The comparison of drying and rehydration characteristics of intermittent-microwave and hot-air dried-apple slices

The influence of intermittent-microwave drying and hot-air drying on drying characteristics and rehydration properties of apple slices were compared. Microwave powers have crucially affected the drying rate, effective moisture diffusivity and drying time. As microwave power increased, the drying rate and effective moisture diffusivity increased while the drying time reduced. In intermittent-microwave drying, the effective moisture diffusivities were estimated between 4.47 x 10(-9)and 2.54 x 10(-8)m(2)s(-1). Longer drying time, slower drying rate and less effective moisture diffusivity were obtained from hot-air drying when compared to intermittent-microwave drying. Higher temperatures provided higher drying rate and effective moisture diffusivity. Effective moisture diffusivities of hot-air dried-apple slices were calculated in the range of 3.38 x 10(-10)-6.25 x 10(-10)m(2)s(-1). Moreover, Page model gave the best fitting to intermittent-microwave drying curves, while hot-air drying curves were suitably described by Parabolic Model. On the other hand, the rehydration ratio of intermittent-microwave dried-apple slices was higher than hot-air dried-apple slices. Additionally, Peleg model was defined to be the best model predicting experimental rehydration data in both drying techniques.