Radial Jet Reattachment impingement drying of corn tortillas

AbstractThis study evaluates the heat and mass transfer behavior of innovative Radial Jet Reattachment (RJR) nozzles to analyze the texture and color characteristics of crispy tostadas. A new experimental method for measuring steady-state evaporation is proposed and validated to determine the averaged coefficients of convective heat and mass transfer for different drying conditions and geometrical parameters of RJR nozzles. The experiment is designed using a 24 factorial design approach. The factors that are considered include nozzle exit angle (10° and 45°), tortillas thicknesses (1.03 mm and 1.66 mm), air drying temperature (200 °C and 250 °C) and air mass flow rate (17.0 m3/h and 27.2 m3/h). The findings indicate that for the impingement drying of tortillas, it is crucial to consider convection and diffusion as the primary factors in selecting the appropriate operating conditions. Moreover, the study concludes that the RJR nozzle with a 45° exit angle exhibits a higher drying rate than the RJR nozzle with a 10° exit angle. The study found that neither the type of nozzle nor the air drying conditions had a significant impact (α ≤ 0.05) on the texture and color of the final product. The utilization of RJR nozzles for impinging drying of tortillas is a promising and robust process that enables the production of crispy tostadas without negatively impacting the quality characteristics of the final product.Keywords: Impingement dryinginnovative nozzlesheat and mass transferfood qualityRJR nozzle Disclosure statementNo potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).Additional informationFundingThis study was supported by the Center for Advanced Research in Drying (CARD), a National Science Foundation Industry-University Cooperative Research Center located at Worcester Polytechnic Institute. The Rodríguez-Ramírez J. author acknowledges CONACyT of Mexico for the international scholar fellowship.