Electrically enhanced drying of white champignons

Electrohydrodynamic (EHD) drying is a novel non-thermal dewatering technology using electric discharge in air to enhance dehydration of heat-sensitive biomaterials. Low energy consumption and high product quality make it attractive for industry. In this study, the mushrooms slices have been dried under sole EHD with 12, 14, and 16 kV DC, and EHD in combination with air cross-flow at 1 m s-1 and different relative humidity (RH) from 30 to 70 %. It was found that drying kinetics was exponential over initial moisture contents from 3.3 to 14.1 g·g-1 (db). The equilibrium moisture content ranged from 0.15 to 0.1 g g-1 depending on RH. Decrease of RH or air cross-flow significantly improved efficiency of EHD drying. (Author)