Exploring The Potential Acceleration of Granny Smith Apple Drying By Pre-Treatment With CO2 Laser Microperforation

Effect of CO2 Laser Microperforation Pretreatment on the Dehydration of Apple Slices during Refractive Window Drying

“…Table 3 shows the measured color parameters of fresh and dried apple slices. The fresh apple slice had a value of L* = 74.77 ± 1.17, a* = −5.47 ± 0.70 and b* = 19.69 ± 2.09, similar to reports from Araya et al [18], Henríquez et al [36] and Hernández et al [29]. Means with different superscripts within a column differ significantly (p < 0.05).…”

“…The laser microperforations (LMP) were applied to the samples using a SYNRAD TI100 CO 2 laser (Firestar t100, Synrad Inc. Mukilteo, WA, USA) with a 125 nm lens, which was linked to the computer with WinMarkPro Laser Making Software, allowing for its configuration and adjustment. The parameters of residence time, number of pulses and power were established to pass through 100% of the sample, according to Araya et al [18] (Table 1). The pore density (PD, the number of pores per unit area) configuration was conducted in honeycomb arrangements using 9, 16, and 25 pores/cm 2 .…”

“…Regardless of the drying method, the reduction in operating times is key to improving the productivity of any industry, which is why several technologies have been studied to improve mass and heat transfer, such as vacuum impregnation [10][11][12][13], pulsed electric fields [14][15][16][17], and ultimately, CO 2 laser microperforation [18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25].…”

“…This technology is an interesting proposal for the food industry since it allows a wavelength, whose energy is absorbed in large quantities by water, does not generate cross-contamination and allows an increase in the mass and heat transfer area during drying without damaging adjacent areas where it is applied [21]. Araya et al [18] studied the effect of CO 2 laser microperforation pretreatment on the dehydration of apple slices at 70 • C in drying techniques with an osmotic dehydration pretreatment. Promising results were obtained by significantly reducing the drying time compared to the control treatment (conventional drying) by more than 50%; however, the effect of microperforation pretreatment and different drying temperatures on bioactive compounds and their antioxidant capacities was not studied.…”

Development of an Apple Snack Enriched with Probiotic Lacticaseibacillus rhamnosus: Evaluation of the Refractance Window Drying Process on Cell Viability

“…The RW TM values were higher than the corresponding values for CD drying. These results could be explained by the smoother (uniform) microstructure leading to easier and faster diffusion of moisture [ 31 ]; on the other hand, in the case of the anomalous diffusion model, it can be observed that in both cases (CD and RW), an α > 1 is obtained, which indicates that the diffusion that occurred during drying in the apple slices was carried out via a superdiffusive process, as suggested by [ 93 , 94 ]. The results showed that the anomalous diffusion model was a better fit (R 2 > 0.982) than Fick’s model (0.893 < R 2 < 0.904) for both drying processes.…”