Predicting the dielectric behavior of orange and other citrus fruit juices at 915 and 2450 MHz

Factors affecting energy efficiency of microwave drying of foods: an updated understanding

Microwave drying (MWD) is an efficient dielectric drying method in food, with advantages such as volumetric heating, fast drying, safety, and good product quality. As a key indicator of a dryer's market value, energy efficiency is of concern to sellers and dryer manufacturers. This paper systematically reviewed the quantification methods and influencing factors of energy efficiency of microwave drying in food application from different perspectives. Mechanisms and possible improvements of these factors are highlighted. Future trends in improving the energy efficiency of MWD are proposed. Energy consumption of MWD depends on a variety of factors such as equipment structure, drying conditions (microwave power, frequency, temperature, and air velocity), material properties, and combined/hybrid drying technologies. The drying system can be effectively improved if these parameters are adjusted appropriately and taking the processing cost into consideration. Although a good product can be obtained by pretreatment or combined/hybrid drying method, it may consume more energy. Future research should develop artificial intelligence, renewable energy, and computational fluid dynamics technology to pave the way for large-scale application of MWD and reduce energy consumption.

Design and Fabrication of Modified SMA-Connector Sensor for Detecting Water Adulteration in Honey and Natural Latex

A detection system for water adulteration in honey is proposed. It consists of a modified SMA-connector sensor and a vector network analyzer. A modified SMA-connector sensor is applied to measure complex relative permittivity, electrical conductivity, and phase constant of honey samples with the open-ended method. The system is tested in the frequency range of 0.5–4.0 GHz at the sample temperature of 25 °C. The relationships between the complex relative permittivity, electrical conductivity, the phase constant, and the honey samples with different concentrations (0–30%w/w) are determined. The experimental results show that the real part of the complex relative permittivity is significantly proportional in honey samples with adulteration of water in the range of 0–30%w/w. The frequency of 0.6 GHz is a suitable frequency for detection with a real part of complex relative permittivity as an indicator. The frequency of 3.74 GHz is an appropriate frequency for detection with electrical conductivity as in indicator while the frequency of 4.0 GHz is suitable for detection with phase constant as an indicator. In addition, the data are analyzed with regression analysis. This technique is also performed on natural latex samples to determine the dry rubber content. The frequency of 0.5 GHz is a suitable frequency with a real part of complex relative permittivity as an indicator while the frequency of 4.0 GHz is a suitable frequency with an imaginary part of complex relative permittivity, electrical conductivity, and phase constant as the indicators. The results demonstrate that it is possible to apply this technique to determine the dry rubber content in the natural latex samples as well.