3. Solid–gas systems
3.1. Equipment
As already mentioned, the main drawback of the application of
ultrasound in gas media is the transmission of the acoustic wave
from the emitter’s surface to the samples. The air is a high attenuating
medium that absorbs the acoustic energy preventing its
transfer to the solids to be treated. On the other hand, the high
impedance difference between the solid surface of emitters and
the air, and between the air and the solid samples, produces the
reflection of a high proportion of the generated acoustic signal
(García-Pérez et al., 2006a). This is the reason why there are very
few research groups working on the application of ultrasound in
food drying. The applications of ultrasound during osmotic pretreatments
prior to the air drying process may be mentioned (Fernandes
and Rodrigues, 2007), but these processes are applications
in solid–liquid systems. Therefore, it is of great importance to gain
further a more thorough knowledge of the mechanisms of the
ultrasonic wave transmission in gas media in order to optimize
the application systems (de la Fuente et al., 2006). Significant attempts
have been made to alleviate these problems by developing
a powerful source of airborne ultrasound that can achieve a more
efficient transmission of energy to the material.