Drying Characteristics of Red Peppers by Infrared Heating

원적외선 가열에 의한 고추의 건조특성

Infrared heating has been traditionally used in industrial applications for processes such as dehydration of food industrial. This heating method involves the application of radiation in the wavelength range of 5~50 micrometers. In this work, simultaneous heat balance equations were developed to simulate the infrared radiation heating of red peppers. The equations assume that moisture diffuses to the outer boundaries of the material in liquid form and evaporation occurs at the surface of the red peppers. Energy for moisture evaporation is supplied by the infrared radiant energy. The equations were validated with experimental data on surface temperature and average moisture content of red peppers. Average deviations of predicted surface red peppers temperature and average red peppers moisture from experimental data were 323~353K and 50~80%, respectively. The spectral extinction coefficients in the wavelength range $1.5<{\lambda}<27$ micrometer at 293K for Red Peppers were determined from results of reflection measurements and the four flux radiative heat transfer calculation. The radiation extinction coefficients were obtained from effective drying factor the temperature 373K.