Document Type : Research Article
Authors
1
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Bozorgmehr University of Qaenat, Qaen,Iran
2
Department of Biosystems Engineering, Faculty of Agriculture, Shahid Bahonar University of Kerman, Kerman, Iran
3
Department of Biosystems Engineering, Faculty of Agriculture, Shahid Bahonar University of Kerman, Kerman,
4
Shahid Bahonar University of Kerman
Abstract
the present study was aimed toto develop and experimentally investigate a novel UV-assisted continuous IR dryer (UVAIRD) for the production of intermediate moisture foods (IMF) from mushrooms. The effect ofthe drying temperature at tthe levels of 45, 55, and 65 °C, the forward speed of the belt at three levels of 15, 20, and 25 mm/min at two operating modes of UV-on and UV-off were investigated on the specific energy consumption (SEC), infrared fraction (IRF) of the dryer as well as final moisture content (FMC), and some quality attributes of the products. The results showed that increasing the speed decreased IRF, but it was significant only when the UV lamps were on. Increasing the air temperature increased SEC values by 32.4%, and 33.55% at the UV-on and UV-off, respectively. FMC values increased with increasing speed by 80.49% and 55.70%, UV-on and UV-off, respectively. The Hue angle (H°) decreased during the storage period, but the decreasing slope was lower at the mode of UV-on than the UV-off. Total microbial counts of intermediate moisture mushrooms were in a range of 6.55-6.74 log CFU/g of products. The values obtained for water activity were in the range of 17 to 68%, which is in the range of water activity suitable for the IMF material. Finally, based on the fair final moisture content, energy consumption, and the suitable color index of the products, the drying temperature of 65 ℃ and the belt speed of 25mm/min at the presence of UV light can be recommended for producing intermediate moisture food from mushrooms.
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