| The impact of the drying process on the characteristics of rose petals is investigated using a heat pump-equipped dryer |
| Paper ID : 1060-NICAME1402 |
| Authors: |
|
Mehran Fatehi Pekani *, majid Yousefi vardanjani Isfahan University of Technology (IUT) |
| Abstract: |
| Drying is one of the most important and oldest processes after harvest for many agricultural products. Since agricultural products are susceptible to spoilage due to high moisture content, the drying process can reduce the moisture content to an acceptable level and reduce physical and chemical changes during storage by reducing water activity, enzyme activity, and microbial activity. However, drying can also reduce the quality and nutritional value of food and cause irreversible structural damage to food. Considering the limited harvesting season of rose petals, which is approximately 20 days per year, designing an operational system for the drying process seems necessary. One of the new technologies in the design of dryers is the use of moisture removal systems alongside dryers in a closed cycle. These systems, which use a heat pump to remove moisture from the outlet air of the dryer and recover its significant and latent energy, are known as heat pump dryers. This study investigated the effect of a hot air dryer equipped with a heat pump at different temperatures on the characteristics of rose petals. The results showed that using this type of dryer increased the quality of the dried product to the extent that not only the drying rate was higher compared to conditions where a dryer without a heat pump was used at the same temperature, but also the amount of essential oil and color changes indicated an improvement in the quality of the dried product under the influence of the heat pump. |
| Keywords: |
| Hot air dryer, Heat pump, Drying rate, Rose petal essential oil, Color changes |
| Status : Paper Accepted (Poster Presentation) |
