Probabilistic Model of Drying Process of Leek

Abstract

Convective drying is the most common drying method, and mathematical modelling of the dewatering process is an essential part of it, playing an important role in the development and optimization of drying devices. Modelling of the leek drying process can be difficult as the specific structure of this vegetable, in which the slices of leek are delaminated into uneven single rings at different times during drying and the material surface changes more than in other vegetables. This study aimed at proposing a theoretical model for leek convective drying, based on the theoretical laws of heat and mass exchange, which should take into account the observed random process disturbances in the form of random coefficients of this model. The paper presents a non-linear model of water content changes with a random coefficient n. Values of the coefficient n, which were considered to be a random variable, were obtained using the Monte Carlo method, using the inversed distribution function as a probabilistic method. The non-linear model of water content changes when a random n coefficient gives a good approximation of the measurements of water content changes to approximately 1–2 kg H2O/kg d.m.