Experiment Study of Electrohydrodynamic (EHD) Drying Scallop

In order to improve the drying qualities of aquatic product, reduce the energy consumption, a new drying technology with electrohydrodynamic (EHD) was put forward for scallop muscle in the paper. The scallop muscle, as a representative of aquatic product, were dried in a high voltage electric drier at 15degC, as well as in a oven at 60degC and ambient air respectively, and the energy consumption of EHD drying and oven drying were investigated. At the same time, these dried scallop muscle´s shrinkage rate and sensory qualities such as color, texture, and trimness were measured. The results indicate that EHD drying save 93.9% energy compared oven drying, and can improve the drying rate of scallop muscle significantly. With 45 kV voltage, the rate of EHD drying is seven times as long as the rate of ambient air drying. Compared with oven drying, the dried scallop muscle under the high voltage electric field had better sensory qualities such as better color, texture and lower distortion.