Applied Food Research (Jun 2024)
Experimental investigation in the drying process of moringa leaves using microwave drying: Drying kinetics, energy consumption, and CO2 emission
Abstract
The objectives of this moringa leaf drying research are: (i) evaluating moringa leaf drying using fourteen mathematical models, (ii) analyzing EC, CO2 emissions, and SEC in drying moringa leaves using microwave and oven. Moringa leaf drying in the microwave uses 2 microwave powers, namely 136 W and 264 W. Moringa leaves used for drying contain an average of 73.65–74.10 % water. Non-linear regression methods are used to estimate drying coefficients with fourteen mathematical models. Seven error function were used to evaluate fourteen models used. With the lowest AICCorrected values of -201.3585 and -67.7706, the Midilli Kucuk model is known to be the best model for all microwave power varieties. There are four parameters of the Midilli Kucuk model at a microwave power of 136 W of “k” value of 0.00012 and a microwave power of 264 W of “k” value of 0.00024. This “k” value will be used as the amount of drying rate of moringa leaves with MD method. EC, CO2 Emission, and SEC calculations were carried out to determine the effectiveness of MD method rather than the conventional method. EC values of 0.0202–0.0289 kWh, CO2 emission of 0.0161–0.0231 kg, and SEC of 2.7091–3.9017 kWh/kg water for MD method were obtained. The results show that MD is more effective than conventional drying with EC values of 14.4000 kWh, CO2 emission of 11.5200 kg, and SEC of 196.6289 kWh/kg water. Therefore, MD is a method that is more environmentally friendly than the conventional method (oven drying).
