Asha Monicka A
@karunya.edu
Asst Prof
karunya institute of technology and sciences
RESEARCH INTERESTS
Drying Technology and value added products
Scopus Publications
Scholar Citations
Scholar h-index
Scopus Publications
G. Jeevarathinam, J. Deepa, P. Bhava Nishevidha, A. Siva Janika, S. Nandhakumar, C.S. Neethu, S. Ganga Kishore, A. Asha Monicka, and R. Pandiselvam
Elsevier
G. Jeevarathinam, R. Pandiselvam, T. Pandiarajan, J. Deepa, S. Dinesh Kumar, P. Preetha, T. Krishnakumar, A. Asha Monicka, M. Balakrishnan, and D. Amirtham
Wiley
ABSTRACTThe commercial value of turmeric is significantly influenced by the percentage of volatile compounds. Drying techniques reported in previous studies for turmeric showed a reduction in volatile compounds, which negatively affected the quality and market value. In this investigation, drying trials were conducted on turmeric slices with bed thicknesses ranging from 10–25 and 10–50 mm using infrared drying, hot air drying (HAD), and infrared‐assisted hot air drying (IR‐HAD) methods at temperatures of 50°C, 60°C, and 70°C. The air velocity was maintained at 2 m/s, with an infrared radiation intensity of 3.02 W/cm². The results indicated that IR‐HAD at 70°C with a bed thickness of 25 mm achieved the best outcomes in terms of drying rate, efficiency, specific energy consumption, and CO₂ emissions. Conversely, IR‐HAD at 60°C with a bed thickness of 25 mm was optimal for retaining quality parameters, such as curcumin, oleoresin, color, and starch content. Notably, the drying time at 70°C for the 10–25‐mm bed thickness was 54.54% shorter compared with 50°C for IR‐HAD. Statistical analysis revealed significant effects (p < 0.01) of drying techniques, bed thickness, and drying temperatures on quality parameters. IR‐HAD at 60°C with a bed thickness of 25 mm emerged as the preferred operating condition for producing high‐quality turmeric. Nonlinear regression analysis confirmed the suitability of seven different thin‐layer drying models, with the page model being the most accurate predictor of turmeric slice drying under varied conditions. IR‐HAD demonstrated its potential to accelerate the drying rate during the initial stage of the process, with reduced thickness proving more effective due to the increased surface area facilitating faster moisture removal. IR‐HAD at 60°C retains the maximum percent of volatile compounds and maintains the quality by faster and uniform drying. Therefore, employing IR‐HAD offers a more energy‐efficient sustainable method while ensuring quality retention in dried turmeric slices.
B. Leya, R. Shan Franklin, M. M. Pragalyaashree, A. Asha Monicka, D. Tiroutchelvame, C. Blessy, and R. Freeda Blessie
Open Science Publishers LLP
Food substances are highly susceptible to spoilage due to their inherent properties and environmental factors during transit from farm to fork. Hence, it is necessary to protect the food from various factors by safeguarding it in proper packaging. The packaging materials include flexible pouches and rigid containers, and they have their own merits and demerits. Most of the packaging materials used nowadays are polymer-based, which takes a long time to degrade and poses a dangerous threat to terrestrial and aquatic life. Edible packaging evolved to be an alternative to conventional packaging due to its natural biopolymers, which are hyper-degradable and consumable. They exhibit improved barrier and organoleptic properties, mass transfer selectivity, and reduced migration properties of packaging ingredients into food and environmental pollution. They are classified as coatings, films, and pouches and can be used as either food wraps or heat-sealed into pouches that are applied directly on the food surface. Thus, edible packaging is a potential approach in the food packaging industry. This review explains in detail the biomaterials used for film preparation, various processes involved in film formation, different coating methods, and recent applications in the area of eco-friendly edible packaging.
Vismaya K. Sachithanandhan, A. Asha Monicka, A. Brusly Solomon, G. Jeevarathinam, Tanmay Yadav, and Ajith R.
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Vismaya K. Sachithanandhan, A. Asha Monicka, A. Brusly Solomon, G. Jeevarathinam, Tanmay Yadav, and Ajith R.
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Asha A Monicka, Pragalyaa Shree, R. Freeda Blessie, Humeera Tazeen, B. Navaneetham, S. Sheryl Andria, and A. Brusly Solomon
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
A. Asha Monicka, Dinesh Kumar, A. Brusly Solomon, and Suguna Devekumari M
EDP Sciences
The energy for drying agricultural products comes from various sources such as electricity, natural gas, biomass and fossil fuels. The practice of solar energy utilization in the agricultural sector has a potential scope to minimize the cost of operation, replace the conventional drying methods and save environment by reducing carbon foot print. In the present study, heat pipe assisted natural convection indirect solar dryer (HNISD) was used to determine the drying behaviour with respect to thickness in banana slices with three different thickness namely 2,4 and 6mm. The drying time taken for 2 and 4 mm thick slices was 12 hours whereas the slices with 6 mm thickness took 13 h of drying time. The experimental data was best fit with the Midilli-kucuk model for HNISD. For open sun drying Two-term model was found to be best model to explain the drying characteristics of banana slices.
A. Monicka, T. Pandiarajan and S. Ganapathy
Progress in Agricultural Engineering Sciences Akademiai Kiado Zrt.
Abstract The objective of this research is to develop a dehusked coconut grading machine for coconut cultivators and entrepreneurs. The basis of design is characterized by a tapered belt conveyor and sizing board with openings of increasing aperture which run along the edge of the belt conveyor. Dehusked coconuts are fed onto the tapered belt conveyor where the gravitational force pushes the nut towards the edge until it comes in contact with sizing board. Due to the tangential force, the nut reels along the sizing board, where dehusked coconuts are graded and allowed to fall through aperture according to their sizes. Performance tests indicated that the inclination angle and velocity of the belt significantly affected contamination ratio, grading efficiency and capacity at 5% significance level. The most efficient configuration for fully husked coconut and semi husked was a belt speed of 1.3 m/s with the inclination angle of 15° and belt speed of 1.5 m/s with the inclination angle of 15° respectively. The machine is acceptable by coconut growers and entrepreneurs.
A. Asha Monicka, T. Pandiarajan, and S. Ganapathy
Journal of Applied Horticulture Society for the Advancement of Horticulture