Dehydration of microalgae Spirulina platensis in a rotary drum with inert bed

Silva, Neiton C.; Machado, Marcela Vieira Caixeta; Brandão, Rodolfo J.; Duarte, Cláudio Roberto; Barrozo, M. A. S.

doi:10.1016/j.powtec.2019.04.025

Cited by 14 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 22 publications

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“…Usually, the Spirulina is marketed as a dietary supplement and as a food ingredient (Prasetyaningrum & Djaeni, 2012;Soni et al, 2017). Different techniques have been used to dry the Spirulina biomass, as hot air drying (Chen, Chang, & Lee, 2015;Oliveira, Duarte, Moraes, Crexi, & Pinto, 2010), solar drying (Show, Le, Tay, Lee, & Chang, 2014), freezedrying, spray drying (Desmorieux & Hernandez, 2004), drum drying (Silva, Machado, Brandão, Duarte, & Barrozo, 2019), among others. Solar drying and air drying are traditional techniques that present low operation and equipment costs.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Production of Spirulina (Arthrospira platensis) powder by innovative and traditional drying techniques

Demarco

Moraes

Ferrari

et al. 2021

J Food Process Engineering

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Arthrospira platensis is a cyanobacterium used as food due to its high protein content and bioactive compounds (e.g., phycocyanin) and marketed mainly as a dried powder. Drying may cause quality degradation of Spirulina biomass, depending on the technique and the process conditions. In this study, thin layer drying (3 mm) of Spirulina suspension was performed by different techniques, comparing innovative and traditional driers. The innovative drying technique proposed in this study, called vacuum cast-tape drying (at 40 and 60 C), was compared, in terms of drying kinetics and quality of the powders, to air drying (at 40 and 60 C), freeze-drying, and cast-tape drying. Drying curves, the temporal evolution of water activity, and phycocyanin retention during drying were assessed. The microstructure and color of the powders were also determined in the dried powder. Cast-tape drying resulted in the highest drying rate but showed a very low (≈10%) phycocyanin retention, while the other techniques allow phycocyanin retention >70%, regard to the raw biomass. The freeze-dried product presented a lighter color compared to the other techniques. Vacuum cast-tape drying showed a shorter drying time (90-180 min) than freeze-drying (720 min) and air drying (420 min), maintaining high phycocyanin retention (about 80-90%). Vacuum cast-tape drying is an efficient, suitable, and low-cost technique to dehydrate Spirulina at moderate temperatures in short times, maintaining the high quality in terms of bioactive compounds. Practical applicationsHigh-quality Spirulina powders are considered as potential future sources of protein and bioactive compounds. These components should be preserved during drying, necessary for the stabilization of this product. The novel drying technique proposed in this paper for Spirulina powder production is an alternative, low-cost, and potentially scalable technique for small and medium Spirulina producers. Vacuum cast-tape drying allows combining the efficiency of cast-tape drying with the vacuum atmosphere preserving the color and phycocyanin in the dried biomass. In this way, the study of novel drying processes for Spirulina powder production with high quality is of interest to researchers and the food industries.

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mentioning

confidence: 99%

Production of Spirulina (Arthrospira platensis) powder by innovative and traditional drying techniques

Demarco

Moraes

Ferrari

et al. 2021

J Food Process Engineering

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“…For example, specific bioactive compounds are highly sensitive to high temperatures and can degrade if the drying process occurs in these conditions. On the other hand, low temperatures can lead to high drying times, which can also cause degradation due to prolonged exposure and add costs to the drying process due to the higher energy consumption [ 8 , 15 , 22 , 32 ]. Therefore, an “equilibrium point” between these two variables can help to define the best conditions to operate the RW drying of the Spirulina platensis without having an effect on the compounds present in the microalga.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The literature reports various dehydration techniques that may be used in microalgae, such as convective drying, solar drying, spray drying, cross-flow drying, rotary drum drying and vacuum shelf drying. However, these methods do not generally maintain the quality of the final product and/or add high costs to the process, reinforcing the need for studies on energy-efficient drying systems to better preserve the aspects of the dried product, especially the content of bioactive compounds [ 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Use of Refractance Window Drying as an Alternative Method for Processing the Microalga Spirulina platensis

et al. 2023

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Microalgae such as Spirulina platensis have recently attracted the interest of the pharmaceutical, nutritional and food industries due to their high levels of proteins and bioactive compounds. In this study, we investigated the use of refractance window (RW) drying as an alternative technology for processing the microalga Spirulina biomass aiming at its dehydration. In addition, we also analyzed the effects of operating variables (i.e., time and temperature) on the quality of the final product, expressed by the content of bioactive compounds (i.e., total phenolics, total flavonoids, and phycocyanin). The results showed that RW drying can generate a dehydrated product with a moisture content lower than 10.0%, minimal visual changes, and reduced process time. The content of bioactive compounds after RW drying was found to be satisfactory, with some of them close to those observed in the fresh microalga. The best results for total phenolic (TPC) and total flavonoids (TFC) content were obtained at temperatures of around 70 °C and processing times around 4.5 h. The phycocyanin content was negatively influenced by higher temperatures (higher than 80 °C) and high exposing drying times (higher than 4.5 h) due to its thermosensibility properties. The use of refractance window drying proved to be an interesting methodology for the processing and conservation of Spirulina platensis, as well as an important alternative to the industrial processing of this biomass.

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“…One of the conditions that affect the choice of method and the drying performance is the initial moisture that the microalgal biomass presents. The algal biomass starts the drying process with initial moisture values between 55 and 88% (wet basis) in different dehydration processes [25][26][27][28][29][30].…”

Section: Drying and Microalgal Qualitymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Alternatives have been developed to overcome the problem of high degradation of nutritional and functional components and allow the use of this technology to produce algal powders for human use. One example that can be cited is the use of an inert bed to increase the surface contact between a hot-air flow inside of the drum and the moist spirulina biomass, increasing the drying rate and the processing yield; this system also allows to overcome problems such as the bed agglomeration [25]; on the other hand, no assessment on biomass quality was done with this method, and further studies should be done to improve quality of products dried by this method.…”

Section: Drum Dryingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Drying and Quality of Microalgal Powders for Human Alimentation

Neves¹,

Demarco²,

Tribuzi³

2020

Microalgae - From Physiology to Application

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The demand for natural foods with high protein content and functional properties is constantly growing in the last years. In this context, microalgae as Spirulina (Arthrospira spp.), Chlorella spp., Haematococcus pluvialis, Dunaliella salina, and others, assume a key role to diversify the offer of nutritious and functional ingredients and supplements. Microalgae are commercialized, mostly, as dried powders to facilitate their use as food ingredients and to allow easy transportation and long-term stability. Microalgal powder quality and storage stability depend mainly on drying method, packaging, and storage conditions. Most of the studies that approach the subject of microalgal drying evaluate the efficiency of the process and suitability for this raw material. However, studies that assess the effect of traditional and innovative drying methods on quality of microalgal powder for human consumption are rare in literature. In this chapter, the state of the art of drying processing technology for microalgae was reviewed, discussing the effect of dehydration on quality and stability of microalgal powders with potential use in human alimentation.

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Dehydration of microalgae Spirulina platensis in a rotary drum with inert bed

Cited by 14 publications

References 22 publications

Production of Spirulina (Arthrospira platensis) powder by innovative and traditional drying techniques

Production of Spirulina (Arthrospira platensis) powder by innovative and traditional drying techniques

Use of Refractance Window Drying as an Alternative Method for Processing the Microalga Spirulina platensis

Drying and Quality of Microalgal Powders for Human Alimentation

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