Abstract
Lemongrass is a plant that contains aromatic compounds (myrcene and limonene), powerful deodorants, and antimicrobial compounds (citral and geraniol). Identifying a suitable drying model for the material is crucial for establishing an initial step for the development of dried products. Convection drying is a commonly used drying method that could extend the shelf life of the product. In this study, a suitable kinetic model for the drying process was determined by fitting moisture data corresponding to four different temperature levels: 50, 55, 60 and 65 °C. In addition, the effect of drying temperature on the moisture removal rate, the effective diffusion coefficient and activation energy were also estimated. The results showed that time for moisture removal increases proportionally with the air-drying temperature, and that the Weibull model is the most suitable model for describing the drying process. The effective diffusion coefficient ranges from 7.64 × 10−11 m2/s to 1.48 × 10−10 m2/s and the activation energy was 38.34 kJ/mol. The activation energy for lemongrass evaporation is relatively high, suggesting that more energy is needed to separate moisture from the material by drying.
Highlights
Lemongrass (Cymbopogon citratus), known as oil grass, silky heads, or citronella grass, is a popular annual crop for spices and medicinal herbs
The results indicate that higher air-drying temperature resulted in greater slope of the curve and shorter drying time
Our research has to identified a mathematical model suitable to describe the behavior of sliced lemongrass subjected convection drying
Summary
Lemongrass (Cymbopogon citratus), known as oil grass, silky heads, or citronella grass, is a popular annual crop for spices and medicinal herbs. Lemongrass in both fresh and dried forms, is used as a spice in Vietnamese and Thai cooking, and for treatment of the common cold [2]. Tea made from lemongrass is commonly consumed in Brazil, Cuba, and Argentina as a treatment for catarrh, rheumatism, and sore throat [3]. The broad variety of uses of lemongrass is due to its valuable and numerous biological properties, which have been extensively studied and documented, including antifungal, antibacterial, antioxidant, anti-carcinogenic, and anti-rheumatic activities [3,4]
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