Drying characteristics of horse mackerel (Trachurus japonicus) dried

in a heat pump dehumidier

Qi-Long Shi
a,b
, Chang-Hu Xue
a,
*
, Ya Zhao
b
, Zhao-Jie Li
a
, Xiang-You Wang
b
a
College of Food Science and Engineering, Ocean University of China, No. 5, Yu Shan Road, Qingdao, Shandong Province 266003, PR China
b
College of Light Industry and Agricultural Engineering, Shandong University of Technology, Zhang Zhou Road, Zibo, Shandong
Province 255049, PR China
Received 13 November 2006; received in revised form 9 April 2007; accepted 11 April 2007
Available online 27 April 2007
Abstract
In this study, a heat pump dehumidier (HPD) was designed and constructed to investigate the drying characteristics of horse mack-
erel experimentally. Eects of surface load, drying air temperature, sodium chloride (NaCl) content in the osmotic solution, tempering,
evaporator bypass air ratio (BAR) and air velocity on the drying characteristics of horse mackerel have been investigated. Experimental
results showed that a high surface load of 8 kg/m
2
resulted in lower drying rate (DR), and surface load of 6 kg/m
2
was preferred by con-
sidering specic moisture evaporation rate (SMER) and total colour dierence (DE). DR increased with increase in the drying air tem-
perature. In view of SMER and DE, temperature at 2030 C was optimum air temperature for drying horse mackerel by HPD.
However, NaCl content in the osmotic solution and tempering played a minor role during drying horse mackerel by HPD. BAR of
0.60.8 obtained the maximal SMER. The optimum air velocity for drying horse mackerel by HPD was 2.03.0 m/s. Furthermore,
HPD provided an alternative way to process intermediate moisture llets.
2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Heat pump dehumidier; Drying; Horse mackerel; Drying characteristics
1. Introduction
Horse mackerel (Trachurus japonicus) is one of the
most important shery resources in the world. Its produc-
tivity is ranked as the third in all the single capture species
of the world, with annual landings that exceeded 510 mil-
lion tons in the past 10 years. Horse mackerel is well
known for its high fat content, especially unsaturated fatty
acid. However, due to high content of protein and dark
muscle, it is susceptible to deterioration during processing
and storage. Therefore, a large amount of horse mackerel
is wasted because of inappropriate processing technique.
In China, horse mackerel is an underutilized species and
its value may be enhanced by a preservation technique
such as drying that will enable this product to be con-
sumed more extensively at low cost. Therefore, new equip-
ments and technology must be applied to enhance its
value and to improve the prot of horse mackerel
industry.
Drying by dehumidication refers to a process in which
moisture is removed from a solid using heat as the energy
input. In many agricultural countries, large quantities of
food products are dried to improve shelf life, reduce pack-
aging costs, lower shipping weights, enhance appearance,
retain original avour and maintain nutritional value (Sok-
hansanj & Jayas, 1987). However, from an engineering
point of view, it is obvious that drying is an energy-inten-
sive process because latent heat has to be supplied to the
material to evaporate the moisture. Conventional dryers
require large quantities of energy for heating and removing
water, and a relatively high temperature moist air is
allowed to leave from the open circuit dryer, which is con-
0260-8774/$ - see front matter 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.jfoodeng.2007.04.012
*
Corresponding author. Tel./fax: +86 532 82032468.
E-mail addresses: shiqilong2006@hotmail.com (Q.-L. Shi), xuech@
mail.ouc.edu.cn (C.-H. Xue).
www.elsevier.com/locate/jfoodeng
Journal of Food Engineering 84 (2008) 1220
sidered not only as a waste but also detrimental to the envi-
ronment (Bannister, Chen, Grey, Carrington, & Sun,
1997).
It was reported that the drying process consumes 10
15% of total industrial energy demand (Chua, Mujumdar,
Chou, Hawlader, & Ho, 2000). In order to reduce the
energy consumption, it is necessary to select an ecient
heating system. The heat pump presented an ecient and
environmentally friendly technology due to its low energy
consumption (Strommen et al., 2000). Integration of the
heat pump and the dryer was known as a heat pump dryer
or a heat pump dehumidier (HPD). It was noted that the
heat pump evaporator could be used to dehumidify the
process air in the drying unit, which was particularly an
attractive feature for drying. Dehumidication of the pro-
cess air can be achieved when the evaporator surface tem-
perature is lower than the dew point temperature of the
process air at the evaporator inlet. Comparing with con-
ventional dryers, HPDs have many advantages, including
higher energy eciency due to the high coecient of per-
formance and better product quality due to their non-reli-
ance on ambient air conditions (including problems with
insects and birds) and easier control of drying conditions
(Perera & Rahman, 1997; Strommen et al., 2000). Addi-
tionally, HPD had the ability to operate independently of
outside ambient weather conditions as compared with solar
dryers (Jain, 2006).
There is an increased demand for convenient foods
including ready to eat and instant products, which are
desired to contain the minimum concentration of additives
and preservatives (Alves-Filho, 2002; Hawlader, Perera, &
Tian, 2006). Minimizing additives in food materials during
drying, and retaining their high quality, mainly depended
on equipments and technology innovations. To meet this
challenge, some of the research works have been carried
out. Alves-Filho (2002) developed a HPD to produce dried
instant fruits and vegetables. A HPD can be operated over
a wide range of temperatures, providing good conditions
for the drying of heat sensitive materials. The technology
requires less energy, as the system can recover the latent
heat in a closed loop, and can be independent of ambient
weather conditions (Hawlader, Chou, Ho, & Chua, 1998;
Perera & Rahman, 1997). Strommen, Eikevik, Alves-Filho,
Syverud, and Jonassen (2002) found that HPDs consume
6080% less energy than conventional dryers operating at
the same temperature.
Although drying technology has been used extensively in
shery industry for many years, application of HPD to dry
sh is still scarce in China and there is a lack of HPD dry-
ing characteristics data. This work was aimed to investigate
the drying characteristics of horse mackerel using a HPD
related with colour and energy attributes. Therefore, an
experimental HPD working with R134a as a working uid
was designed and constructed to study the eects of various
operating conditions, such as surface load, drying air tem-
perature, NaCl content in the osmotic solution, tempering,
BAR and air velocity on its drying characteristics, its col-
our and energy attributes (SMER).
2. Materials and methods
2.1. Raw materials
The frozen Horse mackerel were purchased from local
market and then delivered to the laboratory on ice. The
weight of the individual sh was 95 5 g with an overall
length of about 20 1 cm. The proximate compositions
of frozen sh were moisture content 74.0% (w.b.), protein
22.05% (w.b.), fat content 2.55% (w.b.) and ash 1.33%
(w.b.). Before the experiment, the sh were thawed, washed
and gutted, then followed by cutting in half through the
dorsal esh.
Nomenclature
a
*
hunter redness value
b
*
hunter yellowness value
BAR evaporator bypass air ratio (decimal)
d.b. dry basis (kg water/kg dry solids)
DR drying rate, kg
H
2
O
=kg
d:b:
h
E hunter colour dierence
HPD heat pump dehumidier/dryer
L
*
hunter lightness value
M moisture content (%)
MR moisture ratio, dimensionless
NaCl sodium chloride
RH relative humidity (%)
SMER specic moisture evaporation rate (kg/kW h)
T temperature (C)
w.b. wet basis (kg water/kg mass)
Greek symbol
D change in colour parameters
Subscripts
0 initial moisture content
1 before heat pump dehumidier drying
d dry basis
e equilibrium moisture content
i drying time i
i + 1 drying time i + 1
r refrigerant
t drying time t
w wet basis
Q.-L. Shi et al. / Journal of Food Engineering 84 (2008) 1220 13
2.2. Salting (osmotic dehydration)
Salting was conducted in plastic containers at low tem-
perature (8 2 C). The mass ratio of sh to the osmotic
solution was 1:3. The osmotic solution included 10% NaCl
(w/w) (all experiments except dierent NaCl content treat-
ment), 15% sugar (w/w), 1% pure ginger juice (w/w), 2%
yellow wine (w/w), 0.1% sodium glutamate (w/w), and
immersion time of 1 h. Finally the sh were lightly rinsed
with distilled water to remove excess sugar solution,
drained o on a stainless steel mesh screen, and wiped with
tissue paper to remove excess water.
2.3. Experimental apparatus
A schematic diagram of the experimental apparatus is
shown in Fig. 1. The apparatus has two circuits: one for
the drying air and the other for the refrigerant. The neces-
sary instruments and control devices were attached to the
apparatus. The air duct, dryer chamber and refrigerant
pipes were thermally insulated by polyethylene (PE) sheets
with 25 mm thickness.
The air circuit consisted of an air duct, an electric heater,
an evaporator, a condenser, an air blower and a dryer. The
air duct was made of iron sheet with 2 mm thickness. Two
dampers were mounted to control the air ow rate. A cen-
trifugal air blower of 370 W was used to draw the air from
the evaporator and bypass path into the condenser where
an electric heater of 800 W was used to control the air tem-
perature at the entrance of the evaporator if needed.
The drying chamber was made from a refrigerator box
of 6 mm thickness with width, depth and height of 700,
550 and 550 mm, respectively. A 3-tier-tray (400 250
360 mm), to carry the drying products, was made of stain-
less steel sieve (mesh 0.850 0.850 mm) with a total area of
0.3 m
2
.
The refrigerant circuit contained a compression heat
pump and its accessories. The heat pump consisted of a
reciprocating compressor (200 W), an evaporator (1 m
2
),
inner condenser (2 m
2
), an external air cooled condenser
(2 m
2
), a thermal expansion valve, accessories (receiver,
and lter-dryer) and the insulated piping system. After suc-
cessful sealing of the apparatus, the heat pump circuit was
evacuated, and the right amount of R134a (300 10 g) was
charged into the circuit.
The system was equipped with transducers to measure
weight, temperature, and RH. Refrigerant paths were mea-
sured by T type thermocouples that were connected to a
data logger with an accuracy of 1 C. JWS Series temper-
ature and humidity transmitters (Beijing Kunlun Haian
Co., Beijing, China) were used to measure temperature
and RH of the air in the closed loop HPD. A digital ane-
mometer (Model ZRQF-D, Beijing Detector Instrument
Co. Ltd., Beijing, China) was used to measure the air veloc-
ity in the duct. A digital balance (Model BK-1, Jiaxiang
High Technology Co., Beijing, China) was used to weigh
the material during the drying process. An XSL circulation
measurement device (Beijing Kunlun Haian Co., Beijing,
China) was used for data acquisition and control in associ-
ation with a Desktop PC. All these devices were calibrated
before using them for the experiment.
2.4. HPD procedures
The air blower was switched on and the air ow rate
through the main duct was adjusted to the required value.
Then, power is supplied to the electric heater to adjust the
air temperature to a predetermined value. After that, the
Fig. 1. A schematic diagram of an overall set-up. 1. Damper; 2. blower; 3. internal condenser; 4. auxiliary electric heater; 5. digital balance; 6. 3-tier-tray;
7. check valve; 8. expansion valve; 9. drying chamber; 10. external condenser; 11. three-way modulating valve; 12. compressor; 13. lter-dryer; 14.
thermostatic expansion valve; 15. condensate receiver; 16. damper; 17. evaporator; 18. circulation measurement device; 19. personal computer.
14 Q.-L. Shi et al. / Journal of Food Engineering 84 (2008) 1220
compressor was switched on to obtain the required drying
air temperature. Then, the sh were loaded on the tray sus-
pended from a digital balance capable of 10 kg (0.1%
accuracy). Periodic on-line weighing was performed per
min throughout the drying experiments. During the exper-
iments, the mass of sh under drying, the drying air tem-
perature, the air RH, and the temperature of evaporator,
internal and external condenser were periodically recorded
every 1 min until the experiment was completed.
2.5. Experimental design
After salting, horse mackerel were taken to HPD. The
eects of various operating parameters on the drying charac-
teristics, DEof horse mackerel and SMERwere investigated.
Table 1 lists the factors and levels of the experimental runs
covered in the present work. Drying experiments were
repeated three times.
2.5.1. Eect of surface load
The eect of surface load on the drying characteristics of
horse mackerel was investigated at drying air temperature
of 20 C and air velocity of 1.0 m/s. Surface loads of 1, 2,
4, 6 and 8 kg/m
2
with initial moisture contents (w.b.) of
72.87%, 71.68%, 71.64%, 72.69% and 70.86%, respectively,
were used.
2.5.2. Eect of drying air temperature
The eect of drying air temperature on the drying char-
acteristics of horse mackerel was investigated at a surface
load of 6 kg/m
2
and air velocity of 1.0 m/s. The initial
moisture contents (w.b.) of horse mackerel were 71.49%,
72.65%, 71.64% and 70.75% for the various runs at drying
air temperatures of 10, 20, 30 and 40 C, respectively.
2.5.3. Eect of NaCl content in the osmotic solution
The eect of NaCl content in the osmotic solution on
the drying characteristics of horse mackerel was investi-
gated at a surface load of 6 kg/m
2
, drying air temperature
of 20 C and air velocity of 1.0 m/s. The experiments were
conducted for NaCl content in the osmotic solution of 0%,
5%, 10%, 15% and 20% with initial moisture contents
(w.b.) of 71.01%, 70.37%, 70.39%, 68.00% and 67.03%,
respectively.
2.5.4. Eect of tempering
Horse mackerel was dried using HPD at a surface load
of 6 kg/m
2
, drying air temperature of 20 C and air velocity
of 1.0 m/s. After drying (14 h), the sh were put together in
a PE bag and then stored at 8 2 C for 0, 1, 2, 3 and
4 days. Afterwards, horse mackerel were dried using
HPD at a surface load of 6 kg/m
2
, drying air temperature
of 20 C and air velocity of 1.0 m/s again for 4 h. The eect
of tempering time (days) on the drying characteristics of
horse mackerel was then investigated. The experiments
were conducted for tempering of 0, 1, 2, 3 and 4 days with
initial moisture contents (w.b.) of 61.5%, 57.38%, 56.46%,
60.46% and 54.9%, respectively.
2.5.5. Eect of evaporator bypass air ratio (BAR)
BAR is dened as the ratio of bypass air to the total air
(mass basis) in the system (Oktay, 2003). The eect of BAR
on the drying characteristics of horse mackerel was investi-
gated at a surface load of 6 kg/m
2
, drying air temperatures
of 20 C and air velocity of 1.0 m/s. The initial moisture
contents (w.b.) of horse mackerel were 71.49%, 71.65%,
71.64%, 71.55%, 71.54% and 71.75% for the various runs
at BAR equalling 0, 0.2, 0.4, 0.6, 0.8 and 1.0, respectively.
2.5.6. Eect of drying air velocity
The eect of drying air velocity on the drying character-
istics of horse mackerel was investigated at a surface load
of 6 kg/m
2
, drying air temperature of 25 C and BAR
equalling 0.6. The experiments were conducted with air
velocities of 1.0, 2.0, 3.0 and 4.0 m/s with initial moisture
contents (w.b.) of 70.85%, 70.83%, 70.85% and 70.86%,
respectively.
2.6. Moisture content
Moisture contents were determined by infrared moisture
meter (Model SH10A, Shanghai Precision & Scientic
Instrument Co., Ltd, Shanghai, China). Three replicates
were measured, and the average was recorded as the mois-
ture content of the sample.
2.7. Moisture ratio (MR), drying rate (DR)
MR
M
d;i
M
e
M
d;0
M
e
1
DR
dM
d
dt

M
d;i1
M
d;i
t
i1
t
i
2
where M
d
moisture content, kg water/kg dry basis (%,
d.b.); M
e
equilibrium moisture content, kg water/kg dry
basis (%, d.b.); M
d,i
moisture content at time t
i
, kg
water/kg dry basis (%, d.b.); M
d,0
initial moisture con-
tent, kg water/kg dry basis (%, d.b.); M
d,i+1
moisture
content at time t
i+1
, kg water/kg dry basis (%, d.b.).
The MR was simplied to M/M
0
instead of (M M
e
)/
(M
0
M
e
) because the value of dynamic equilibrium mois-
ture content M
e
was very small compared to M and M
0
(Doymaz, Gorel, & Akgun, 2004; Doymaz & Pala, 2002).
Table 1
Factors and levels of experimental runs
Factors Levels
1 2 3 4 5 6
Surface load (kg/m
2
) 1 2 4 6 8
Drying air temperature (C) 10 20 30 40
NaCl content in the osmotic
solution (%, w/w)
0 5 10 15 20
Tempering time (day) 0 1 2 3 4
BAR 0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0
Air velocity (m/s) 1.0 2.0 3.0 4.0
Q.-L. Shi et al. / Journal of Food Engineering 84 (2008) 1220 15
2.8. Specic moisture evaporation rate (SMER)
A performance indicator that is commonly used to
dene the performance of HPD was the specic moisture
evaporation rate (SMER) (Chua, Chou, Ho, & Hawlader,
2002). SMER was dened as
SMER
Amount of water evaporated
Energy input to the dryer
kg=kW h 3
2.9. Colour measurement
The colour values of each sample were measured using
colour dierence meter (Model WSC-S, Shanghai Precision
& Scientic Instrument Co., Ltd, Shanghai, China) to
obtain the colour values (Hunter L, a, and b values). A
white standard board (X = 80.7, Y = 85.7, and Z = 91.7)
was used for calibration (Corzo, Bracho, & Marval, 2006).
The changes in each individual colour parameters were
calculated as follows:
DL L

1
; Da a

1
; Db b

1
The subscript 1 refers to the initial colour parameters of
each product at the beginning of the drying experiment.
For each drying experiment colour measurements were
taken on six horse mackerel before and after HPD at three
positions, i.e. head, middle part and the tail. The average of
18 measurements for each colour parameter was reported.
Every treatment was performed in triplicate.
The total colour dierence (DE) was then determined
using the following equation (Chua et al., 2000):
DE

DL
2
Da
2
Db
2
p
4
2.10. Statistical analysis
The one-way ANOVA was analyzed by using Statistical
Analysis System software (SAS Institute Inc., 2000). In the
case of signicant eects, the means were compared using
Duncans multiple-range test program at the signicant
level of 0.05 (SAS/INSIGHT users guide, version 8, 2000).
3. Results and discussion
3.1. Eect of surface load
The variations of moisture content (w.b.) with the dry-
ing time are illustrated in Fig. 2. Generally, as the drying
time increased, the moisture content decreased slowly. It
was shown that the required drying time increased as the
surface load increased. Final moisture contents of 43.2%,
52.1%, 54.1%, 56.2% and 57.3% were achieved after drying
for 9 h for the runs of surface loads of 1, 2, 4, 6 and 8 kg/
m
2
, respectively. However, the required drying times to
achieve the recommended moisture content of 55% were
about 5.5, 8.0, 9.0, 14.0 and 18.0 h (data not presented)
for the runs of surface loads of 1, 2, 4, 6 and 8 kg/m
2
,
respectively.
Fig. 3 presents the DR against MR for surface loads
from 1 to 8 kg/m
2
. The curves of surface loads of 28 kg/
m
2
showed a falling rate period at the beginning of the dry-
ing process followed by a constant rate period. The con-
stant rate period increased with increase in the surface
load. However, the curve of surface load of 1 kg/m
2
showed no constant rate period and had only a falling rate
period which could be explained by the drying mechanism.
In the constant rate period, the surface of the sh was in
the saturated phase, and likewise, the evaporation of water
took place from a free surface. After this period, the falling
rate period began through the increasingly unsaturated sur-
face drying zone, until the point at which all of the exposed
surfaces became completely unsaturated, where the rate of
internal moisture movement controlled the DR (Fatouh,
Metwally, Helali, & Shedid, 2006). It is clear from Fig. 3
that decreasing the surface load shortened the constant rate
period, and the eect of sh meat shrinkage became signif-
icant, which caused the DR to decrease continuously. This
explained why the drying process for the surface load of
1 kg/m
2
exhibited no constant rate period and lay com-
pletely in the falling rate period (Fig. 3).
40
50
60
70
80
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Drying time (h)
M
o
i
s
t
u
r
e

c
o
n
t
e
n
t

(
%
,
w
.
b
)
1kg/m
2
2kg/m
2
4kg/m
2
6kg/m
2
8kg/m
2
Fig. 2. Eect of surface load on the drying curves of horse mackerel using
HPD.
0.00
1.00
2.00
3.00
4.00
0.55 0.60 0.65 0.70 0.75 0.80 0.85 0.90 0.95 1.00
Moisture ratio
D
r
y
i
n
g

r
a
t
e

(
k
g
/
k
g

(
d
.
b
)
.
h
)
1kg/m
2
2kg/m
2
4kg/m
2
6kg/m
2
8kg/m
2
Fig. 3. Eect of surface load on the drying rate of horse mackerel.
16 Q.-L. Shi et al. / Journal of Food Engineering 84 (2008) 1220
Analysis of SMER revealed that signicant dierences
existed between treatment of surface load (P < 0.05) (Table
2). As far as SMER was concerned, surface load of 6 and
8 kg/m
2
had signicantly higher SMER than those of 1, 2
and 4 kg/m
2
(P < 0.05). However, there were no signicant
dierences observed between the treatment of 6 and 8 kg/
m
2
(P > 0.05). SMER increased as surface load increased.
The suitable surface load of horse mackerel drying by
HPD was 6 kg/m
2
, after which SMER showed no obvious
increase (P > 0.05). Colour is an important index of dried
sh. Consumers would like to buy the sh with less colour
change during drying. As for DE, surface load of 8 kg/m
2
had signicantly higher DE than those of 1, 2, 4 and
6 kg/m
2
(P < 0.05), which might have resulted from fat oxi-
dation at lower DR at a surface load of 8 kg/m
2
. However,
there were no signicant dierences observed between the
treatment of 1, 2, 4 and 6 kg/m
2
(P > 0.05).
3.2. Eect of drying air temperature
Fig. 4 shows the variations of moisture content (w.b.)
against drying time for drying air temperatures of 10, 20,
30 and 40 C. Generally, higher drying temperature
resulted in lower moisture content at any time, except for
the initial periods, which were aected by the initial mois-
ture content. Moisture content was similar at drying air
temperature of 20 and 30 C. Horse mackerel drying by
HPD at 10 C required almost 24 h to obtain a moisture
content of 50% (data not presented here), which was not
practical in industry because of time consumption. Final
moisture contents of 64.26%, 53.52%, 52.59% and 46.25%
were achieved for the drying air temperatures of 10, 20,
30 and 40 C, respectively.
Fig. 5 illustrats the variations of DR with MR for drying
air temperatures at 10, 20, 30 and 40 C. Clearly, the DR
decreased with decrease in the drying air temperature. All
drying curves for this large surface load except 40 C exhib-
ited two constant rate periods, the rst one was a short per-
iod and the second one was a longer period of constant
rate. However, the curve of temperature at 40 C showed
no constant rate period and had only a falling rate period.
The lower the drying air temperature, the longer the dura-
tion for the constant rate was. This was because, initially,
there was a large surface area of sh meat exposed to the
drying air, while the sh was in the saturated phase, and
water evaporation took place from a free surface. There-
fore, DR was higher at the beginning. Then, water tended
to vaporize from the interior of the horse mackerel causing
the second falling period to start. During this period, the
DR was stable during air temperature of 10 and 20 C,
because the movement of water in the inner part of sh
approximately equalled the surface of sh, thus sh meat
shrinkage was lightened or avoided.
Analysis of SMER indicated that signicant dierences
existed between treatment of drying air temperature (Table
3). Treatment at 40 C had signicantly higher SMER than
those at 10, 20 and 30 C (P < 0.05), which implied that
drying air temperature should be increased as high as pos-
sible as long as the products are of good quality (colour,
avour, texture, nutrient, etc.) during HPD drying. But
the index of colour, avour, and nutrient would deteriorate
Table 2
Eect of surface load on the index of SMER and DE
Surface load (kg/m
2
) SMER (kg/kW h) DE
1 0.20
d
7.65
b
2 0.43
c
6.39
b
4 0.83
b
6.90
b
6 1.11
a
6.19
b
8 1.10
a
10.52
a
ad
Means in the same column with dierent superscripts are signicantly
dierent (P < 0.05).
40
50
60
70
80
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Drying time (h)
M
o
i
s
t
u
r
e

c
o
n
t
e
n
t

(
%
,
w
.
b
)
10 C 20 C
30 C 40 C
Fig. 4. Eect of drying air temperature on the drying curves of horse
mackerel using HPD.
0.00
0.05
0.10
0.15
0.20
0.25
0.30
0.60 0.65 0.70 0.75 0.80 0.85 0.90 0.95 1.00
Moisture ratio
D
r
y
i
n
g

r
a
t
e

(
k
g
/
k
g
(
d
.
b
)
.
h
)
10 C 20 C
30 C 40 C
Fig. 5. Eect of drying air temperature on the drying rate of horse
mackerel.
Table 3
Eect of drying air temperature on the index of SMER and DE
Temperature (C) SMER (kg/kW h) DE
10 0.42
d
4.68
b
20 1.08
c
6.19
b
30 1.19
b
10.15
a
40 1.32
a
9.82
a
ad
Means in the same column with dierent superscripts are signicantly
dierent (P < 0.05).
Q.-L. Shi et al. / Journal of Food Engineering 84 (2008) 1220 17
at higher temperature. Therefore, energy attribute (SMER)
of HPD and quality of products should be fully considered
when determining drying air temperature. As for DE, 10
and 20 C had signicantly lower DE than those at 30
and 40 C (P < 0.05). The increase of DE at temperatures
over 30 C could be attributed to the dual eects of Mail-
lard browning reactions and fat oxidation. However, no
signicant dierences were observed between drying air
temperature of 10 and 20 C (P > 0.05).
3.3. Eect of NaCl content in the osmotic solution
The variations of moisture content (w.b.) with drying
time are illustrated in Fig. 6. Fish dehydration by HPD
could be enhanced by optimum NaCl content. Each curve
displayed a roughly linear variation, implying a homoge-
neous dehydration process. Final moisture contents of
57.57%, 54.57%, 55.59%, 52.36% and 51.33% were
achieved for NaCl content of 0%, 5%, 10%, 15% and
20%, respectively.
Fig. 7 illustrats the variations of DR with MR for NaCl
content in the osmotic solution of 0%, 5%, 10%, 15% and
20%. All drying curves exhibited constant rate period. The
drying curve of 0% NaCl showed a long falling rate period
and followed a short constant rate period at the last stage of
HPD drying. The drying curve of 5%, 15% and 20% NaCl
showed two constant rate periods with rates of about
0.10, 0.05; 0.07, 0.06 and 0.10, 0:05 kg
H
2
O
=kg
d:b:
h, and
both periods were followed by a falling rate period. How-
ever, the curve of 10% NaCl showed three constant rate
periods with rates at 0.10, 0.08 and 0:07 kg
H
2
O
=kg
d:b:
h,
and all periods were followed by a falling rate period. The
mechanisms of variations of drying rate with dierent NaCl
content in the osmotic solution were not clear. We consider
that this phenomenon might result from the reactions
between NaCl and protein component of the sh during
HPD drying. Further works are in progress to study this
phenomenon.
The results in Table 4 indicate that no signicant dier-
ences were observed according to the SMER with dierent
NaCl contents in the osmotic solution (P > 0.05). As far as
DE was concerned, 0% NaCl in the osmotic solution had
signicantly higher DE than 5%, 10%, 15%, 20% NaCl
(P < 0.05), which indicated that salting lightened colour
change during sh drying by HPD. However, no signicant
dierences were observed between 5%, 10%, 15% and 20%
treatment (P > 0.05).
3.4. Eect of tempering
The variations of moisture content (w.b.) with drying
time are illustrated in Fig. 8. Generally, longer tempering
time led to lower moisture content except tempering time
of 3 days, which is due to the dierence of initial moisture
50
60
70
80
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14
Drying time (h)
M
o
i
s
t
u
r
e

c
o
n
t
e
n
t

(
%

w
.
b
)
0% 5% 10% 15% 20%
Fig. 6. Eect of NaCl content in the osmotic solution on the drying curves
of horse mackerel using HPD.
0.00
0.05
0.10
0.15
0.20
0.25
0.60 0.65 0.70 0.75 0.80 0.85 0.90 0.95 1.00
Moisture rate
D
r
y
i
n
g

r
a
t
e

(
k
g
/
k
g
(
d
.
b
)
.
h
)
0% 5% 10%
15% 20%
Fig. 7. Eect of NaCl content in the osmotic solution on the drying rate of
horse mackerel.
Table 4
Eect of NaCl content in the osmotic solution on the index of SMER and
DE
NaCl content in the osmotic solution (%) SMER (kg/kW h) DE
0 0.60
a
24.12
a
5 0.60
a
13.44
b
10 0.62
a
11.06
b
15 0.58
a
12.60
b
20 0.56
a
13.79
b
a,b
Means in the same column with dierent superscripts are signicantly
45
55
65
0 1 2 3 4
Drying time (h)
0d 1d 2d 3d 4d
M
o
i
s
t
u
r
e

c
o
n
t
e
n
t

(
%
(
w
.
b
)
Fig. 8. Eect of tempering on the drying curves of horse mackerel using
HPD.
18 Q.-L. Shi et al. / Journal of Food Engineering 84 (2008) 1220
content. In other words, drying sh by HPD could not be
signicantly enhanced by tempering treatment.
Analysis of SMER revealed that dierences of the signif-
icant levels existed between tempering treatment (Table 5).
Treatment of 4 days had a higher SMER than those of 0, 1,
2 and 3 days (P < 0.05). However, no signicant dierences
were observed between treatment of 0, 1, 2 and 3 days. No
signicant dierences were observed according to DE with
dierent tempering treatment (P > 0.05).
3.5. Eect of evaporator bypass air ratio (BAR)
Analysis of SMER revealed that dierences of the signif-
icant levels existed between BAR treatment (Table 6). BAR
of 0.6 and 0.8 had a higher SMER than BAR of 0, 0.2, 0.4
and 1.0 (P < 0.05). However, no signicant dierences were
observed according to DE with dierent BAR treatment.
When BAR equalled 0, all the circulation air passed
through the surface of evaporator, which led to maximum
velocity. It was not easy for the steam in the circulation air
to condense at the surface of the evaporator, which resulted
in lower SMER. With the increase of BAR, the velocity in
the circulation that passed through the surface of the evap-
orator decreased. As a result, SMER increased. However,
when BAR exceeded a given value, most of the circulation
air passed through the bypass path, which led to a decrease
in the condensation of air at the surface of the evaporator.
As a result, SMER decreased when BAR exceeded 0.8.
Therefore, the optimum BAR for horse mackerel drying
using HPD was 0.60.8.
3.6. Eect of drying air velocity
The variations of moisture content (w.b.) with drying
time are illustrated in Fig. 9. Clearly, the high ow rates
enhanced the rate of evaporation from the horse mackerel
because the heat and mass transfer coecients increased
with the air velocity. Final moisture contents (w.b.) of
58.05%, 54.35%, 54.01% and 54.04% were achieved for
air velocities of 1.0, 2.0, 3.0 and 4.0 m/s with drying time
of 14, 13, 12 and 9 h, respectively. Thus, lower nal mois-
ture content could be achieved at higher ow rates with
shorter drying time. Drying air velocities of 2.0 and
3.0 m/s showed nearly the same trend as to the variation
of moisture content (w.b.) with the drying time.
The constant rate decreased as the air velocity decreased
(Fig. 10). Constant rates of 0.1, 0.06; 0.13, 0.07; 0.13, 0.10
and 0.25, 0:18 kg
H
2
O
=kg
d:b:
h were obtained for the air
velocities of 1.0, 2.0, 3.0 and 4.0 m/s, respectively. Those
constant rate periods consumed about 44.4%, 50.0%,
50.0% and 55.6% of the total drying time for the air veloc-
ities of 1.0, 2.0, 3.0 and 4.0 m/s, respectively. It is clear that
constant rate period increased as air velocity decreased.
Analysis of SMER revealed that signicant dierences
existed between treatment of air velocity (P < 0.05) (Table
7). As far as SMER was concerned, air velocities of 3.0 and
4.0 m/s had signicantly higher SMER than those of 1.0
and 2.0 m/s (P < 0.05). However, no signicant dierences
were observed between 3.0 and 4.0 m/s (P > 0.05). Corre-
spondingly, as for DE, air velocity of 4.0 m/s diered signif-
icantly from those of 1.0, 2.0 and 3.0 m/s (P < 0.05). The
Table 5
Eect of tempering on the index of SMER and DE
Tempering time (day) SMER (kg/kW h) DE
0 0.22
b
12.03
a
1 0.29
b
10.36
a
2 0.33
b
9.90
a
3 0.54
b
10.46
a
4 0.67
a
9.96
a
a,b
Means in the same column with dierent superscripts are signicantly
dierent (P < 0.05).
Table 6
Eect of BAR on the index of SMER and DE
BAR SMER (kg/kW h) DE
0 0.48
d
12.67
a
0.2 0.60
c
12.14
a
0.4 0.64
c
11.87
a
0.6 0.77
a
11.47
a
0.8 0.78
a
12.73
a
1.0 0.72
b
13.24
a
ad
Means in the same column with dierent superscripts are signicantly
dierent (P < 0.05).
50
55
60
65
70
75
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14
Dryi ng time (h)
M
o
i
s
t
u
r
e

c
o
n
t
e
n
t


(
%
,
w
.
b
)
1.0m/s 2.0m/s 3.0m/s 4.0m/s
Fig. 9. Eect of air velocity on the drying curves of horse mackerel using
HPD.
0
0.1
0.2
0.3
0.4
0.5
0.5 0.55 0.6 0.65 0.7 0.75 0.8 0.85 0.9
Moisture rate
D
r
y
i
n
g

r
a
t
e

(
k
g
/
k
g
(
d
.
b
)
.
h
)
1.0m/s 2.0m/s
3.0m/s 4.0m/s
Fig. 10. Eect of air velocity on the drying rate of horse mackerel.
Q.-L. Shi et al. / Journal of Food Engineering 84 (2008) 1220 19
more the air velocity, the higher the DE was. To summa-
rize, the optimum air velocity of horse mackerel drying
by HPD was 2.03.0 m/s, during which SMER, DE and
DR were suitable.
4. Conclusions
A HPD was designed, constructed and tested to evaluate
the drying characteristics of horse mackerel under various
conditions. The following conclusions could be drawn:
1. The drying characteristics were inuenced by surface
load, drying air temperature, BAR and air velocity.
2. The required drying time increased as the surface load
increased or drying air temperature and velocity
decreased.
3. The curves of horse mackerel drying by HPD dis-
played both falling rate period and constant rate per-
iod. However, the curve of surface load of 1 kg/m
2
showed no constant rate period and had only a falling
rate period.
4. Considering DR, SMER and DE, the optimum parame-
ter values or range of horse mackerel drying by HPD
were surface load 6 kg/m
2
, drying air temperature 20
30 C, 10% NaCl in the osmotic solution, BAR 0.60.8
and air velocity 2.03.0 m/s.
Furthermore, HPD is the best way to produce interme-
diate moisture food. It is an innovative technology for sh
processing industry. Intermediate moisture llets obtained
by HPD drying could act as convenient foods, either
steamed or fried.
Acknowledgments
The authors wish to acknowledge the nancial support
provided by National High Technology Research and
Development Program of China (2006AA09Z444) and
(2006AA09Z430).
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Table 7
Eect of air velocity on the index of SMER and DE
Air velocity (m/s) SMER (kg/kW h) DE
1.0 1.06
c
10.75
d
2.0 1.26
b
12.19
c
3.0 1.77
a
13.54
b
4.0 1.82
a
15.09
a
ad
Means in the same column with dierent superscripts are signicantly
dierent (P < 0.05).
20 Q.-L. Shi et al. / Journal of Food Engineering 84 (2008) 1220