Thermodynamic analysis of potato drying process in a microwave dryer

In the present research, microwave drying process of potato slices were thermodynamically analyzed and evaluated. During the experiments, potato slices with thicknesses of 3.5, 5, 7 and 9 mm were dried using powers of 200, 400, 600 and 800 W. Specific energy consumption was obtained to be the range of 0.83‒3.29 MJ kg-1, and significantly increased (p < 0.05) with increasing samples thickness. Energy efficiency of the process (13.23‒35.59) was significantly (p < 0.05) improved with increasing microwave power and decreasing samples thickness. Average specific energy loss of the process varied from 0.69 to 2.71 MJ kg-1. Exergy efficiency and sustainability index of the process changed from 10.03 to 28.17 % and from 1.11 to 1.39, respectively. In General, according to the results obtained in this research, practicing higher microwave powers to dry thinner samples improved the thermodynamical performance and reduced the environmental footprints of the process.