Drying Line

Subject : Student READY-Experiential Learning Programme-I

FPO-471 (7th Semester)

Submitted to :
Dr. Govind P.T
Assistant Professor
Department of Food Processing Technology

College of Food Processing Technology and Bio Energy

Anand Agricultural University
Anand - 388110
Group Members:
Tatvik Patel 3070920028
Vandana Pavra 3070920029
Rakesh Kumar Saini 3070920031
Manas Savaliya 3070920034
Sounak Biswas 3070920039
Contents:
• Introduction of Drying
• Drying
• Drying of Pumpkin
• Equipments
• Calculation
 What is Drying?
• Drying Definition: Removal of moisture from food and
other products to a predetermined level.
• Preservation Method: One of the oldest methods for
preserving food.
• Inhibition of Spoilage: Drying inhibits food spoilage and
the activities of toxic microorganisms.
• Thermo-Physical and Physico-Chemical Operation:
Involves the application of heat and physical/chemical
processes.
• Microbial Inhibition: Lack of sufficient water prevents the
growth of microorganisms causing spoilage.
• Objective: Enables long-term storage of food without
deterioration.
 Objectives of food drying:
• Extending Shelf-Life: The primary objective of drying is to
extend the shelf-life of foods
• Inhibition of Microbial Growth: Drying effectively reduces the
moisture content in foods, which inhibits the growth of
microorganisms.
• Enzyme Activity Reduction: Enzymes in food play a significant
role in promoting chemical reactions that can cause undesirable
changes, such as browning, texture deterioration, and nutrient
degradation.
• Reduction in Weight and Bulk: Drying removes a significant
amount of water from foods, leading to a reduction in weight and
bulk
• Preservation of Nutrients: Drying can help preserve the
nutritional value of foods by minimizing nutrient degradation.
 Controlling Factors for Drying:
• Two important process-controlling factors that enter into
the unit operation of drying:
1. Transfer of heat to provide the necessary latent heat of
vaporization
2. Movement of water or water vapour through the food
material and then away from it to effect separation of
water from foodstuff.
 Drying Mechanism:
• Principles of Transport: Governed by principles of heat
and mass transport.
• Moist Solid Heating: When heated, moisture near the
solid surface vaporizes, and external drying medium
(usually air or hot gas) supplies the heat for evaporation.
• Diffusional Process: Drying is a diffusional process,
where moisture transfer occurs through the evaporation
of surface moisture.
 Continue….

• Continuous Moisture Transport: As surface moisture

vaporizes, more moisture is transported from the interior
of the solid to its surface.
• Mechanisms of Moisture Transport: Depend on the
nature, type, and state of aggregation of the solid.
• Classification of Mechanisms: Broadly classified into
(i) transport by liquid or vapor diffusion, (ii) capillary
action, and (iii) pressure-induced transport.
• Dominant Mechanism: The dominating mechanism
depends on the nature of the solid, its pore structure, and
the rate of drying.
 Advantages of drying:
• Food may be dried for various reasons viz. to decrease
weight and bulk; to retain size and shape of original food;
to produce convenience items.
• Drying is advantageous for being cheaper than the other
methods of preservation with less requirement of
equipments.
• Storage of dried food products does not require special
facilities like refrigeration etc.
• Dried food products are simple to store and pack
because of their low volume.
Difference between Drying and
Dehydration
 Drying of Pumpkin Cubes:

• Pumpkin (Cucurbita pepo) is a

cultivated winter squash
• They are widely cultivated in South
Asia, Africa, India, Latin America, and
the United States.
• Pumpkin contains various bioactive
compounds, such as carotenes,
lutein, zeaxanthin, vitamin E, ascorbic
acid, phytosterols, selenium, and
linoleic acid, which operate as
antioxidants in the human diet
 Drying Flowchart of Pumpkin Cubes

Fresh Pumkin (11.5 kg; Initial Moisture Content 95.46%)

Peeling, Cutting and Seeds Removal

Dicing (Pumpkin Cubes)

Pre-treatment i.e Blanching (94ºC; 2 min) and Sulphitation (KMS;1000 ppm;10 min)

Draining out excess moisture using Muslin Cloth

Continue….
Placing and spreading of pumpkin cubes on tray

Introduction of tray into drying chamber (Vacuum Dryer)

Temperature and Pressure Setting of Dryer (70ºC; 430 psi)

Drying (16 hours)

Dried Pumpkin Cubes (272 grams; 9.25% m.c)

 Equipments:
1. Vacuum Dryer:
• Vacuum drying is generally used for the drying of substances which are
hygroscopic and heat sensitive.
• It is based on the principle of creating a vacuum to decrease the chamber
pressure below the vapour pressure of the water, causing it to boil.
• Hence, water evaporates faster. The heat transfer becomes, i.e., rate of drying
enhances substantially

Fig.2 Vacuum Dryer

 2. Spray Dryer:
• A spray dryer is composed of a feed pump, atomizer, air heating
unit, air dispenser, drying chamber (diameter of the drying chamber
ranges between 2.5 to 9.0 m and height is 25 m or more)
• The spray disk atomizer is about 300 millimetres in diameter and
rotates at a speed of 3,000 to 50,000 revolutions per minutes.
• In the spray dryer the liquid to be dried is atomised into the good
droplets, that are tossed radially into a relocating stream of warm
gas

Fig.5 Spray Dryer

 Hazard Analysis:

• Physical Hazards: Mechanical injury, Falling objects,

Contaminants from our body like hairs, nails, Poor
sanitation, Metal contaminants etc.
• Chemical Hazards: Pesticide residues, Additives,
Contaminated water
• Biological Hazards: Microbial contamination, Insect
infestation
 Determination of Critical Control Points
(CCPs)
The critical control points (CCPs) in the process of drying
pumpkin are:
• Temperature and time for blanching
• Concentration of KMS solution for sulphitation
• Time and temperature for vacuum drying
• Final moisture content of pumpkin

These CCPs must be carefully controlled to eliminate, or

reduce hazards to acceptable levels.
Establish critical limits:

Setting of specific criteria for each CCP to ensure that the

process is under control:

• Blanching : Temperature 94 0C, for 2 min to inactivate

peroxidase and catalase enzymes
• Sulphitation : Pumpkin cubes are dipped in a 1000 ppm
KMS solution for 10 minutes. Hence, for sulphitation 1000
ppm KMS is the critical concentration and 10 min is the
critical time for which sulphitation can be done.
• Vacuum Drying : Temperature is set at 70
• Setting of limit for final moisture content of pumpkin
Corrective actions:
• Temperature Issues:
1. If the drying temperature is too low:
Monitor the temperature closely to ensure it remains
within the recommended range.
2. If the drying temperature is too high:
Decrease the temperature to a suitable level to
prevent product degradation and maintain quality.

• Equipment Issues:
Promptly repair or replace the faulty equipment to ensure
consistent and efficient drying.
 Observation
Initial Moisture Content of Pumpkin: 96.25%
Weight of Pumpkin cubes after peeling and dicing: 7284 g
Final Moisture Content of dried pumpkin cubes: 9.25%
Weight of dried pumpkin cubes: 272 g
Waste Index: 31.96 %

Table 2: Drying time for pumpkin in vacuum dryer

Sr. No. Initial Weight Moisture Reading Drying
of sample in content taken after rate(g/h)
grams time in
hours
1 7824 96.25 0 0
2 3547 54.66 5 14.25
3 439 19.136 5 hours and 8.88
30 min
4 272 9.25 5 hours and 0.506
30 min
 Calculations:

Formulae Used

Initial moisture content =

Moisture content =

{where, x= dry matter}

Drying rate at  time =

Waste Index = Waste Weight*100/Total Weight

= 3.767*100/11.500 = 31.96%
 Drying Curve

16
14.25
14

12

10
Drying rate(g/h)

8.88

2
0.506
0
0
0 20 40 60 80 100 120
Moisture content(%)

Fig. Drying Curve

 120

100
96.25

80
Moisture content(%)

60 54.66

40

19.136
20
9.25

0
0 5 10 15 20 25
Time(hour)

Fig.: Variation in moisture content of pumpkin with

drying time for vacuum drying
Conclusion:

 Initial moisture content of pumpkin: 95.46 %

 Final moisture content of pumpkin: 9.25 %