Staged Temperature- and Humidity-Controlled Combined Infrared Hot-Air Drying (TH-IRHAD) of Sea Buckthorn Reduces Drying Time, Energy Consumption, and Browning

Lichun Zhu, Xinyu Ji, Junzhe Gu, Xuetao Zhang, Mengqing Li, Qian Zhang (), Xuhai Yang and Zhihua Geng ()
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Lichun Zhu: College of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, Shihezi University, 221 Beisi Road, Shihezi 832003, China
Xinyu Ji: College of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, Shihezi University, 221 Beisi Road, Shihezi 832003, China
Junzhe Gu: College of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, Shihezi University, 221 Beisi Road, Shihezi 832003, China
Xuetao Zhang: College of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, Shihezi University, 221 Beisi Road, Shihezi 832003, China
Mengqing Li: College of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, Shihezi University, 221 Beisi Road, Shihezi 832003, China
Qian Zhang: College of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, Shihezi University, 221 Beisi Road, Shihezi 832003, China
Xuhai Yang: College of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, Shihezi University, 221 Beisi Road, Shihezi 832003, China
Zhihua Geng: College of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, Shihezi University, 221 Beisi Road, Shihezi 832003, China

Agriculture, 2024, vol. 14, issue 5, 1-22

Abstract: Sea buckthorn has garnered significant attention owing to its nutritional richness; however, it has a limited shelf life. In this study, the drying process of sea buckthorn was categorized into the first-, second-, and third-drying stages. Regression models were employed to examine the effects of the drying temperature, relative humidity of the medium, and prolonged high humidity retention on various parameters during the first- and second-drying stages. Comparative analysis revealed that the optimal drying conditions for the first-drying stage of sea buckthorn were a drying temperature of 80 °C, relative humidity of 28%, and high humidity retention time of 84 min. In the second-drying phase, the optimal conditions were a drying temperature of 78 °C, a relative humidity of 17%, and a high humidity retention time of 84 min. One-way optimization revealed that the optimal drying temperature for the third-drying stage was 70 °C. The implementation of temperature- and humidity-controlled infrared hot-air drying (TH-IRHAD) techniques considerably improved the outcomes. Specifically, the drying time, energy consumption, and degree of browning decreased by 34.43%, 36.29%, and 21.43%, respectively, whereas the brightness, rehydration ratio, total flavonoid content, and total phenol content increased by 8.94%, 16.99%, 20.57%, and 28.32%, respectively. Staged TH-IRHAD substantially reduced the drying duration, increased the efficiency, and enhanced the drying quality.

Keywords: sea buckthorn; temperature-humidity-controlled infrared hot-air drying (TH-IRHAD); process optimization; drying kinetics; drying quality (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q1 Q10 Q11 Q12 Q13 Q14 Q15 Q16 Q17 Q18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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