Determination of Moisture Diffusivity and Activation Energy in Thin Layer Drying of Olive Pomace

Abstract

Abstract The thin layer drying of olive pomace was experimentally studied in a laboratory convective dryer. Drying experiments were performed under five air temperatures of 60, 70, 80 and 90ºC, two air velocities of 1.0 and 1.8 m s-1 and three thickness of thin layer of 6, 9 and 12 mm. The results show that the drying time decreased with increased in drying temperature and air velocity but increased with the decreasing of thin layer thickness of olive pomace. Over the experimental range studied, the values of effective moisture diffusivity and activation energy ranged from 1.25 • 10-9 to 6.30 • 10-9 m2 s-1 and 26.30 to 37.63 kJ mol-1, respectively. The dependence of these parameters on thickness of thin layer, and temperature and velocity of drying air has been investigated.