Mathematical modeling of the effects of thickness and temperature on thin-layer drying kinetics of oven-dried cooking bananas (Musa spp., sub. grp. ABB) slices

Abstract

Cooking bananas is a major beneficial food in developing countries that is involved in improving human well-being and health. However, owing to its high moisture content, it quickly deteriorates. Understanding the dehydration mechanism of raw banana slices is important for subsequent processing, preservation, transportation, and product quality. Thus, this study investigates the influence of slice thickness (5, 10, and 15 mm) at varying temperatures (45, 55, and 65 °C) in a convective oven dryer on thin-layer drying kinetics and extrapolates their effect on the drying kinetics of cooking banana slices. As the temperature and slice thickness increased, the drying time also increased. Midilli’s model was found to be the best for explaining the experimental data. The effective moisture diffusivity ranged from 1.393 × 10 −8 to 8.889 10 −8 m2/s. The dependence of moisture diffusivity on temperature was described by an Arrhenius-type equation, and the activation energies were found to be 23.599, 24.804, and 24.223 kJ/mol for thicknesses of 5, 10, and 15 mm, respectively.