Use of diffusive and empirical models to predict drying rate of acerola seeds (Malpighia sp.)
1 Institute of Technological Education, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil.
2 Institute of Technological Education, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil.
3 Federal University of Campina Grande, Campina Grande, Paraíba, Brazil.
Research Article
Global Journal of Engineering and Technology Advances, 2021, 08(01), 096–109.
Article DOI: 10.30574/gjeta.2021.8.1.0098
Publication history:
Received on 02 June 2021; revised on 08 July 2021; accepted on 11 July 2021
Abstract:
The thin layer drying process of acerola seeds was analyzed using a flat plate geometry diffusion model, Page's model, and a two-part model proposed based on the diffusion equation. These models were fitted to experimental drying kinetics data of acerola seeds for an air flow speed of 1.5 m/s, at temperatures of 40, 50, 60 and 70°C, using non-linear regression by Levenberg-Marquardt method. The diffusion model was used to determine the diffusion coefficients and activation energy. The predicted and experimental results were compared using the determination coefficient (R2) and mean square error (MSE) of the estimates as criteria. The results showed that the diffusion model is not suitable for predicting the drying rate of acerola seeds, while Page’s equation and the two-part proposed model can be safely used to predict the drying rates.
Keywords:
Acerola; Drying kinetics; Thin layer drying; Page equation; Nonlinear regression
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