ENHANCING OSMOTIC DEHYDRATION WITH ACOUSTIC CAVITATION

An experimental study was carried out to enhance osmotic dehydration of fruits—apples using acoustic cavitation.The variation in water losses and dry matter gain rates of materials with solute concentration, cavitation intensity, the thickness of materials and treating time segment during osmotic dehydration was discussed,at the same time, the influence of different materials on mass transfer during osmotic dehydration using acoustic cavitation was investigated.The results showed that water losses rates of materials were remarkably increased during osmotic dehydration using acoustic cavitation, but dry matter gain rates increased very little.Meanwhile the physical mechanism of enhanced mass transfer during osmotic dehydration with acoustic cavitation was clarified on the basis of analyzing the experimental results.