decrease in the drying time and the dried products had better rehydration characteristics as compared to convective air drying. The rate
constants of the exponential and Page’s model for thin layer drying were established by regression analysis of the experimental data
which were found to be affected mainly by the microwave power level followed by sample thickness while system pressure had a little
effect on the drying rate. Rehydration ratio was significantly affected by the system pressure. Empirical models are also developed for
estimating the drying rate constant and rehydration ratio as a function of the microwave-vacuum drying process parameters.