CHARACTERIZATION OF DRIED BANANA POROUS STRUCTURE BY X-RAY MICROTOMOGRAPHY COUPLED WITH IMAGE ANALYSIS

摘要

X-ray microtomography coupled with image analysis was used to characterize the 3D microstructure of dried banana slices. This non destructive imaging technique alloweddetermination of the total porosity and the pore size distribution of entire sample slicesdried with different drying techniques and drying conditions. The influences of thedrying methods (low-pressure superheated steam drying, vacuum drying, combination offar-infrared radiation with these two techniques) and of the drying temperature wereassessed. The results showed that the total porosity and the pore size distribution dependon both the drying technique and the drying temperature. Far-infrared radiation wasfound to modify the texture of the dried bananas by increasing their final porosity.