Abstract
The kinetic modelling of thin layer drying is performed with various agricultural products such as seeds, grains, fruits and some plant species with economic importance. Sweet Potato (Ipomoea batatas L) is a widely consumed, and its industrialization is on the increase. The thin layer drying kinetics of sweet potato were experimentally investigated in a convective hot air dryer. Comparison was made between the experimental and model predicted moisture ratio by nonlinear regression analysis. Furthermore, the effect of drying temperature and slice thickness on the selected model constants was evaluated. From the experimental data obtained, it was observed that moisture ratio of the potato sample was directly proportional to the mass of the sample while the time of drying was inversely proportional and these two parameters (mass and time) were used to develop a mathematical model for the thin layer drying of sweet potatoes using a convective hot air dryer. The mathematical model developed was validated. The experimental data fitted the developed mathematical model and gave the Sum of Squares (SSE) value of 0.0001296 and coefficient of determination (R2) as unity. The parameters obtained from the kinetic modelling of the selected models studied could be used in designing low cost dryers for optimum drying conditions.
Highlights
Drying operations had been applied for the reduction of moisture content in food materials for the prevention of microbial growth and deterioration, for shelf life elongation, to minimize packaging and improving storage for easy transportation
The aim of this study is to develop a mathematical model for predicting the thin layer drying conditions like mass and drying time using the hot air drying method and to fit American Journal of Chemical Engineering 2019; 7(1): 22-31 experimental data to some selected kinetic models for the sweet potato under study
A drying model showing the relationship between moisture ratio, drying time and mass on sweet potato drying process was developed
Summary
Drying operations had been applied for the reduction of moisture content in food materials for the prevention of microbial growth and deterioration, for shelf life elongation, to minimize packaging and improving storage for easy transportation. Sweet Potato (Ipomoea batatas L.) is a tuberous crop of great importance in the world economy and feeding. It is widely consumed fresh, and its industrialization is on the rise, especially in the production of starch and chips [5]. Several investigators had proposed numerous mathematical models for the thin layer drying of many agricultural products and porous materials [7]. This process (thin drying method) is advantageous, because a full scale experimentation of different products and configurations of the drying system is time consuming and costly [7]. The first category takes into account only the internal resistance to moisture transfer, while the other two consider only the external resistance to moisture transfer between the product and the air [2, 8]
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