Thin-Layer Drying Characteristics And Modelling Of Ripe Plantain Slices (Musa Pardisaca)

Abstract

Vegetable drying is the most effective method for preserving agricultural products, it is an energy-intensive process. This study thus, thin-layer drying characteristics and modelling of ripe plantain (musa paradisaca) was investigated with different slice thicknesses (3mm, 4mm and 5mm) in thin layer using a laboratory convective oven dryer multiples of 10°C in the temperature range of 60 to 80°C was used. A suitable estimating thin-layer model was chosen by fitting the results to the three thin-layer models of Lewis, Henderson, and Page using the parameters (R², RMSE, and Х²). It was observed that Henderson model R² ranged from 0.9064-0.996, RMSE ranged from 0.021838-0.000346 and X² ranged from 0.0017765712-0.0000000447730. Slice thickness tends to increase with activation energy and temperature tends to increase with an increase in effective moisture diffusivity. As a result, the statistical analysis revealed that the Henderson model provided a trustworthy prediction for the drying characteristics of ripe plantain slices at the selected temperatures without a constant rate period but rather a falling rate period.