Abstract
<jats:p>The development of efficient resource-saving technologies for the production of gelatin from underutilized fish processing waste is of great importance for the country's food security due to the prevalence of imported products on the domestic market. Gelatin is supplied to consumers in the form of powder or plates. To improve the gelatin drying process, it is promising to use radiation energy supply in relation to the foamed product, which necessitates a comprehensive study of the material, including research and analysis of its optical and thermoradiation properties. The article presents the results of a study of the features of thermal energy absorption by an optically thin layer of foamed ichthyogelatin obtained from the scales of fish from the Astrakhan region, when irradiated by a number of radiation generators (emitters). The studies were carried out experimentally and analytically using a UV-Vis-NIR Cary 5000 spectrophotometer (Varian) with product irradiation by different generators. As a result, the dependences distributions of the volumetric density of the absorbed radiation energy by the depth of an optically thin ichthyogelatin foam layer were obtained and analyzed, valid for the humidity range of 0.14 ≤ w ≤ 0.76, kg/kg and a foam layer depth of 0.000 ≤ x ≤ 0.004, m. The specified dependences are applicable for subsequent modeling of non-stationary temperature fields in the product during radiation or convective-radiation foam drying of the product (including in a vibrofluidized bed of granules) with a total heat flux density E = 3 060 W/m2 supplied to the product, which is rational for the implementation of the process. As a result of the analysis of the dependencies, as well as the ratio of the spectral characteristics of the radiation generators and the studied product irradiated by them, the expediency of using quartz halogen tubes emitters with a voltage of 220 V supplied to them was confirmed to ensure the most uniform heating of the ichthyogelatin foam layer in the infrared spectral range of 800 ≤ λ ≤ 2 500 nm during the entire drying process and, accordingly, more efficient implementation of the moisture removal process.</jats:p>