Experimental and theoretical investigation of drying kinetics of banana slices

Abstract

Modeling of the hot air dehydration period is very important to increase food property and reduce energy consumption. The objective of the study is to examine the drying behaviour of banana slices by using convective hot air drying method. Drying kinetics of the banana slices was investigated experimentally for different air temperatures (40, 50, and 60 °C). The drying models were fitted to the experimental data. The model which gives the nearest results to the experimental information was predicted as the Midilli model (R2=0.99). It was determined that the L (brightness) colour parameter value declined as the moisture content of the food decreased. Effective diffusion coefficients (2.02×10-10, 5.05×10-10, and 8.08×10-10 m2 s-1), activation energy (61.1 kJ (mol)-1) and shrinkage coefficients (23%, 32% and 40%) were calculated and it was seen to be compatible with the data given in the literature on food drying. The temperature and moisture content obtained from the experimental study were compared with numerical analysis and found to be compatible.

Keywords

• convective drying
• shrinkage
• banana