HEAT AND MASS TRANSFER PROCESSES IN THE PRODUCTION OF COMBINED CAROTENE-CONTAINING PRODUCTS
Abstract
Today, the world is trying to solve the problem of processing food plant material using existing drying methods to preserve biologically active substances. At the same time, drying is a complex energy-intensive process. And in the future, the problem of reducing energy consumption for drying processes arises. Therefore, there is an urgent need to create and implement modern energy-efficient thermal technologies that reduce energy consumption for drying processes and allow retaining micro- and macroelements in the dry product. A sufficient amount of micro- and macronutrients in foods that enrich the human body can reduce the risk of chronic diseases, improve physical health and mental well-being.
Carotenoids, which are classified as antioxidants, are the most common biologically active substances. They represent a significant potential in the food, cosmetics and pharmaceutical industries. Carotenoids are a class of terpenoid pigments that are mainly responsible for the bright yellow, orange and red colours of plant fruits and flowers.
The most common carotenoids in Ukraine are pumpkin and carrot. They are widely cultivated around the world due to their rich content of vitamins, minerals, fibre and antioxidant properties. Pumpkin and carrots are seasonal products and have a shelf life that can be extended by preservation, namely drying.
Convective drying is one of the best methods for drying carotene-containing materials, but it has a predominantly long duration, which must be reduced to better preserve functional properties. Therefore, the aim of this work is to study combined drying methods to reduce the duration.
In this work, the drying of pumpkin, carrot and mixtures based on them, namely pumpkin-persimmon and carrot-celery, was studied on an experimental convective stand.
The results show that for drying pumpkin-persimmon powder, it is advisable to use a combined 3800W/m2 +65 °C and a step mode of 100/65 °C, which make it possible to reduce the drying process duration by 1.11 times compared to the 65 °C mode and preserve a bright orange colour compared to the 100 °C mode. For drying carrot and celery powder, it is also advisable to use a step mode of 100/70 °C, at which the process duration is reduced by 1.92 times compared to 60 °C.
According to the results, it was determined that the optimal modes make it possible to maintain a high amount of carotenoids in powders. At the same time, the concentration of carotenoids in dry powders increases by about 5 times.
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