Modeling of thin layer drying characteristics of “Xiem” banana peel cultivated at U Minh district, Ca Mau province, Vietnam

Abstract

In Vietnam, banana peels have been discarded as waste which is a potential source of raw material for food and other bioprocessing industries. Drying the peel offers opportunities for value addition into novel products, thus reducing waste from the fruit processing operations. This study presented the mathematical models of the thin-layer drying behaviour of banana peels using three air temperatures (60oC, 70oC and 80oC). The effect of drying temperature on the reduction of moisture content and drying rate of the banana peel was evaluated. A total of eight commonly drying models were used for choosing the best fitness model for describing the oven drying process. The effective moisture diffusivity and activation energy were calculated using Fick’s diffusion equation. The obtained results showed that increasing drying temperature accelerate the drying process, as well as, increasing drying rate and effective diffusivity. The goodness of fit tests base on the criterion indicated that the Page model gave the best fit to experimental results. The effective diffusivity varied from 2.29×10-8 – 3.25×10-8 m 2 /s. Effective diffusivity was satisfactorily by an Arrhenius relationship with activation energy within the 60-80°C temperature range. The obtained activation energy was 16.98 kJ/mol with a high coefficient of determination (R2 = 0.903).