Abstract
Abstract: Losses of agroindustry are generally wet products that must be dried to posterior use and storage. In order to optimize drying processes, the study of isotherms and thermodynamic properties become essential to understand the water sorption mechanisms of agricultural products. Thus, the objective in this study was to determine and evaluate the thermodynamic properties for different equilibrium moisture contents in sunn hemp (Crotalaria spectabilis Roth) seeds, using the direct static method to obtain the experimental data. The Chung-Pfost model was used to determine the thermodynamic properties of sunn hemp seeds. In according to results, thermodynamic properties were influenced by moisture content. The water vaporization latent heat increased with the decrease in equilibrium moisture content. The sunn hemp desorption process was controlled by entropy. Gibbs free energy is negative indicating that the desorption process of sunn hemp seeds was spontaneous.
Highlights
Sunn hemp is an important legume used to protect soils against erosion
Journal of Seed Science, v.40, n.3, p.288-295, 2018 drying element. This fact justifies the study of thermodynamic involved in the drying of agricultural products, allowing engineers to design better drying equipment, to calculate energy requirements necessary for the process, to study the properties of adsorbed water, to evaluate the microstructure of food and to study the physical phenomena that occur at the material surface (Corrêa et al, 2010)
The Chung-Pfost model was used in order to determine the sunn hemp seeds thermodynamic properties, because it presented the best fit to the experimental data, with the coefficient of determination, estimated mean error (SE), and mean relative error (P) of 86.07%; 0.014; and 6.10%, respectively
Summary
Sunn hemp is an important legume used to protect soils against erosion It reduces soil compaction, promotes significant nutrient recycling, suppresses pathogens, weeds and nematodes and supplies high quality fiber for manufacturing specialized paper products (Silva et al, 2012). The study of drying provides information on the heat and mass transfer that occur between the biological material and the Journal of Seed Science, v.40, n.3, p.288-295, 2018 drying element This fact justifies the study of thermodynamic involved in the drying of agricultural products, allowing engineers to design better drying equipment, to calculate energy requirements necessary for the process, to study the properties of adsorbed water, to evaluate the microstructure of food and to study the physical phenomena that occur at the material surface (Corrêa et al, 2010)
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