Radio-Frequency Pasta Drying for Uniform Moisture Removal
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing pasta drying methods using hot air are inefficient, lengthy, and result in non-uniform drying, nutritional degradation, and high energy consumption, requiring separate apparatuses for long and short pasta.
Innovation Solution
A method and apparatus using radio-frequency electromagnetic fields to dry pasta in a vacuum environment, maintaining temperatures below 80°C to preserve nutritional quality, and employing a two-step drying process with oscillating electromagnetic fields to achieve uniform heating and reduce drying time.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If hot air drying is used to remove moisture from pasta, then drying efficiency is improved, but drying uniformity deteriorates and nutritional quality deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies radio-frequency electromagnetic fields to induce molecular vibration and rotation in water molecules within the pasta, generating internal heat uniformly throughout the product. This vibration-based heating mechanism eliminates the external-to-internal heat transfer gradient problem of hot air drying, achieving both high drying efficiency and perfect uniformity simultaneously.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the conventional thermal convection system (hot air flow) with an electromagnetic field system operating at radio frequencies. This substitution enables direct coupling of energy with water molecules through dielectric heating, bypassing the limitations of external heat transfer and achieving uniform volumetric heating throughout the pasta.
2Productivity
If high temperature hot air is used to reduce drying time, then productivity is improved, but nutritional quality deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the fundamental heating parameter from external thermal convection to internal dielectric heating via radio-frequency electromagnetic fields. This parameter change enables rapid heating throughout the pasta volume without localized overheating, achieving short drying times (minutes rather than hours) while maintaining nutritional quality through uniform temperature distribution.
Solution Approach 2:
By utilizing radio-frequency electromagnetic fields to induce molecular vibration in water, the system generates heat directly within the pasta matrix. This vibration-based heating mechanism achieves rapid moisture removal in minutes without the prolonged high-temperature exposure that causes nutritional degradation in conventional drying methods.
3Productivity
If conventional hot air drying apparatus is used, then drying function is achieved, but device complexity increases due to separate apparatuses needed for different pasta types
Solution Approach 1:
The radio-frequency electromagnetic field system serves as a universal drying mechanism that can process various pasta geometries (long, short, irregular shapes) and materials simultaneously. The electromagnetic fields penetrate and heat the entire volume of any pasta configuration uniformly, eliminating the need for multiple specialized drying apparatuses required by conventional hot air methods.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The method achieves high-quality, uniformly dried pasta in under an hour with reduced energy consumption and costs, eliminating the need for separate drying apparatuses for long and short pasta.
Implementation Method 1
drying said pasta in said dryer until the humidity of the pasta is not greater than 12.5%, said drying including heating said pasta in said dryer to a set temperature and maintaining the pasta at said set temperature for a set interval of time, wherein said heating is obtained by moving said pasta inside an oscillating electromagnetic field having a frequency comprised between 10 MHz and 100 MHz
Implementation Method 2
A method and apparatus using radio-frequency electromagnetic fields to dry pasta in a vacuum environment
Data Source
AI summary
A method for producing dry pasta comprising the steps of:preparing with durum wheat flour, or soft wheat flour, and water a dough having humidity comprised between 25% and 35%;placing the dough in a chamber in which a vacuum is created comprised between 0.1 bar and 0.5 bar;pushing the dough through a drawing device by applying to the dough pressure comprised 80 bar and 110 bar, to obtain food pasta in the form of units of long pasta or units of short pasta;conveying and delivering said pasta to a dryer;drying said pasta in said dryer until the humidity of the pasta is not greater than 12.5%, said drying including heating said pasta in said dryer to a set temperature and maintaining the pasta at said set temperature for a set interval of time;extracting said dried pasta from said dryer;wherein said heating is obtained by passing the pasta inside an oscillating electromagnetic field having a frequency comprised between 10 MHz and 100 MHz.An apparatus for producing dry food pasta including a kneading and drawing device configured for producing both long pasta and short pasta, a first dryer configured for drying long pasta produced by said kneading and drawing device, a second dryer configured for drying short pasta produced by said kneading and drawing device; said first dryer and said second dryer are equipped with a plurality of pairs of electrodes between which an electromagnetic field oscillating at a frequency comprised 10 MHz and 100 MHz is created by a generator of oscillating electromagnetic field.