Investigation of Drying Kinetics and Color Characteristics of White Radish Strips under Microwave Drying

Purpose: This study (a) investigated the effect of microwave power intensity and sample thickness on microwave drying characteristics of radish strips, and (b) determined the best-fit drying model for describing experimental drying data, effective moisture diffusivity ($D_{eff}$), and activation energy ($E_a$) for all drying conditions. Methods: A domestic microwave oven was modified for microwave drying and equipped with a small fan installed on the left upper side for removing water vapor during the drying process. Radishes were cut into two fixed-size strip shapes (6 and 9 mm in thickness). For drying experiments, the applied microwave power intensities ranged from 180 to 630 W at intervals of 90 W. Six drying models were evaluated to delineate the experimental drying curves of both radish strip samples. The effective moisture diffusivity ($D_{eff}$) was determined from Fick's diffusion method, and the Arrhenius equation was applied to calculate the activation energy ($E_a$). Results: The drying time was profoundly decreased as the microwave power intensity was increased regardless of the thickness of the radish strips; however, the drying rate of thicker strips was faster than that of the thinner strips up to a certain moisture content of the strip samples. The majority of the applied drying models were suitable to describe the drying characteristics of the radish strips for all drying conditions. Among the drying models, based on the model indices, the best model was the Page model. The range of estimated $D_{eff}$ for both strip samples was from $2.907{\times}10^{-9}$ to $1.215{\times}10^{-8}m^2/s$. $E_a$ for the 6- and 9-mm strips was 3.537 and 3.179 W/g, respectively. Conclusions: The microwave drying characteristics varied depending on the microwave power intensity and the thickness of the strips. In order to produce high-quality dried radish strips, the microwave power intensity should be lower than 180 W.