Mathematical Modeling of Drying of Tomato Slices Using Infrared Radiation
2014
Doymaz, İbrahim
The effect of different infrared power levels on the drying kinetics and rehydration capacity of tomato slices was investigated. The tomatoes were cut into eighths and dried at different infrared power levels. It was observed that the power levels affected the drying time and rehydration capacity. Drying time was reduced from 450 to 240 min as the infrared power level increased from 125 to 188 W. The experimental data obtained from drying study were fit with nine mathematical models to evaluate the drying kinetics of tomato slices. The fit quality of the proposed models was evaluated using the determination of coefficient, mean relative percent error, reduced chi‐square and root mean square error. Among the nine drying models, the model of Midilli et al. showed the best fit of drying kinetics of tomato slices. Effective moisture diffusivity varied from 2.66 to 5.17 × 10⁻⁹ m²/s and was significantly influenced by infrared power. PRACTICAL APPLICATION: Tomato is an important commercial vegetable, having the highest production figures of all the vegetables in the world. It is used to a great extent in the fresh state and in some processes as juice, puree, sauces, dried and canned varieties. Tomatoes are highly perishable because of their high moisture content; therefore, they need to be dried. Infrared drying has appeared as one of the potential alternatives to the traditional drying methods in obtaining high‐quality dried products. Infrared drying characteristics of tomato slices were studied in this work. The effect of infrared power level on the drying kinetics and rehydration capacity of tomato slices was determined.
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