If you’re interested in using a Konjac drying machine to produce your own dried konjac, you have come to the right place. In this article, we’ll go over its process, features, applications, and environmental protection.
We’ll also discuss how to get started and how to keep costs to a minimum.
Read on to discover more! Listed below are some advantages and disadvantages of Konjac drying machines.
Process
The main function of a konjac drying machine is to increase the moisture content of a konjac product by using heat from the air. A convection drying machine can provide heat to a large quantity of konjac without damaging it.
Moreover, this machine can meet the drying needs of large-scale vegetables. It can also handle large particles and high temperature. After being dried, konjac products can be used as food or fiber.
The process of a Konjac drying machine begins by cutting the konjac strips into thin strips. This dried piece can then be cut into crescents, strings, peninsulas, and zigzag shapes.
Depending on the type of drying machine used, the dried strips may be shaped into different shapes, depending on the amount of water. This process is a vital step for making dried konjac products.
Features
A Konjac drying machine is a high-tech device that helps in completing the process of condensing the raw konjac root into powder. The raw material is available in several shapes and sizes.
Once cut, konjac can take a day or two to be processed. Different methods are used to dewater the plant. A normal konjac pulp contains approximately 70 to 90% water.
A dewatering machine can be set to different temperatures, but the best temperature is around 60 degrees Celsius. After dehydrating the konjac, grinding is another process.
The main features of a Konjac drying machine include its ability to produce thin film pieces of dried konjac with different protrusions.
They may be smooth, fuzzy, zigzag, or peninsula-shaped. It also has a programmable temperature controller that can be adjusted according to the amount of dried konjac.
In addition, the machine can be used in both commercial and agricultural applications.
In addition to the above-mentioned benefits, a Konjac drying machine can help in achieving the highest level of consistency in the dried product.
Applications
Glucomannan is a natural polysaccharide extracted from the plant Amorphophallus spp. It has various applications in the chemical, food, and biotechnology industries.
Its favorable characteristics include water solubility, edibility, and tendency to form a dense network upon drying.
Moreover, it can reduce the cost of production by reducing the operating costs by 70%.
Konjac drying machine is designed to meet a variety of drying requirements.
The method of using a Konjac drying machine involves dewatering the konjak gum input. After this, vacuum-drying is done to obtain 60 kg of white powder.
The pulpous state Konjaku is wrapped with special filter cloth and placed into a stainless steel cask with an aperture.
After the process is completed, the remaining 70 percent of moisture and other impurities are removed by hydraulic pressure squeezing.
Environmental protection
Environmental protection of Konjac drying machine can be achieved by drying the glucomannan flakes of Konjac.
This plant fiber is naturally low in GHG and therefore, is beneficial to the environment.
The resulting biopolymer films are made from renewable resources. The physical properties of biopolymer films are affected by drying temperatures and plasticizer types.
We tested the films made from KGM and heat pump dryer at 30 to 50 degC.
Our results show that they have better mechanical and physical properties compared with those from ambient temperatures.
Thickness, tensile stress at yield, elastic modulus, transparency and microstructure were evaluated in this study.
Plasticizers were added according to the manufacturers’ recommendations.
Wei et al. developed a mathematical model to simulate the drying process of Konjac.
The process of konjac drying was optimised by applying response surface methodology and artificial neural network to model the drying process.
Different material thickness of Konjac was dehydrated under different conditions, such as 60 degC and 70 degC.
The optimal temperature range is 52 to 63 degC. Once the temperature reaches 70 degC, the condensed Konjac samples have better whiteness index.
Product quality
While many studies have been conducted to improve the quality of dried konjac, very few have studied the effects of various process parameters on the end product.
This study aimed to optimize the process parameters and determine the best method for drying konjac while preserving the natural characteristics of the raw material.
It used Box-Behnken design to study the effects of process parameters on the end product quality.
The study investigated the effect of different process parameters on the whiteness index, konjac glucomannan content, and konjac thickness.
The drying temperature of the konjac can be controlled to obtain the desired result in terms of its product quality.
The optimal DT for this purpose is 52 to 63 degC. The maximum temperature of konjac is 60 degC, and the highest temperature can reduce the whiteness index of the finished product.
A Konjac drying machine product can be used to make a variety of products, including conical, crescent, string, peninsula, zigzag, and other shapes.
