Multiphysics Modelling of Food Dehydration during RF Exposure

R. Renshaw[1]
[1]e2v Ltd., Essex, United Kingdom
Published in 2009

There is a requirement for an RF (Radiofrequency) industrial dryer that will be capable of dehydrating foodstuff to the correct level after the product has been fried. RF drying should actively target moisture, due to waters high dielectric properties. An industrial dryer can be optimized using modeling to obtain the correct moisture removal rates in the RF drying process. Measurement of the dielectric properties was carried out at varying moisture levels to obtain the correct dielectric material properties for this model. The foodstuff can be accurately described as porous media. The model essentially describes dehydration of the foodstuff through evaporation and transport phenomena, driven by RF heating.

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