Monitoring and modelling of moisture content with nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR)

Abstract

Abstract This study aims to evaluate the variation of the moisture content and drying rate over time, temperature, and position by NMR techniques. Chickpea puree was selected for drying, and the drying experiments were performed at 50–70 °C for 3 h using cylindrical shaped samples with dimensions of 6 cm × 1 cm. The moisture contents of samples were measured using oven, time-domain nuclear magnetic resonance (TD-NMR), and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) methods. The change in moisture content and drying rate with temperature and position was evident. Hence, the drying rates ranged at 0.34–0.44 kgH2O/m2h and drying times were estimated as 440–320 min for 50–70 °C and r = 1–3 cm. It was concluded that TD-NMR and MRI methods were effective, high-sensitive and precise in estimating moisture content during chickpea drying process.