Adjustment of mathematical models in the drying of cagaita pulp in foam-layer

Maisa Dias Cavalcante,Weder Nunes Ferreira Júnior,Celso Martins Belisário,Geisa Priscilla Araújo Gomes Maia,Daniel Emanuel Cabral De Oliveira,Osvaldo Resende

doi:10.1590/fst.14020

Maisa Dias Cavalcante, Weder Nunes Ferreira Júnior + Show 4 more

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https://doi.org/10.1590/fst.14020

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Abstract

Abstract The cagaita is a native fruit from Brazilian Cerrado region. Among conservation techniques and to increase shelf life of the fruit, foam bed drying becomes ideal. This study adjusted mathematic models of foam drying of the cagaita pulp at different temperatures to determine the net diffusion coefficient and the activation energy of this process. As the foam layer drying has a shorter drying time due to the greater exposure of the surface area to the air, it allows the application of lower dehydration temperatures, so it used 40, 50, 60 and 70 °C, the data observed were better fitted to the Midilli model. The net diffusion coefficient increased with temperature and the activation energy was 25.368 kJ mol-1.

Highlights

The Brazilian Cerrado covers almost two million square kilometers of Brazil, and includes the states of Goias, Tocantins, Mato Grosso do Sul, Minas Gerais, Bahia, Mato Grosso, Maranhão, and Piauí
We used the model of the flat plate geometry with an approximation of eight terms (Equation 14), which was adjusted to the experimental data of foam-layer drying of the cagaita pulp, and we considered the surface area and volume
Similar behaviors were reported by Baptestini et al (2015) in a study of foam drying of graviola

Summary

Introduction

The Brazilian Cerrado covers almost two million square kilometers of Brazil, and includes the states of Goias, Tocantins, Mato Grosso do Sul, Minas Gerais, Bahia, Mato Grosso, Maranhão, and Piauí. The cagaita is an indigenous of the Brazilian Cerrado fruit, which can be consumed fresh or processed (as jellies, ice creams, liqueurs, and juices). Because it is very perishable, it needs to be preserved by various techniques to increase its shelf life (Costa et al, 2017). Liquid or semi-liquid foods are transformed into powder by agitation and incorporation of a foaming agent, followed by dehydration (Ng & Sulaiman, 2018)

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