Received: 12 July 2018 Revised: 20 September 2018 Accepted: 17 October 2018

DOI: 10.1111/jfpe.12956

ORIGINAL ARTICLE

The impacts of vacuum microwave drying on osmosis

dehydration of tilapia fillets
Qi Wang1 | Bing Liu1,2 | Jun Cao1 | Chuan Li1 | Zhenhua Duan1,2

1
National R&D Branch Center for Tilapia
Processing, College of Food Science and
Technology, Hainan University, Haikou, China
2
School of Food and Bioengineering, Hezhou,
China
Correspondence
Chuan Li, National R&D Branch Center for
Tilapia Processing, College of Food Science
and Technology, Hainan University, Haikou
570228, China.
Email: lichuanbest@126.com
and
Zhenhua Duan, National R&D Branch Center
for Tilapia Processing, College of Food Science
and Technology, Hainan University, Haikou
570228, China.
Email: dzh65@126.com
Funding information
The Project of Haikou Ocean and Fisheries
Bureau, Grant/Award Number: HHCL201804;
Scientific Research Foundation of Hainan
University, Grant/Award Number: KYQD1609;
Key Project of Science and Technology of
Haikou, Grant/Award Number: 2017051;
National Natural Science Foundation of China,
Grant/Award Number: 31601531
Abstract
Hot-air (HAD), vacuum microwave (VMD), osmosis microwave (O-MD), and osmosis vacuum
microwave (O-VMD) drying were applied to investigate the effects of osmosis dehydration and
vacuum microwave on the quality and structure of tilapia fillets. Shrinkage ratio, rehydration
rate, color, hardness, elasticity, microstructure, per-unit energy consumption, and main nutri-
tional components of tilapia fillets were compared over the four drying methods. Moisture con-
tent was quickly decreased by osmotic pretreatment. Fillets were dehydrated in a short time via
microwave conditions (3 min by O-MD; 11 min by O-VMD). A vacuum environment promoted
the formation of porous structures inside the fish fillets. As for nutrient composition, shrinkage
rate, rehydration rate, hardness and elasticity, O-VMD fillets and VMD fillets had similar perfor-
mance. The composite drying method of O-VMD improved the quality of the product and had
comparatively better in terms of microstructure, per-unit energy consumption (24.04 kJ/g) and
color change (13.8). Thus, tilapia fillets produced by O-VMD were of higher quality. Meanwhile,
this study provided a reference for further research.
Practical applications
The purpose of dehydration is to decrease the moisture content to a low level at which micro-
bial spoilage and quality deterioration are minimized. Drying is a traditional dehydration method
in fish processing, able to deactivate the enzymes and remove the moisture to inhibit the growth
of microorganisms. Vacuum microwave drying (VMD) uses microwave heating to dry the mate-
rial under a vacuum environment with a low boiling point, a new technology in modern food
processing that was developed to improve the quality of products. Few published studies have
applied osmosis vacuum microwave drying to fish processing. Therefore, the aim of this work
was to study the effects of vacuum and osmosis pretreatment on fillets drying process. Provided
data can be applied for comparing the effects of different drying methods on tilapia fillet quality.

1 | I N T RO D UC T I O N nutritional value, characteristics that been welcomed by domestic and

Due to the characteristics of hypoxia tolerance, disease-resistance
capacity, rapid growth, and reproduction, tilapia have become a popu-
lar farmed fish variety worldwide (Duan, Jiang, Wang, Yu, & Wang,
2011). The flesh of tilapia is tender and delicious and has high
Abbreviations: HAD, Hot-air drying; VMD, Vacuum microwave drying; O-MD,
Osmosis microwave drying; O-VMD, Osmosis vacuum microwave drying;
L*, Lightness value; a*, Redness value; b*, Yellowness value.
Qi Wang and Bing Liu contributed equally to this study.
international consumers (Guan, Wang, Li, & Jiang, 2013). Tilapia has
attracted wide attention in recent years and China had become the
top producers among the word (1.78 million tons; FAO, 2017). Fresh
aquatic products are easily contaminated by microorganisms because
of their high moisture content and rich nutrition (Li, Wu, &
Guan, 2017).
Dehydration is one of the most widely used methods for fish fillet
preservation. The objective of dehydration is the removal of moisture
to a low level at which microbial spoilage and quality deterioration are
minimized (Vega-Gálvez et al., 2009). Drying is a traditional dehydration

J Food Process Eng. 2019;42:e12956. wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/jfpe © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. 1 of 7

https://doi.org/10.1111/jfpe.12956
2 of 7
method in fish processing in which enzymes are deactivated and mois-
ture is removed to inhibit the growth of microorganisms(Duan, Zhang, &
Tang, 2004; Li et al., 2017).
Guan studied the influences of hot air velocity and the thickness
of tilapia fillets on moisture ratio and drying rate and found that the
Page model could describe the drying curves of fresh tilapia fillets
(Guan et al., 2013). The influence of HAD has also been investigated
on Atlantic salmon fillets; the results showed that drying at 60
C was
better for preserving fillet quality (Ortiz et al., 2013). However, HAD
caused changes in the fillets' color, texture, and taste, decreased the
rehydration ratio and affected product quality (Hu, Zhang, Mujumdar,
Xiao, & Sun, 2006).
The influences of different hot-air temperatures and microwave
powers on the quality characteristics of tilapia fillets were investi-
gated, and it was found that increasing temperature and microwave
power reduced the moisture content and improved the shrinkage and
rehydration rate (Duan et al., 2011).
The effects of pretreatment methods on color, rehydration rate,
texture, and quality of tilapia fillets were also investigated, and it was
found that suitable ultrasonic pretreatment significantly improved
sample quality (Li et al., 2017). During different drying processes,
structural, chemical, and nutritional changes can affect quality param-
eters, such as color, flavor, moisture content, texture, microstructure,
and nutritional value (Deng et al., 2014). With the limitations of differ-
ent single drying methods, the combined drying method was applied
to other materials.
The benefits of microwave-assisted drying technologies include
high thermal efficiency, shorter processing time, lower operating
costs, and improved product quality (Chizoba Ekezie, Sun, Han, &
Cheng, 2017). Vacuum microwave drying (VMD) uses microwave
heating to dry the material under a vacuum environment with a low
boiling point, a new technology in modern food processing that was
developed to improve the quality of dried berries (Bruijn et al., 2016).
Osmosis vacuum microwave is a new drying technology that has
been widely used in plant drying. Osmotic pretreatment removes most
of the moisture in a material. Osmosis vacuum microwave reduces the
average drying time and improves the color, taste, and texture of the
product (Bórquez, Canales, & Redon, 2010). Currently, this combined
technology is widely used for fillet dehydration.
Few published studies have applied osmosis vacuum microwave
drying to fish processing. Hence, it was interesting to compare the
effect of microwave vacuum drying on the quality of tilapia fillets.
Therefore, the aim of this work was to study the effects of osmosis
pretreatment, vacuum, and microwave on physicochemical properties,
moisture content, rehydration ratio, driage, shrinkage ratio, color, tex-
ture, microstructure, and main nutritional components that were influ-
enced during the fillet drying process.
2 | MATERIALS AND METHODS
2.1 | Sample preparation and chemicals
Live tilapias (24–27 cm long and 500–550 g weight) were purchased
from a local market (Haikou, Hainan, China). The fish were headed
WANG ET AL.
and gutted, the skin and bones were removed. The fillets were cut
from the dorsal regions of fish into pieces with a thickness of approxi-
mately 3 mm. The fillets were washed with flowing distilled water,
and superficial water was removed with filter paper (Wu &
Mao, 2008).
The hydrochloric acid used in the experiment was purchased from
Guangzhou chemical reagent farm (Guangzhou, China). Other chemi-
cals were purchased from Xilong Chemical Co., Ltd (Shantou, China).
2.2 | Drying treatment
Tilapia fillets (25 mm * 20 mm) were selected and tested using differ-
ent drying methods. Fillets approximately 20 g in mass were weighed
and dried using the following methods until reaching the critical mois-
ture content (wet base moisture content ≤12%). The drying times
were recorded.
HAD was performed in a hot-air oven (40
C, 1.5 m/s; 101-2,
Huapu Instrument Co., Ltd. Changzhou, China; Duan, Feng, Xiang, &
Wang, 2007).
VMD was performed in a microwave oven (10 W/g, 0.09 MPa;
NJL07-3, Quanjie equipment Co., Ltd, Nanjing, China; Yang, 2012).
O-MD: Fish fillets were submerged in a 20 g/100 g salt solution
at 30
C for 2 hr. The fillets were washed with flowing distilled water,
and superficial water was removed. Weighted osmotic fillets were
dried in a microwave oven at 400 W (Hu, Duan, & Liu, 2016).
O-VMD: Fish fillets were submerged in a 20 g/100 g salt and
15 g/100 g sugar solution at 30
C for 2 hr. The osmosis dehydration
and vacuum microwave was performed as a previous study (Liu
et al., 2018).
2.3 | Determination of the shrinkage ratio and
rehydration rate
Sample volumes were measured using a volume determinator
(Volscan Profiler 300, Stable Micro System Company, UK) and were
calculated as in previous studies (Lima et al., 2016).
Dried fillets were placed into distilled water and heated in a water
bath at 30
C for 40 min, and superficial water was removed. The
rehydration ratio was calculated as:
mf − m0
Rf ¼ × 100%
m0
where Rf is the rehydration rate, mf is the weight of the fillet after
rehydration, and m0 is the weight of the fillet before rehydration.
2.4 | Determination of color
The color was determined using a color reader (10, Konica Minolta
Company, Japan) according to previous studies (Link, Tribuzi, & Laur-
indo, 2017).
The change of color was described by ΔE, which was calcu-
lated as:
qffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
 2
ΔE ¼ ðL0 − Lt Þ2 + ða0 − at Þ2 + b0 − bt
0
WANG ET AL. 3 of 7

where L0 and Lt are L* value before and after drying, a0 and at are the
a value before and after drying, b0 and bt are the b* value before and
after drying.

2.5 | Determination of hardness and elasticity

Hardness and elasticity were measured using a CT3 texture analyzer
(Brookfield company, USA) with a cylindrical probe (5 mm in diameter)
at a test speed of 1 mm/s and a test distance of 1.5 mm.

2.6 | Determination of microstructure

The fillets were sliced, gold-sprayed and observed via scanning elec-
tron microscope (S-3000 N Hitachi Company, Japan) to compare the
microstructures of fillets after drying.

2.7 | Determination of per-unit energy consumption

Per-unit energy consumption was calculated as:

60P × T ð100− Mt Þ
N¼
mðM0 − Mt Þ

where N is per-unit energy consumption, P is the electric energy input,

T is the drying time, Mt is moisture ratio after drying, M0 is moisture
ratio before drying, and m is the weight of the fillet before drying
(Changrue, Orsat, & Raghavan, 2008).

2.8 | Determination of the main nutritional
components
The main nutrients in tilapia fillets were protein and fat. The fat con-
tent was measured by Soxhlet extraction (Fat Analyzer SZF-06A, Tuo-
puyunnong Polytron Technologies Inc., Zhejiang, China). The protein
FIGURE 1 Changes in tilapia fillets' shrinkage ratio (a) and
rehydration ratio (b) under the four drying methods. HAD: Hot-air
drying; VMD: Vacuum microwave drying; O-MD: Osmosis microwave
drying; O-VMD: Osmosis vacuum microwave drying. The results are
expressed as the means  SD (n = 3). Values with different
superscripts are significantly different (p < .05)

content was measured by Kjeldahl determination.

2.9 | Statistical analysis
All tests were carried out in triplicate. Means  square deviations (SD)
were used to express results. SPSS 17.0 software (SPSS Inc., Chicago,
IL) was used to analyze the data. The differences among various
groups were compared by One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) fol-
lowed by Duncan's multiple range test. Values with different super-
scripts are significantly different (p < .05).
3 | RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
3.1 | Shrinkage ratio
and the moisture inside of the muscle migrated outward because of
the existence of water gradients. Thus, the fillet's structure became
dense due to water loss. Interestingly, the shrinkage ratio of O-VMD
was 45.14%, which was relatively higher than those of VMD and O-
MD because of expansion during vacuum microwave drying after
shrinkage in the osmotic treatment. With pretreatment by osmotic
dehydration, the lack of steam pressure caused by the low-level mois-
ture content resulted in reduced formation of porous structures.
The shrinkage ratios of VMD (35.97%) and O-MD (34.48%) were
significantly lower than those of HAD and O-VMD because expansion
occurred during drying. In the process of VMD, the vacuum caused
boiling point depression, and the water inside the fillets rapidly vapor-
ized. Porous structures became larger, and shrinkage levels decreased
(Chong, Figiel, Law, & Wojdyło, 2014). Meanwhile, during O-MD, the

During the drying process, the volume of the fillet changed with microwave rapidly vaporized the water in the fillets, contributing to

decreasing moisture content. Shrinkage depended on the rate of the decrease in the shrinkage level.
water migration. The high vapor pressure, caused by high internal
evaporation speed, made the cell structure expanded, which resulted
ska, Kowalski, & Stasiak, 2016). The
3.2 | Rehydration rate
in volume shrinkage (Szadzin
shrinkage ratio of HAD was 51.93%, which was significantly higher The rehydration rate was correlated with the samples' porous struc-
than those from other treatments (p < .05, Figure 1a). In HAD, the ture, as destroying the cellular structure decreased the rehydration
superficial water evaporated during the hot-air during drying time, rate of the samples. The rehydration rates of VMD and HAD were
4 of 7
103.6% and 80.38%, significantly higher than the rates of O-MD
(38.76%) and O-VMD (37.44%; Figure 1b).
During the drying of VMD, the vacuum decreased water's boiling
point. Water inside of the fillets rapidly vaporized, leaving many holes
with water-holding capacity, which increased the rehydration rate of
samples (Zhang et al., 2016). During the HAD process, low water
evaporation caused disruption and destruction of cells and structures
in fillets, and compact structures partially influenced the rehydration
rate (Deng et al., 2014). The low rehydration rate of O-MD and O-
VMD was mainly due to the existence of osmotic media (sugar or salt).
Osmotic medium (sugar or salt) was introduced into the interstitial
spaces of fillets during the pretreatment process, causing a weight
increase. During rehydration, dried fillets were immersed in distilled
water and the osmotic medium was dissolved in the water, which
reduced the weight of fillets. Therefore, the rehydration rate of pre-
treated fish fillets was relatively low (Ye et al., 2017). In addition, there
was a lack of steam pressure caused by the decrease in moisture con-
tent before microwave drying via osmotic dehydration. The pretreat-
ment resulted reduced formation of porous structures, which were
the determining factor for water holding capacity. Thus, the rehydra-
tion rate of VMD was high, while the rehydration rate of HAD was
more than double the rates of O-MD and O-VMD.
3.3 | Color
L* measures the lightness value, from completely opaque (0) to
completely transparent (100); a* measures the degree of red (+a*) or
green (−a*) color; b* measures the degree of yellow (+b*) or blue (−b*)
color (Calín-Sánchez, Figiel, Wojdyło, Szarycz, & Carbonell-Barrachina,
2014). Changes in food color during drying was affected by many fac-
tors, such as pigment degradation, enzymatic, and nonenzymatic
browning (Ling, Tang, Kong, Mitcham, & Wang, 2014). As shown in
Table 1, the lightness values (L*) of the four treatments (64.8–78.6)
were significantly increased compared with the values before drying
(59.2; p < .05), and the L* value of VMD (66.3) was similar to the value
of O-VMD (64.8). The L* value indicated the lightness of the samples,
which was mainly determined by the reflectivity of the material sur-
face (Maskan, 2001). Heating denatured the proteins in the fillets, ren-
dering them whiter. Light reflection caused by light scattering from
denatured proteins lead to lightness changes. During O-MD and O-
VMD, the crystallization of salt and sugar in the osmotic fluid precipi-
tated this increase, except for protein denaturation (Guo, Sun,
Cheng, & Han, 2017).
*
The red values (a ) of VMD (4.2) and O-VMD (4.9) were not sig-
nificantly different from that of fresh fillets (4.3), while the red value
TABLE 1 Changes in tilapia fillets' color under the four drying methods
Fillets L* a*
FRESH 59.2  0.81a 4.3  0.23a
HAD 68.1  0.91 c
6.5  0.17
VMD 66.3  0.61 b
4.9  0.52
O-MD 78.6  0.44 b
6.2  0.17
O-VMD 64.8  0.88ab 4.2  0.44a
Results are expressed as the means  SD (n = 3). Values within a column with different superscripts are significantly different (p < .05). HAD = hot air dry-
ing; VMD = vacuum microwave drying; O-MD = osmosis microwave; osmosis vacuum microwave drying = O-VMD.
WANG ET AL.
of HAD (6.5) and O-MD (6.5) were significantly higher than those of
the other three samples (p < .05). Finally, the yellow values (b*) of
dried fillets (21.7–25.4) were significantly higher than those of fresh
fillets (9.6). In the process of HAD, fillets were exposed to the air and
prone to lipid oxidation, which changed the color of the fillets. The
increased a* and b* values of O-MD and O-VMD were due to the
influences of amino acids and sugars in the Maillard reaction. The air
in the microwave oven was thin, which limited the lipid oxidation of
fillets. The color change (ΔE) of O-VMD was minimal (13.8) compared
to the fresh sample. Consumers' acceptability to products was directly
affected by color change (Li et al., 2017). The greatest influence on
the color changes of fillets was caused by O-MD (22.8).
3.4 | Hardness and elasticity
Cellular matrix and soluble solid phase inside the tissue were inter-
acted with water during drying, which contributed to the hardness
and elasticity changes of drying sample (Li et al., 2017). The main
structural factors affecting texture are associated with connective tis-
sue and myofibrillar protein (myosin and actin) (Ortiz et al., 2013).
Figure 2a showed that the hardness of the fillets after vacuum micro-
wave drying (74 g) was lower than those following HAD (848 g), O-
MD (251 g), and O-VMD (221 g). The fillet was compact and uniform
in structure due to the HAD process, which resulted in an irreversible
destruction of cell structure (Durance & Wang, 2002). High tempera-
ture induced a greater denaturation of the connective tissues and
myofibrillar proteins, leading to sample hardening (Ortiz et al., 2013).
Therefore, the hardness due to HAD was much higher than those due
to the other drying methods (Chong et al., 2014). During VMD, water
inside of fillets rapidly vaporized so that the structure became porous,
and the texture became soft after rehydration. The holes tended to
collapse under external forces. Due to the osmotic pretreatments in
O-MD and O-VMD, the fillet's structure became dense, and the lack
of steam pressure resulted in less formation of porous structures.
Thus, the hardness levels of O-MD and O-VMD were higher than that
of VMD.
As shown in Figure 2b, the elasticity after rehydration following
VMD was 0.27 g, which was higher than those of the other three
treatments (0.23–0.25 g), but there was no significant difference
among the different drying methods (p < .05).
3.5 | Main nutritional components
Table 2 shows the changes in nutrients after the four drying treatments.
A significant difference was observed among fillets (p < .05). The protein
b* ΔE
9.6  0.32a –
b
23.7  0.49 c
17.3  0.72b
a
25.4  0.69 d
17.4  0.87b
b
21.4  0.15 b
22.8  0.44c
21.7  0.52b 13.8  0.81a
WANG ET AL.
FIGURE 2 Changes in tilapia fillets' hardness (a) and elasticity
(b) under the four drying methods
contents in fillets dried following osmosis were lower than those of fillets
dried via HAD (83.18 g/100 g) and VMD (84.05 g/100 g). The surface
soluble proteins of fish fillets, such as salt-soluble proteins, dissolved in
the osmotic liquid, which resulted decreases in the total protein content
(Chaijan, 2011). Osmotic medium (sugar or salt) filled the interstitial
spaces of fillets, causing an increase in the total weight of fillets, meaning
that the protein proportion decreased. In addition, the protein content of
O-VMD (82.31 g/100 g) was higher than the content of O-MD
(81.11 g/100 g). In osmotic liquid, the molecular weight of sugar was
larger than that of salt. Sugar molecules attached on the fillets' surfaces
and blocked salt diffusion, which maintained the proportion of protein in
the fillets. Furthermore, drying at low temperature and in a vacuum envi-
ronment protected proteins from denaturation.
The crude fat content following HAD (3.74 g/100 g) was signifi-
cantly lower than those following other treatments (4.90–5.45 g/100 g),
similar to the findings in another report (Wu & Mao, 2008). During HAD,
lipid substances were observed flowing from fillets. An experimental
phenomenon was observed in HAD: lipids oozed from intercellular gaps
because of the disruption and destruction of cells and structures in fillets.
TABLE 2 Changes in tilapia fillets' nutritional components under the four drying methods
Nutritional
Components FRESH HAD
Protein g/100 g 27.61  0.14d 83.18  0.09a
Fat g/100 g 1.15  0.09d 3.74  0.06c
Results are expressed as the means  SD (n = 3). Values within a row with different superscripts are significantly different (p < .05). HAD = hot air drying;
VMD = vacuum microwave drying; O-MD = osmosis microwave; osmosis vacuum microwave drying = O-VMD.
5 of 7
In the O-MD and O-VMD processes, the osmotic pressure differences
between the osmotic liquid and the cell fluid disrupted the superficial
cells, resulting in partial fat loss from the fillets. Additionally, some lipids
were extruded from the intercellular gap because of fillet shrinkage dur-
ing drying. Thus, the crude fat content following VMD was higher than
those of the other three methods. Other research showed that the
microwave oven had less destructive effect on the fat in the sample
(Chizoba Ekezie et al., 2017).
3.6 | Microstructure
The quality index of drying fillets correlated with their microstructure,
similar to what has been reported in other research (Jiang et al., 2017;
Link et al., 2017). As shown in Figure 3a, the fillets were compact and
uniform in structure following HAD. Due to the rapid evaporation of
surface moisture, internal moisture transferred to the fillets' surfaces
with the water gradient, which was consistent with the relatively high
shrinkage ratio and rehydration rate of HAD. The changes in cell
structure were attributed to the moisture evaporation by the addi-
tional microwave heated (Su, Zhang, Bhandari, & Zhang, 2018).
Figure 3b shows that the microscopic holes formed during the VMD
process were bigger than those formed during the other processes.
During VMD, water inside the fillets rapidly vaporized, and muscle tis-
sue puffed. Figure 3c,d shows that the muscle fiber tissues were more
compact after drying by O-MD and O-VMD. The microscopic holes in
O-MD fillets were larger than the holes in O-VMD fillets. The tissues
of fillets pretreated with osmotic liquid tended to dehydrate and
attached to each other.
Then, during the process of microwave dying, rapid moisture
evaporation caused the formation of large microscopic holes. The high
vapor pressure disrupted and destroyed the cells and structures. Rapid
evaporation of water under vacuum conditions produced larger num-
bers of small-diameter holes, which reduce fillet shrinkage. At the
same time, porous structure contributed to water evaporation and
accelerated dehydration of samples (Nowacka & Wedzik, 2016). Pic-
tures showed that fillets treated with the different drying methods
had different degrees of compactness in their muscle structures (Deng
et al., 2014).
3.7 | Per-unit energy consumption
As drying time increased, more energy was used. As shown in Table 3,
during HAD, much more drying time (1,080 min) and energy (13,515
kL/g) were required when the fillets were dried to a safe moisture
content (wet-base moisture content ≤12%), whereas the time for O-
MD (3 min) was shorter. This phenomenon was related to the mode
of heat conduction. In the HAD process, hot air was the medium for
VMD O-MD O-VMD
84.05  0.04a 81.11  0.06c 82.31  0.05b
5.45  0.11a 4.90  0.04b 5.31  0.15a
6 of 7 WANG ET AL.

FIGURE 3 Scanning electron microscopy map of tilapia fillets under the four drying methods

heat, and the water evaporation rate was slow. In the later drying one of the evaluation criteria, per-unit energy consumption provided
stage, the surface of the fish hardened, which prevented water evapo- a reference for low carbon drying.
ration (Xiaolei, Xia, Chunhui, Jinzhi, & Wei, 2015). Additionally, with
the increasing drying time, the porous structure caved, which led to a
greater degree of shrinkage (Therdthai & Zhou, 2009). In the other
4 | CONC LU SION
drying methods, water in the fillets was heated by microwave radia-
The drying quality and structure of tilapia fillets were significantly dif-
tion, which was efficient, reducing both drying time and energy con-
ferent with the four methods of drying. The fat content of O-VMD
sumption (Zhao et al., 2014). During VMD, water inside the fillets
was relatively high, suggesting less fat loss during drying. The porous
rapidly vaporized so that the time of drying was shorter than that of
structure decreased the shrinkage ratio and rehydration rate because
HAD, which meant lower energy consumption. Osmotic pretreatment
of the resulting water capacity. Vacuum application resulted in boiling
of O-MD and O-VMD resulted in reduced moisture contents in the fil-
point depression, which led to hole formation. Osmotic pretreatment
lets, which shortened the drying time in the later drying stage and
reduced the initial moisture content and decreased the number of
saved energy (Fathi, Mohebbi, & Razavi, 2011). The drying time of O-
micropores. The results showed that quality indexes were associated
MD (3 min) was shorter than the time of O-VMD (11 min) because O-
with microstructure. In terms of microstructure, color change, and unit
MD fillets were heated at atmospheric conditions, whereas micro-
energy consumption, the quality of O-VMD fillets was better than
wave radiation heated the fillets directly, and the water rapidly evapo-
that of other treatments. More importantly, O-MVD reduced the dry-
rated into the surrounding air. In the process of O-VMD, fillets were
ing time by 99% compared to the traditional drying method (HAD).
heated in a vacuum tank, which absorbed some of the microwaves. As
Thus, O-VMD was suitable to be applied to manufacture high-quality
fish fillets in a short time, resulting in low energy consumption.
TABLE 3 Drying time and energy consumption of the four drying
methods
Drying Time Moisture Per-energy
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Method (min) Content (%) consumption (kJ/g) The authors wish to acknowledge financial support from funds of the
FRESH – 69.42  0.69 – National Natural Science Foundation of China (31601531), the project
HAD 1,080 10.98  0.23 13515a
of Haikou Ocean and Fisheries Bureau (HHCL201804), Key Project of
VMD 34 10.28  0.15 26.54b
Science and Technology of Haikou (2017051) and the Scientific
O-MD 3 10.79  0.31 11.48c
Research Foundation of Hainan University (KYQD1609).
O-VMD 11 10.60  0.27 24.04b

Results are expressed as the means  SD (n = 3). Values within a column

with different superscripts are significantly different (p < .05). HAD = hot CONFLIC T OF INT E RE ST
air drying; VMD = vacuum microwave drying; O-MD = osmosis micro-
wave; osmosis vacuum microwave drying = O-VMD. The author declares that there are no conflicts of interest.
WANG ET AL.
ORCID
Chuan Li https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5612-522X
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How to cite this article: Wang Q, Liu B, Cao J, Li C, Duan Z.
The impacts of vacuum microwave drying on osmosis dehy-
dration of tilapia fillets. J Food Process Eng. 2019;42:e12956.
https://doi.org/10.1111/jfpe.12956