The main aim of this work was to test the feasibility of power ultrasound to intensify low-temperature drying processes. For this purpose, the convective drying kinetics of carrot, eggplant, and apple cubes (side 10 mm) were carried out at atmospheric pressure, 2 m/s, −14°C, and 7% relative humidity with (acoustic power 19.5 kW/m3) and without ultrasound application. Under the same experimental conditions, kinetics studies of ethanol removal from a solid matrix were also performed. Diffusion models were used to describe drying curves and identify kinetic parameters in order to evaluate and quantify the process intensification attained by ultrasound application.
The effect of ultrasound application was similar for all products tested; that is, the drying time was shortened between 65 and 70%. In the case of ethanol removal, the time reduction achieved by ultrasound application was 55%. The mass transfer coefficient and effective moisture diffusivity increased by 96 to 170% and by 407 to 428%, respectively, when ultrasound was applied.
