Pulsed Electric Fields as Pretreatment for Different Drying Methods in Chilean Abalone (Concholepas concholepas) Mollusk: Effects on Product Physical Properties and Drying Methods Sustainability

Some shellfish, such as Chilean abalone, require high-energy intake to achieve desired attributes for transport and consumption. Drying is the most feasible method for transporting this product. Drying efficiency, energy consumption, and dried product quality are essential in food drying. The objective of this study was to compare the use of pulsed electric field (PEF: 2.0 kV/cm − 15 μs wide pulses, 50 pulses, 1 Hz) as pretreatment in three drying methods, vacuum microwave drying (VMD); freeze drying (FD); and hot air drying (HAD), in Chilean abalone mollusk. Drying kinetics, quality, and energy consumption parameters were evaluated, and energy gas emissions were calculated. The VMD with PEF application showed better values than the other drying systems, obtaining drying times nearly 67% lower than FD with PEF pretreatment—and nearly 83% lower than FD without PEF. For quality parameters, FD + PEF shows a significantly lower value of 250 N for hardness, and a lower change of color value (ΔE = 12). In the case of HAD, the PEF application did not significantly influence its processing. Regarding energy parameters, VMD use significantly reduced energy consumption and all greenhouse gas emissions reported in this work, whether PEF was used or not. Consequently, VMD and PEF have emerged as promising technologies for improving drying processes, maintaining quality, and low gas emissions.