2.4 Conventional hot air drying Gokhale et al.

(2012) reported the process optimization of drying

conditions to get beet root powder with maximum retention of red color. Response surface method was
used with three factors: five-level central composite design to arrive at optimum drying temperature,
sample thickness, and hot air recirculation. Beet powder was evaluated to assess color retention with
respect to fresh beet as a control. A 53 °C temperature and 7-mm thickness with 63% air recirculation
ratio gave the best product, with 90% retention of red color having acceptable rehydration ratio and
final moisture content. Using optimum sample thickness and air recirculation rate, drying process was
further improved to reduce drying time and energy consumption. At different temperatures (50 to 120
°C), drying characteristics were studied. Thus, drying time of 6 h was further reduced to 4 h by applying
sequential temperature gradient during drying (initial 120 °C gradually reduced to 53 °C) that also
resulted in energy savings with the same degree of color retention. Gokhale et al. (2011) optimized
convective hot air drying with the objective of maximum color retention of red beet. The process was
mathematically modeled as a function of hot air temperature, batch time, and moisture content. New
semi theoretical model was tested with experimental data (50 to 120°C) and was found better than 9
other reported models. Estimated effective moisture diffusivity was 3.01×10−9 to 7.21×10−7 m 2 /s and
it obeyed Arrhenius’s equation. Color and rehydration ratio were used to assess the quality of beet
powder. An unusual trend of color minima was also observed; which was attributed to the physical
phenomena of surface moisture. The final color of beet was temperature dependent and maximum
color retention was achieved at lowest drying temperature. Best drying condition required sequential
reduction in temperature (120 to 50°C) resulting in good color retention. This reduced batch time to 4 h
compared to 6 h batch of conventional isothermal drying at 50°C. Figiel (2010) studied the drying
kinetics and quality of Beet roots dehydrated by convective method. Beet root cubes were dehydrated
by convective drying in hot 17 air at 60 oC and by the combination of convective pre-drying (CPD) until
moisture content 1.6, 0.6 or 0.27 kg/kg db. At the falling temperature period a significant increase in the
colour parameters L*, a* and b* was found. Doharey et al. (2009) studied fluidized and convective
drying kinetics of onion slices. The quality of dried onions was superior at 60°C in both drying modes.
Xiao et al. (2008) studied the effects of air temperature (40, 50 and 60oC), air velocity (3.0, 8.0 and 13.0
m/s) and air relative humidity (10, 20 and 40%) on drying characteristics of carrot cubes and the
qualities of dried carrots were investigated. Results indicated that drying time of carrot cubes was more
affected by drying air temperature, followed by air relative humidity and air velocity. The surface
microstructures of dried carrot cubes were observed using a scanning electron microscope, which
showed that the outer layers of the samples dried at 60oC drying temperature and 10% air relative
humidity had more consolidated rigid and denser structure than the samples dried at 40oC drying
temperature and 40% air relative humidity.

Uscarea convențională cu aer cald (Gokhale și colab. (2012) ) a raportat optimizarea procesului de
uscare pentru a obține pulbere de rădăcină de sfeclă cu o retenție maximă de culoare roșie
Metoda suprafeței de răspuns a fost utilizată cu trei factori:

-designul compozitului central pe cinci niveluri pentru a ajunge la temperatura optimă de uscare,

-grosimea probei

-recircularea aerului fierbinte.

Pulberea de sfecla a fost evaluată pentru a evalua retenția de culoare în ceea ce priveste controlul
sfeclei proaspete.

O temperatură de 53 ° C și o grosime de 7 mm cu un raport de recirculare a aerului de 63% a dat cel mai

bun produs, cu un grad de reținere a culorii roși de 90% cu un grad de rehidratare și un conținut final de
umiditate acceptabil . Folosind o grosime optimă a probelor și o rată de recirculare a aerului, procesul
de uscare a fost îmbunătățit în continuare pentru a reduce timpul de uscare și consumul de energie.

Au fost studiate caracteristicile de uscare la temperaturi diferite (de la 50 la 120 ° C) . Astfel, timpul de
uscare de 6 ore a fost redus la 4 ore prin aplicarea gradientului de temperatură secvențială în timpul
uscării (Temperatura initiala de 120 ° a fost redusa treptat la 53 ° C), ceea ce a dus, de asemenea, la
economii de energie cu același grad de retenție a culorii.