1. Ultrasonically improved convective drying of peppermint leaves: Influence on the process time and energetic indices.
- Author
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Ghanbarian, Davoud, Torki-Harchegani, Mehdi, Sadeghi, Morteza, and Pirbalouti, Abdollah Ghasemi
- Subjects
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DRYING , *ENERGY consumption , *AIR flow , *PEPPERMINT , *ATMOSPHERIC temperature - Abstract
The aim of the present work was to assess the influence of high-intensity airborne ultrasound application on duration and energetic performance of hot air drying of peppermint leaves. To this end, drying experiments were conducted at constant air flow rate of 1 m s−1 and different temperatures (40, 50, 60 and 70 °C) without and with application of ultrasound power (90, 180, 270 and 360 W). The results showed that the maximum (170.84 MJ kg−1) and the minimum (63.36 MJ kg−1) specific energy consumptions belonged to convective drying at temperature of 40 °C and ultrasonic-assisted drying at 60 °C and 270 W, respectively. Energy efficiency varied from 1.41 to 3.69%. Depending on the power level, application of the ultrasound power at the air temperatures less than 70 °C reduced drying time and improved energetic performance of the process. The obtained findings in this research declare that acoustic power could be effectively used in combination with convective dryers to reduce duration and energy required for drying of heat-sensitive products. • Ultrasound power ability to improve energy efficiency of drying process was studied. • Application of the power reduced the process duration of up to 41%. • At temperatures less than 70 °C, ultrasound power increased the energy efficiency. • The values of energy efficiency ranged from 1.41 to 3.69%. • The power has good ability to reduce the process duration and energy consumption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2020
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