EXPLORING THE USE OF MICROWAVE IN COCOA BEANS MICRONIZING – ASSESSMENT OF SELECTED PHYSICAL AND MECHANICAL PROPERTIES, DRYING KINETICS AND BIOACTIVE COMPOUNDS
Authors: Hidayatullah H.
Journal Issue: Malaysian Cocoa Journal, Volume 13(1)/2021
Keywords: bio-active compounds, cocoa beans, mechanical properties, micronizing, microwave
Published On: 1/11/2021
Abstract
This study explains the use of microwave in conducting cocoa beans micronizing as opposed to the standard infrared dry beans micronizing that is widely used in the industry. The effect of microwave in reducing the moisture content, the drying kinetics profiles, and the mechanical properties of the beans after this treatment and the amounts of remaining bioactive compounds were studied. Four different moisture levels (43.54% - 12.00%) of cocoa beans were prepared and used to provide the micronizing profiles spectrum using 500 Watts of microwave power with 12 minutes micronizing time. The results showed that after micronized, the 12.00% moisture content of the beans became 7.52%, a reduction of more than 37% of moisture. The results also show the final temperature of the beans were between 89.2oC to 136.5oC. The drying rate shows a significant amount of moisture was removed in the 12.00% wet beans moisture content compared to the rest. The mechanical properties of the beans after the micronizing treatment represented by the modulus of rupture (MOR) was in the range of 169.16+45.3 to 69.87+13.1. Statistically, there was no significant differences in the remaining amount of total polyphenols and its sub-class compounds in the dried samples. This study provides some insight and determining factors in how microwave can be used in cocoa beans micronizing to intensify the cocoa processing steps.