Abstract
ABSTRACT The objective of this study was to determine and model the drying kinetics of 'Cabacinha' pepper fruits at different temperatures of the drying air, as well as obtain the thermodynamic properties involved in the drying process of the product. Drying was carried out under controlled conductions of temperature (60, 70, 80, 90 and 100 °C) using three samples of 130 g of fruit, which were weighed periodically until constant mass. The experimental data were adjusted to different mathematical models often used in the representation of fruit drying. Effective diffusion coefficients, calculated from the mathematical model of liquid diffusion, were used to obtain activation energy, enthalpy, entropy and Gibbs free energy. The Midilli model showed the best fit to the experimental data of drying of 'Cabacinha' pepper fruits. The increase in drying temperature promoted an increase in water removal rate, effective diffusion coefficient and Gibbs free energy, besides a reduction in fruit drying time and in the values of entropy and enthalpy. The activation energy for the drying of pepper fruits was 36.09 kJ mol-1.
Highlights
The varieties of the pepper species Capsicum chinense L. stand out for their great diversity of fruits with different forms, flavors, aromas, pungencies and chemical compositions
The reduction in equilibrium water content with the increase in drying air temperature was observed for fruits of green bell pepper (Silva et al, 2008), ‘Pimentade-cheiro’ (Pontes et al, 2009) and ‘Cumari-do-Pará’ pepper (Reis et al, 2011)
According to Draper & Smith (1998), the lower the value of standard deviation of estimate (SE), the better will be the quality of the fit in relation to the experimental data
Summary
The varieties of the pepper species Capsicum chinense L. stand out for their great diversity of fruits with different forms, flavors, aromas, pungencies and chemical compositions. These characteristics justify their wide use in human consumption, medicine and cosmetic industries (Dagnoko et al, 2013). Kaleemullah & Kailappan (2004) point out that, for being stored with high water contents, pepper and bell pepper fruits may suffer physico-chemical and biological alterations, reducing the commercial value of the product (Henz & Moretti, 2008). For instance, allows reducing the high water contents to levels adequate for storing, which decreases biological activity in the fruits and the problems regarding deterioration and contamination (Srinivasakannan & Balasubramanian, 2009)
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
