Heat and Mass Transfer

33 Modeling in Microwave
and Spouted Bed
Combined Drying
of Particulate Food
Products

H. Feng and J. Tang

CONTENTS

33.1 Introduction
33.2 Model Development
33.2.1 Transport Relations
33.2.2 Mass Balance
33.2.3 Energy Balance
33.2.4 Governing Equations
33.2.5 Initial and Boundary Conditions
33.3 Model Reduction
33.4 Effective Moisture Diffusivity
33.5 Permeability of Apple Tissues
33.6 Dielectric Properties and Microwave Power Absorption
33.7 Numerical Analysis
33.8 Experimental
33.9 Model Validation
33.10 Conclusions
Nomenclature
Acknowledgments
References
Appendix

© 2003 by CRC Press LLC

33.1 INTRODUCTION
Microwave drying involves simultaneous heat, mass, and momentum transfer, as
well as volumetric heat generation. The internal heat generation results in the devel-
opment of a gas/vapor pressure gradient from interior to product surface that dis-
tinguishes microwave drying from other drying methods (Turner and Jolly, 1991).
Internal heat generation also produces a positive temperature gradient (from the interior
to the surface), in contrast to the negative temperature gradient produced during drying
by conventional hot air heating. A comprehensive heat and mass transfer analysis that
takes into account the contribution of the pressure gradient to moisture migration is
desirable in order to understand the underlying physics involved in microwave drying
and to predict temperature and moisture changes during drying.
Moisture exists in porous food material in the forms of free water, bound water,
and vapor. The migration of moisture through the food can be caused by the indi-
vidual or combined contributions of moisture, temperature, and pressure gradients.
In microwave drying, free water transport has been attributed to diffusion (Torringa
et al., 1996; Adu and Otten, 1996) or capillary flow (Wei et al., 1985; Constant et al.,
1996; Lian et al., 1997; Turner et al., 1998; Ni et al., 1999). For vapor migration,
diffusion (Lian et al., 1997), capillary flow (Turner et al., 1998; Ni et al., 1999) and
a combination of capillary flow and diffusion (Chen and Schmidt, 1990; Constant
et al., 1996) have been considered as transport mechanisms. Few studies have con-
sidered the migration of bound water. In studies regarding the mechanism of bound
water transfer, Turner et al. (1998) assumed that bound water transfer was caused
by diffusion, while Chen and Pei (1989) employed a capillary mechanism to char-
acterize bound water flow.
Knowledge of thermophysical and dielectric properties is essential to a heat and
mass transfer analysis in microwave drying. There is a lack of understanding of the
thermophysical and dielectric properties needed in such an analysis, especially for
food materials. Moisture diffusivity, permeability, and dielectric properties were used
in this study to account for moisture gradient driven flow, pressure gradient driven
flow, and microwave heat generation. It is important to understand the effect of
moisture content and product temperature on these properties.
In order to understand more about microwaves and their application to drying,
it is necessary to develop a comprehensive heat and mass transfer model for micro-
wave and spouted bed combined drying of hygroscopic porous food products; to
determine moisture diffusivity, permeability, and dielectric properties for a model
food, apple tissue; and to experimentally validate the model developed in this study.

33.2 MODEL DEVELOPMENT

In this study, drying of a particulate product was conducted in a spouted bed placed
in a microwave cavity. Microwave energy was applied to the cavity at a constant and
adjustable rate. The hot air velocity was set such that the aerodynamic conditions
needed to sustain stable fluidization in the spouted bed could be realized. The pneu-
matic agitation in the spouted bed helped to improve the heating uniformity among
particles during microwave drying. The hot air flow was at constant temperature.

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 The following assumptions were used in model development: the material is
homogeneous and isotropic on the macro scale; transport of free water is governed by
the generalized Darcy’s law; bound water transport is driven by chemical potential
difference (Stanish et al., 1986; Gong, 1992); and transport in the gas phase is deter-
mined by the contribution of convection and diffusion. Other assumptions included:

1. Local thermodynamic equilibrium exists, that is, the solid, liquid, and gas
phases are at the same average temperature at any moment in a control
volume.
2. Solid, liquid, and gas phases are continuous.
3. The binary gas mixture of air and vapor obeys the ideal gas law.
4. Vapor pressure as a function of moisture content and temperature can be
estimated using sorption isotherms.
5. The model material used in this study, diced apples, can be treated as
equivalent spheres.
6. The diced apples are exposed to a uniform microwave field.
7. Electromagnetic field intensity is uniform throughout diced apples.

The governing equations for microwave drying were derived at a macroscopic

level. Variables examined in this study are averaged values over a control volume.
This approach was first proposed by Whitaker (1977) and has been widely used in
multiphase heat and mass transfer studies related to drying of porous materials
(Bories, 1991).

33.2.1 TRANSPORT RELATIONS

Fluid velocities in a multiphase porous food system are given by the generalized
Darcy’s law:

r Kk rf r
uf = − (∇Pg − ∇Pc − ρf g) (33.1)
µf

r Kk rg r
ug = − (∇Pg − ρg g) (33.2)
µg

where the capillary pressure Pc = Pg – Pf. Diffusion of vapor and air is governed by
Fick’s law:

r r ρ 
jv = − ja = − ρg D av ∇ v  (33.3)
 ρg 

In many food materials, bound water migration is important. It has been found
that migration of the bound water cannot be simply treated as a diffusion process
(Chen and Pei, 1989). In the present study, a universal driving force, the chemical

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potential gradient, was employed as the driving force for the bound water flow
(Gong, 1992). The bound water flux is then given by:

∂ µb
n b = D b (1 − ε ′) (33.4)
∂z

From the local thermodynamic equilibrium assumption, the chemical potential

of bound water, µ′b, equals the chemical potential of vapor, µ′v. Hence thermody-
namic relations for vapor can be used to express the bound water flux. A detailed
derivation can be found elsewhere (Stanish et al., 1986), and the resulting equation
is given in Equation (33.7).
Thermal diffusion through a food material is controlled by Fourier’s law:

r
q = − λ eff ∇T (33.5)

33.2.2 MASS BALANCE

The mass balance equations for free water, bound water, vapor, and air can be written
as:

∂Xf r
Free water: (1 − ε )ρs + ∇ ⋅n f = − m
˙ (33.6)
∂t

∂X b r
Bound water: (1 − ε )ρs + ∇⋅ n b = − m
˙b (33.7)
∂t

∂X v r
Vapor: (1 − ε )ρs + ∇⋅ n v = m
˙ +m
˙b (33.8)
∂t

∂Xa r
Air: (1 − ε )ρs + ∇⋅ n a = 0 (33.9)
∂t

In Equations (33.6–9), the mass fluxes are specified by:

r r Kk rf Kk rf
Free water: n f = ρf u f = − ρf ∇Pl = − ρf ∇( Pg − Pc ) (33.10)
µf µf

r r  ε ∇Pv Sv 
Bound water: n b = ρb u b = −ρb D b (1 − ε ′) − ∇T (33.11)
 ρv Mv 

r r r Kk rg ρ 
Vapor: n v = ρv u v + jv = − ρv ∇Pg − ρg Dav ∇ v  (33.12)
µg  ρg 

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 r r r Kk rg ρ 
Air: n a = ρa u a + ja = −ρa ∇Pg + ρg Dav ∇ v  (33.13)
µg  ρg 

v r r Kk rg
Gas: n g = n a + n v = − ρg ∇Pg (33.14)
µg

In Equation (33.10), the free water transfer caused by gravity is ignored, and in
Equation (33.14), ρg = ρa + ρv.

33.2.3 ENERGY BALANCE

The total energy balance for a representative elementary volume is written as (Bird
et al., 1960):

∂ r r DP
(ρ h ) + ∇ ⋅(ρ uh ) = − (∇ q ) − ( τ: ∇ u) + +Φ (33.15)
∂t Dt
r
The viscous dissipation term ( τ:∇µ ) and pressure work term (DP/Dt) are usually
negligible. Hence, Equation (33.15) reduces to an enthalpy balance equation:

∂ r
(ρ h ) + ∇ ⋅(ρ uh ) = − (∇ q ) + Φ (33.16)
∂t

where

ρ h = ρs h s + ρv h v + ρa h a + (ρf + ρb ) h l (33.17)

r r r r r
ρ uh = ρv u v h v + ρa u a h a + (ρf u f + ρb u b ) h l (33.18)

33.2.4 GOVERNING EQUATIONS

Due to the geometric symmetry, moisture transfer was assumed to take place only
in the radial direction. Hence, a one-dimensional heat and mass transfer problem in
spherical coordinates was considered. The total moisture transport equation can be
obtained by adding Equations (33.6) to (33.8); the temperature equation was obtained
by substituting Equations (33.5), (33.17), and (33.18) into the enthalpy balance
equation (Equation (33.16)), and the total pressure equation was obtained from the
air balance equation (Equation (33.9)). The resulting drying equations are as follows:

∂Xl 1 ∂  2 ∂Xl ∂T ∂ Pg 
= 2 D X r + DT r 2 + DP r 2  (33.19)
∂t r ∂r  ∂r ∂r ∂r 

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 ∂Xl ∂T 1 ∂  2 ∂Xl ∂T ∂ Pg 
C TX + C TT = 2 D r + D TT r 2 + D TP r 2 +Φ (33.20)
∂t ∂t r ∂ r  TX ∂r ∂r ∂r 

∂Xl ∂T ∂ Pg 1 ∂  a 2 ∂Xl ∂T ∂ Pg 
C PX + C PT + C PP = 2 D X r + D aT r 2 + D aP r 2 
∂t ∂t ∂t r ∂r  ∂r ∂r ∂r 
(33.21)
k
In Equations (33.19) to (33.21), Dij and Cij are kinetic and capacity coefficients,
respectively. The subscripts i and j can be temperature, moisture, or pressure, while
the superscript k denotes air, free water, bound water, or vapor. The expressions for
these coefficients are detailed in this chapter’s Appendix

33.2.5 INITIAL AND BOUNDARY CONDITIONS

Initial conditions can be written as:

Xl t =0 = X0 T t =0 = T0 Pg t =0 = Patm (33.22)

Because of the pneumatic agitation in a spouted bed, it is reasonable to assume

that moisture arriving at a sample surface from the interior evaporates immediately
and is carried away by the hot air stream. The moisture transfer boundary condition
in spherical coordinates is then given by:

 ∂Xl ∂T ∂ Pg 
−(1 − ε )ρs  D X + DT + DP = ε h m (ρ vs − ρ v∞ ) (33.23)
 ∂r ∂r ∂ r 
r =R0

An energy balance over the interface can be set up to obtain the temperature
boundary condition:

∂T  ∂Xl ∂T ∂ Pg 
− λ eff
∂r
(
= h ( T∞ − Ts ) − ∆h v (1 − ε )ρs  D fX + D Xb
∂r
)
+ D fT + D Tb(∂r
+ D fP )∂r 

r =R0 
(33.24)

Pressure at the surface of a spherical particle can be written as:

P r =R0 = Patm (33.25)

The symmetry condition at the center of the sphere must be satisfied:

∂ Xl ∂T ∂ Pg
= = =0 (33.26)
∂r r=0
∂r r=0
∂r r=0

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33.3 MODEL REDUCTION
To simplify the microwave drying equations given in Equations (33.19–33.21) and
(33.22–33.26) for numerical analysis and further elucidation of the mechanisms, a
scaling method was used to analyze the magnitude of each term in the equations.
The following scaling groups were used (Plumb et al., 1986):

r t T − T0 Pg − Patm
r∗ = ; t∗ = ; T∗ = ; Pg∗ =
R0 tc Tmax − T0 Pmax − Patm

Xl Xb − Xe ρvs P T
X∗l = ; X∗b = ; ρ∗vs = = vs ∞ ; (33.27)
X0 X0 − Xe ρ v∞ Pv∞ Ts

R0 µ a∞ R 20 K 0 Pmax − Patm Φ
tc = = ; uc = ; Φ∗ =
u c K 0 ( Pmax − Patm ) µ a∞ R0 Φ0

In the scaling analysis, a comparison of the magnitude of each dimensionless

group helped to determine which terms were insignificant and hence negligible. In
the analysis, a term with a coefficient at least one magnitude smaller than the other
terms was considered negligible and was eliminated from the drying equations. The
magnitude for each term was assessed by using literature values of the physical,
thermal, and transport parameters in the capacity and kinetic coefficients. For moisture-
dependent parameters, two extreme moistures, X0 = 7.0 (db) and Xl = 0.1 (db), were
used to estimate the range of the coefficients. For temperature-dependent parameters,
an average drying temperature of 343°K was used. Detailed analyses can be found
elsewhere (Feng, 2000). Simplified drying equations can be written as:

∂  ∗2  ∂ X∗l ( Pmax − Patm ) ρf Kk rf ∂ Pg  

∗
∂ X1∗ Tc
=  r D X +  (33.28)
∂ t∗ R 20 X 0 r ∗2 ∂ r ∗   eff 0 ∂ r ∗ 1− ε ρs µ f ∂ r ∗  

Tmax − T0 ∂ T∗ Tmax − T0 ∂  ∗
∗2 ∂ T  ˙ + Φ Φ∗
(ρC p )eff =  λ r  + ∆h v M (33.29)
tc ∂ t∗ R 20 r ∗2 ∂ r ∗  eff ∂ r∗  0

ρaρs X 0 ∂ X∗l  1 − ε ρs  ε M a Pmax − Patm ∂ Pg∗

(1 − ε ) ∗
+ 1 − Xl 
ρf t c ∂ t  ε ρf + ρ b  R ′ T tc ∂ t∗

1 ∂  ∗2 Kk rg ∂ Pg∗ 
= 2 ∗2 r ( Pmax − Patm )ρa  (33.30)
R r
0 ∂ r∗  µ g ∂ r ∗ 

The simplified boundary conditions are given by:

∗
1  ∂ X∗ P − Patm ρf Kk rf ∂ Pg  ερv∞ h m ∗
 Deff X 0 ∗l + max ∗ 
=− (ρ − 1) (33.31)
R0  ∂r 1 − ε ρs µ f ∂ r  (1 − ε )ρs vs
r ∗ =1

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 λ eff (Tmax − T0 ) ∂ T∗
− = h (T∞ − T0 ) − hTs∗ (Tmax − T0 )
R0 ∂ r∗ ∗
r =1

∗
∆h v (1 − ε )ρs  ∂ X∗ ( P − P ) ρ Kk rf ∂ Pg 
− Deff X 0 ∗l + max atm f  (33.32)
R0  ∂r 1− ε ρs µ f ∂ r ∗ 

P*| r*=1 =0 (33.33)

∂ X ∗l ∂T∗ ∂ Pg∗
= = =0 (33.34)
∂r∗ r∗ = 0
∂r∗ ∗
∂r∗ ∗
r =0 r =0

It can be seen from Equations (33.28–33.34) that terms with capillary pressure
were eliminated through the scaling analysis. The remaining unknown parameters in
Equations (33.28–33.34) include effective moisture diffusivity, intrinsic and relative
permeabilities, and dielectric properties. Experiments were designed and conducted
in this study to measure these properties as function of moisture and temperature.
All other thermal and transport relations for apples are from the literature and are
listed in Table 33.1.

TABLE 33.1
Correlations for Physical, Thermal, Thermodynamic, Dielectric, and Mass
Transfer Parameters
Parameter Correlation Reference

1.282 + 1.65(1.899 + X l )X l
Porosity, ε' ε′ = Feng, 2000
(1 + 1.65X l )(1.899 + X l )
Viscosity of free water, µf µ f (T) = µ f 0 exp(a − bT + cT 2 + dT 3 − eT 4 ) Turner, 1991
−4
µf0 = 1 × 10 ; a = 29.619;
−4
b = 0.152; c = 0.648 × 10 ;
−6 −8
d = 0.815 × 10 ; e = 0.120 × 10
Viscosity of gas, µg µ g (T) = µ g 0 {T 1/ 2 / (a + b / T − c / T 2 + d / T 3 )} Turner, 1991
a = 0.672; b = 85.229; c = 2111.475;
−6
d = 106417.0; µg0 = 1 × 10
Latent heat of water, ∆hv
6 2
∆hv = 2.792 × 10 − 160 T − 3.43 T Stanish et al., 1986
Effective thermal conductivity λeff = 0.12631 + 0.0595 Xl Donsì et al., 1996
of apple, λeff
Thermal conductivity λ a = 0.0035 + 7.67 × 10 −5 ∗ T Turner, 1991
of air, λa
Effective specific heat 27.21 X l Niesterus, 1996
of apple, Cpeff C peff = 1415 +
1 + Xl
Air–vapor binary diffusivity, 1.75 Stanish et al., 1986
101325  T 
Dav D av = 2.20 × 10 −5
Pg  273.15 

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33.4 EFFECTIVE MOISTURE DIFFUSIVITY
The effective moisture diffusivity Deff combines the contributions of both bound
water and free water. From Equation (33.28), it can be seen that Deff can be deter-
mined with a hot air–only drying test at moderate temperatures, in which the internal
vapor generation is negligible. Drying tests with apple tissues were conducted, and
Deff was obtained using the slope method (Feng et al., 2000a). Deff as function of
moisture content and temperature is given in the following equation:

 a + a2 ∗ Xl 
D eff = a 0 ∗ exp − 1  (33.35)
 T 

−4 3 2
where a0 = 6.273 × 10 ; a1 = 5.843 × 10 ; and a2 = –2.038 × 10 .

33.5 PERMEABILITY OF APPLE TISSUES

Intrinsic and relative permeabilities of apple tissues were measured with a set-up
designed based on the following relation:

K (ε ) k rg ∆Pg
Q g = ug A = − A (33.36)
µg H

From Equation (33.36), when the gas phase flow rate Qg and pressure drop over
a specimen ∆Pg are determined, the product of intrinsic permeability K and gas
relative permeability krg can be obtained. The separation of K with krg was achieved
by conducting a dry sample test in which krg = 1 and thus K as function of porosity
could be attained. Details of the set-up and experimental procedures can be found
in Feng et al. (2002b).
The intrinsic permeability K(ε) of apple tissue as a function of porosity was
determined by the above method and can be fitted to a Kozeny–Carman equation:

ε3
K(ε ) = 5.578 × 10 −12 (33.37)
(1 − ε ) 2

The gas and liquid relative permeabilities for apple tissue were also determined
(Feng et al., 2002b) and can be correlated to saturation level S using the following
empirical equations:

k rg = 1.01 e −10.86 S (33.38)

k rl = S3 (33.39)

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33.6 DIELECTRIC PROPERTIES AND MICROWAVE
POWER ABSORPTION
Dielectric constant ε* and loss factor ε″ are important parameters in the determina-
tion of microwave penetration depth and volumetric heat generation. The open-ended
coaxial probe technique was used to measure ε* and ε″ for apple tissues over a
moisture content range of 4 to 87.5% (wb) and at 22 and 60°C. From measured
results with apple tissues, a correlation of loss factor ε″ with moisture and temper-
ature changes was obtained (Feng et al., 2000):

ε ′′ = a 1 + a 2 T + a 3 T 2 + a 4 X + a 5 X T + a 6 X T 2 + a 7 X 2 + a 8 X 2 T + a 9 X 3 (33.40)

where a1 = −23.5999; a2 = 0.158233; a3 = −0.000256978; a4 = −1.87998; a5 =

−6 −5
0.00768435; a6 = −5.6363 × 10 ; a7 = 0.0289568; a8 = −7.66337 × 10 ; a9 =
−5
−4.09947 × 10 .
Microwave power absorption by the sample during drying can be obtained using:

ε ′′
Φ = Φ0 (33.41)
ε ′′0

where Φ0 is the absorbed microwave power at the beginning of a microwave and

spouted bed drying (MWSB) drying test. It is given by Φ0 = Φinput − Φreflect, the
difference between measured input and reflected power. ε ′′0 is the loss factor corre-
sponding to the value at the beginning of a drying test.

33.7 NUMERICAL ANALYSIS

The simplified drying equations (Equations (33.28) to (33.34)) are coupled and
highly nonlinear. The finite difference method was used to find numerical solutions.
The analytical domain was a sphere with a diameter of 5 mm divided into 15 layers,
each with a thickness δ = 1/3 mm. A time step of 1 sec was selected in the simulation.
The Crank–Nicolson scheme was used to discretize the partial differential equations
for the internal nodes. The boundary conditions at nodes 0 and 16 were discretized
with a three-point formula to obtain the same accuracy as with internal nodes. The
moisture, temperature, and gas pressure equations were solved simultaneously. A
program was written using Matlab to implement the simulation. Details of the finite
difference formulation can be found elsewhere (Feng, 2000).

33.8 EXPERIMENTAL
A microwave and spouted bed combined drying system was developed to conduct
drying tests to validate the model simulation. This system consisted of a 2.45 GHz
microwave supply system and a hot air system (Figure 33.1). In the microwave
supply system, a magnetron generated the microwaves, a wave guide transmitted

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 1 2
3

10 5

11 6

12 7

Air

8
9

FIGURE 33.1 Schematic of 2.45 GHz microwave and spouted bed drying system. 1. Direc-
tion coupler; 2. circulator; 3. magnetron; 4. power controller; 5. power meter; 6. temperature
controller; 7. HP network analyzer; 8. air pump; 9. heater; 10. three-stub tuner; 11. microwave
cavity; 12. spouted bed.

the waves to the cavity, and a directional coupler with power meters measured power
components. In the system, a circulator with a water load was installed to absorb
the reflected power and a three-stub tuner was used to adjust the matching impedance
of the drying cavity. The power generated from the magnetron could be continuously
adjusted using the power controller. Both the incident and the reflected power were
measured using HP power meters so that the power absorbed by the drying sample
could be accurately determined.
Diced Red Delicious apples (Malus domestica Borkh) with average initial mois-
ture content of 20.2% (wb) were used as the model food in the validation. The
spouted bed superficial air velocity was 2.1 m/sec in all experiments, the velocity
at which a stable particle circulation can be achieved during drying to ensure uniform
heating. Forty grams of diced apples were used in each drying test. Moisture loss
was monitored by periodically weighing the sample on an electric balance. The
average moisture content of samples was determined using the vacuum oven method
(AOAC, 1990). The drying temperature of the dice was measured at the core of ten
randomly chosen apple pieces with a type T thermocouple (response time 0.8 sec) at
predesignated time intervals. The pressure increase during microwave heating was
measured using fresh apples with a fiber optical pressure probe, which has a reso-
lution of 1 kPa. The pressure probe was led through a hole opened on the wall of
the spouted bed and inserted into the center of a fresh-cut apple sample sealed with

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vacuum grease to prevent vapor leakage. A data acquisition system was used to
record the pressure data.

33.9 MODEL VALIDATION

Figure 33.2 compares the predicted and experimentally determined moisture con-
tents for MWSB and spouted bed (SB) drying. In MWSB drying, the data reported
were the averages of four replicates, and drying tests were conducted at microwave
power density of 4 W/g (wb) and hot air temperature of 70°C. For SB alone drying,
the same air conditions as for MWSB drying were used, and experiments were
performed in triplicate. Relatively small error bars in Figure 33.2 indicate good
repeatability in drying tests.
The simulated moisture content followed an exponential decay curve that char-
acterizes drying in the falling rate period for hygroscopic materials. At the beginning
of drying, the simulation slightly underestimated moisture loss. The assumption of
spherical geometry for apple dice might be a major reason for this discrepancy due
to an underestimation of the surface-to-volume ratio. Generally, model predictions
were in good agreement with experiments for both drying methods.
The temperatures measured from diced apples and predicted with the model are
compared in Figure 33.3 for MWSB (MW power 4 W/g and air temperature 70°C)
and SB (air temperature 70°C) drying. Temperature prediction in MWSB drying
agreed well with the measured values. At the beginning of drying, the hot air heated
the apple dice from outside, and the microwaves heated volumetrically. This led to
a rapid increase in product temperature. When the apple dice surface temperature
surpassed the air temperature, the air started to cool the apple dice. The center
temperature, however, continued to increase as a result of microwave heating until it
reached about 83°C, when a balance between the energy supplied by microwaves
and the heat losses due to surface convective cooling and evaporation was established.

25
Model prediction
Moisture Content (wb), %

20 SB drying test
MWSB drying test

15

10

0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90
Drying Time, min

FIGURE 33.2 Moisture content comparison between model predictions and experimental
results for microwave and spouted bed (MWSB) drying and spouted bed (SB) drying. (From
Feng, H. et al., AICHE J., 47(7), 1499–1509, 2001. With permission.)

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 90
80
Bed temperature
70

Temperature, °C
60
50
40
30
Model prediction
20 SB drying test
10 MWSB drying test

0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90
Drying Time, min

FIGURE 33.3 Temperature comparison between model predictions and experimental results
for MWSB and SB drying. (From Feng, H. et al., AICHE J., 47(7), 1499–1509, 2001. With
permission.)

10

8
Over-pressure, kPa

Experiment #1
2 Experiment #2
Experiment #3
0 Model

0 1 2 3 4 5
Drying Time, min

FIGURE 33.4 Comparison of predicted and measured pressures for MWSB drying with
microwave power 10 W/g, hot-air temperature 70°C and initial moisture content 84% (wb).
(From Feng, H. et al., AICHE J., 47(7), 1499–1509, 2001. With permission.)

The product temperature remained nearly constant throughout the rest of drying.
This is a unique feature associated with MWSB drying. The high surface heat transfer
in the spouted bed helped to maintain a nearly constant drying temperature. This
temperature leveling effect prevents the product from overheating and charring.
Therefore, MWSB drying has potential application in drying of heat-sensitive food
products. In SB drying, the sample temperature approached air temperature at a
slightly lower rate compared to that of MWSB drying, and the predicted temperature
agreed well with the bed temperature.
The over-pressure readings measured with the fiber optical probe are compared
to model prediction in Figure 33.4. Experiments to validate model prediction of
pressure were conducted at conditions different from those for moisture and

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temperature verification. This is because at the moisture content of commercial
evaporated diced apple (20.2%), and the power level used in moisture and temper-
ature validation tests, the over-pressure generated is lower than the threshold of the
pressure probe (1 kPa). To generate a vapor pressure above the threshold of the
pressure probe (1 kPa), fresh apple samples in a cylindrical shape (8 mm in diameter
and 15 mm in length), and microwave power of 10 W/g and sample moisture of
84% (wb) were used in the tests. The measured pressure increased during the first
two minutes of drying to reach a peak and started to decrease thereafter. At this
stage, the moisture content of the sample remained high, and hence volumetric
heating was still intensive enough to maintain the pressure. Therefore, the measured
pressure decrease might have been caused by a gradual failure of the seal to the
pressure probe.

33.10 CONCLUSIONS
The comprehensive heat and mass transfer drying model developed in this study was
demonstrated to be an effective tool to predict moisture, temperature, and pressure
history and distribution for MWSB of particulate foods. The model prediction of
moisture, temperature, and pressure agreed with experimental results. A temperature
leveling effect was predicted and in agreement with experiment results. This unique
temperature leveling effect in MWSB drying makes it possible to use this method
for drying heat-sensitive food products.

NOMENCLATURE
C Capacity coefficient
−1 −1
Cp Specific heat, J·kg K
D Kinetic coefficient; material derivative
2 −1
Dav Binary air–vapor diffusivity, m ·sec
2 −1
Db Bound water diffusivity, m ·sec
−2
g Gravitational acceleration, m·sec
−1 −2 −1
h Enthalpy, J·kg ; surface heat transfer coefficient, W·m K
−1
∆hv Latent heat of free water, J·kg
−2 −1
j Diffusive mass flux, kg·m ·sec
kr Relative permeability
2
K Intrinsic permeability, m
−3 −1
ṁ Moisture evaporation rate, kg·m ·sec
−1
M Molar mass, kg·mol
−2 −1
n Mass flux, kg·m sec
P Pressure, Pa
Pc Capillary pressure, Pa
−2 −1
q Heat flux, J·m ·sec
−1
R Sample radius, m
−1 −1
R′ Universal gas constant, J·mol K
S Saturation
t Time, sec

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T Average absolute temperature, K
−1
u Spouted bed air superficial velocity, m·sec
−1
X Moisture content (dry basis), kg H2O·(kg solid)

GREEK SYMBOLS
ε Porosity [(gas + liquid)/total volume], tolerance limit on iteration scheme
ε′ Porosity defined in Table I (gas volume/total volume); dielectric constant
ε* Dielectric constant
ε″ Dielectric loss factor
−3
Φ Heat source, W·m
−1 −1
λ Thermal conductivity, W·m ·K ; wave length, m
−1 −1
µ Dynamic viscosity, kg·m ·sec
µ′ Chemical potential
−3
ρ Density, kg·m
−3
ρs Solid density (solid mass/solid volume), kg·m
−2
τ Shear stress tensor, kg·m

SUBSCRIPTS AND SUPERSCRIPTS

0 At saturated condition or free space; initial condition (refers to fresh sample)
a Air
atm Atmospheric pressure
b Bound water, bulk density
eff Effective
f Free water
g Gas = air + vapor
l Liquid = free water + bound water
max Maximum values
P Pressure
s Solid, or relating to surface
T Temperature
v Vapor
w Total moisture = free water + bound water + vapor
X Moisture
∞ Surrounding

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Support for this research has been provided by Washington State University IMPACT
Center and the Northwest Center for Small Fruits Research. Special thanks go to
Dr. Ovid Plumb and Dr. Ralph Cavalieri for their valuable input to this work. The
authors would like to thank Timothy Wig and Wayne DeWitt for assistance in
developing the 2.45 GHz MWSB drying system, and TreeTop, Inc., Selah, WA, for
donating evaporated apples.

© 2003 by CRC Press LLC

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APPENDIX

1 ρf Kk rf  ∂ Pc  1 ρf Kk rf  ∂ Pc 
D fX = − ; D fT = −  
1 − ε ρs µ f  ∂ X w  T 1 − ε ρs µ f  ∂ T  X
w

1 ρf Kk rf
D fP =
1 − ε ρs µ f

1 − ε ′ D b ε R ′ T  ∂ Pv 
D Xb =
1 − ε ρs Pv M v  ∂ X w  T

1 − ε ′ D b  Sv ε R ′ T  ∂ Pv  
D Tb = −  −   ; D P = 0
b
1 − ε ρs  M v Pv M v  ∂ T  X 
 w

Dav Pg Ma M v  ∂ Pv 
D Xv =
(1 − ε )ρs R ′ T( Pg M a + (M v − M a )Pv )  ∂ X w  T

Dav Pg Ma M v  ∂ Pv 
D Tv =  
(1 − ε )ρs R ′ T( Pg M a + (M v − M a )Pv )  ∂ T  X
w

1  P M Kk rg D av M a M v Pv 
D Pv =  v v − 
(1 − ε )ρs  R ′ T µ g R ′ T( Pg M a + (M v − M a )Pv ) 

Mv  (1 − ε )ρs Pv  (1 − ε )ρs  1 ∂Pv 

C TX = ∆h v − + ε − X 
R′  ρf + ρ b T  ρf + ρ b l  T ∂ X l 

Mv  (1 − ε )ρs  ∂( Pv / T)
C TT = (ρC p ) eff + ∆h v ε − X
R′  ρf + ρb l  ∂ T

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 D TX = ∆h v (1 − ε )ρsD Xv ; D TT = λ eff + ∆h v (1 − ε )ρsD Tv

D TP = ∆h v (1 − ε )ρsD Pv

ε M a  Pg − Pv  1 − ε ρs   1 − ε ρs  1 ∂Pv 
C PX = −   − 1 − Xl  
R ′  T  ε ρf + ρb   ε ρf + ρ b  T ∂ X l 

εMa  1 − ε ρs   Pg ∂( Pv / T) 
C PT = 1 − ε ρ + ρ X l   T 2 − ∂ T 
R′  f b 

εMa  1 − ε ρs  1
C PP = 1 − ε ρ + ρ X l  T
R′  f b 

Mv Pg M a  ∂ Pv 
D aX = − (1 − ε )ρs D Xv = − D av  ∂X 
R ′ T Pg M a + (M v − M a )Pv  wT

Mv Pg M a  ∂ Pv 
D aT = − (1 − ε )ρs D Tv = − D av  
R ′ T Pg M a + (M v − M a )Pv  ∂ T  X
w

( Pg − Pv )M a Kk rg Mv Pv M a
D aP = + D av
R′T µg R ′ T Pg M a + (M v − M a )Pv

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