Modelling of Moisture Content, β-Carotene and Deformation Variation during Drying of Carrot

Abstract

Abstract In this work a two-dimensional convective drying model of heat, mass and momentum transfer is developed taking account of the shrinkage and the quality degradation of carrots. The kinetics of β-carotene degradation in dried agricultural product is considered to follow a first-order reaction. Temperature dependence of the reaction rate constants followed the Arrhenius relationship. The developed model, describes the strong coupling between mass, heat and momentum transfers, shrinkage and quality (β-carotene) changes and takes into account the dehydration of the solid caused by a temperature increase.