Effects of the climatic conditions and the shape on the drying kinetics, Application to solar drying of potato-case of Maghreb's region

Abstract

Abstract This study focuses on the drying of the same quantity of a food product, cut in three different shapes (cylindrical, cubical and rectangular parallelepipedic). The experiments were carried out, considering the solar drying of potatoes. The results show that, the drying kinetics depend, on the shape and the size of items, which constitute each quantity. Using the diffusion model and experimental curves of the drying kinetics, the internal coefficient of diffusion, is identified for each case. Results show that, due to the shrinkage effect, the calculation of this coefficients modified, between the beginning and the end of drying. Relations between these coefficients and the characteristic dimension, are established. The analysis assesses the geometrical factors, which influence the drying parameters. The objective of this work is to propose recommendations for a wide use of solar dryers and to study the feasibility and the exploitation of these clean systems, especially in the Maghreb region.