Experimental Studies for Convective Drying of Potato

Abstract

An experimental facility was built at the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi in order to examine the characteristics of convective drying of a moist object. The test facility consists of an inlet section, a divergent and convergent section, a settling chamber, a test section, and an outlet section. Initial moisture content and time-dependent moisture content of a rectangular shaped moist object (4 cm × 2 cm × 2 cm) are measured by this test facility. The potato slice was selected as a sample moist object. Moisture content was measured at different air temperatures of 40, 50, 60, and 70°C with an air velocity of 2 m/sec. The density of potato slice was determined for various drying temperatures. The volume shrinkage during drying decreased almost linearly with moisture content. The percentage air pores and porosity increased gradually with decreasing moisture content and increasing drying air temperature. Volumes of water, air, and solid content of potato were determined at different drying air temperatures. The results are validated with theoretical data.