Under Microwave Reheating

To improve the temperature uniformity of instant rice in a plastic rectangular container, during microwave reheating, the changes of temperature distribution were analyzed by using experiment and simulation method. A three-dimensional finite element model was established to describe microwave reheating of instant rice to predict the temperature. The results showed that the highest temperature occurred at the corners and bottom layer. The cold spots were located in the sample interior center. The simulation results in the model matched relatively with the experimental results. A method of intermittent microwave reheating was proposed to improve the temperature uniformity of convenient rice, and the optimal combination was the time of microwave reheating was 180 s, and the intermittent ratio was 1 : 3.