Microwave Vacuum Drying of Scallop ( Patinopecten yessoensis ) Adductor Muscle: Mathematical Modeling and Numerical Simulations

ABSTRACT This study aimed to explore the mass transfer process of scallop microwave‐vacuum drying and the reasons for quality degradation caused by high microwave power. Specifically, the microwave vacuum drying experiment and multiphysics simulation of the scallop adductor muscle were conducted under different microwave power densities (1, 2, 3, and 4 W/g). The results demonstrated that the Page model can effectively fit the moisture ratio change rule during microwave vacuum drying, and the parameters K and n were well nonlinear with the microwave power density. The microwave power density of 1 W/g was the appropriate process parameter for microwave vacuum drying of the scallop's adductor muscle; the dried scallop was light yellow in color and compact in texture, without burning spots or deformation. The shrinkage rate was 62.32%, the protein retention rate was 97.01%, and the energy consumption was 11.04 kWh/kg. In addition, COMSOL Multiphysics software was adopted to establish a three‐field coupling model of electromagnetic field, solid heat transfer, and dilute substance transfer. It was confirmed that the temperature of the scallop adductor muscle increased with increasing power and time, and the temperature and moisture content at the scallop center exhibited a gradient surplus with the surface, which accelerated the outward migration of water. Hot spots were distributed at the cylindrical edge and the vertex center, while the water concentration distribution was equally different and related to the temperature distribution. This explained the fundamental cause of burning, waist collapse, and top depression in the drying of the scallop adductor muscle under high power.