DETERMINING THE OPTIMAL TECHNICAL PARAMETERS FOR DRYING BY CONVECTION AND WITH THE APPLICATION OF MICROWAVES IN THE PEACH DEHYDRATION PROCESS

Abstract

The aim of this work is to determine the optimal technical parameters such as temperature, air speed and slice thickness when drying by the forced convection method and magnetron intensity for the method of applying microwaves in the process of dehydration of vegetable products. As a result of the research, the optimal technical parameters for drying by convection and by applying microwaves were determined. As raw material for the research, the peach was used, a valuable but perishable fruit, with an untapped potential in the Republic of Moldova and which, in the dehydrated version, could align among the strategic products on the national market and for export. A comparative research was carried out on the dehydration of peaches by two methods: the forced convection method and the application of microwaves. In the study process, the optimal drying parameters were determined, depending on the external appearance and energy consumption: product slice thickness (3-4 mm), air temperature for convection (50-70 °C), air speed (2-2.5 m/s) and magnetron power (180-270 W) for microwaves. It has been shown that the efficiency of using microwaves is 5 times higher than when drying by the convection method.