THIN LAYER DRYING KINETICS OF MANGO PUREE IN REFRACTANCE WINDOW DRYING SYSTEM

Abstract

Drying of mango puree in a pilot Refractance Window system was investigated to determine mass transfer (moisture diffusivity) characteristics at two conveyor speeds. A theoretical approach based on mass transfer kinetics is used to model the change in moisture content of the food product. Moisture content of mango puree collected at different locations on the belt during drying was fitted to various thin-layer models. The models were compared using five statistical parameters, i.e. coefficient of determination (R2), reduced mean square of the deviation (c2), root mean square error (RMSE), and modeling efficiency (EF). Based on the values of these statistical parameters obtained, the two term model represented drying characteristics better than other models. The moisture diffusivity during RW drying process at conveyor speeds of 0.0065 m s-1 and 0.0078m s-1 was 6.07×10-10 and 8.74×10-10 m2/s, respectively. This paper presents an analytical approach for the Refractance Window drying of mango puree and the results are important for future validation studies using other products.