Abstract—Impact of an electric field treatment (PEF) on tissue permeability has been studied based on the kinetics of dehydration of biological particles (ex. Shredded carrots). The moisture loss kinetics of the particles placed in a closed chamber, have been studied based on continuously measured relative humidity (ΔΦ) of circulating air. The apparatus could be used for the subsequent pressing/PEF treatment operation and air circulation. Using two thermo-hygrometers, the continuous measurements of the relative humidity difference between entering and exiting air, were used in a normalized form to follow the kinetics of water loss for various air speed and and/or following PEF treatment. Commonly, several kinetic models may be correlated with experimental data, i.e. Fickian, Page’s, and empirical types. These correlations showed that Page’s type model, which is characterized by drying speed (k in min-1) and time exponent (n), is best suited for this type of tissue (exhibiting shrinkage). The effect of an electric field pre-treatment on humidity transport within the particles was also illustrated using this experimental setup. An increased permeability of the tissue resulted in about 20% drying time reduction following PEF pretreatment compared to drying without PEF.
Index Terms—Biological particles processing, electric fields, modeling moisture loss kinetics, forced convection relative humidity, page’s model.
Bessadok-Jemai A. and HadjKali M. K. are with the King Saud University, CoE-CHE, P.O. Box 800 Riyadh 11421- KSA (e-mail: abessadok@ksu.edu.sa, mhadjkali@ksu.edu.sa).
Khezami L. is with Al Imam Mohammed Ibn Saud University, Faculty of Sciences-Department of Chemistry P.O.Box: 90950 Riyadh: 11623-KSA (e-mail: lkhezami@gmail.com).
Vorobiev E. is with the University of Technology of Compiegne, Chemical & Industrial Process Engineering Department Compiegne, France (e-mail: Vorobiev.Eugene@utc.fr).
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Cite: Bessadok-Jemai A., Khezami L., Hadjkali M. K., and Vorobiev E., "Enhanced Permeability of Biological Tissue Following Electric Field Treatment and Its Impact on Forced Convection Dehydration," International Journal of Chemical Engineering and Applications vol. 7, no. 1, pp. 42-46, 2016.
