OPTIMIZATION OF VACUUM DRYING OF OLIVE CAKE USING THE TAGUCHI METHOD

Abstract

In order to determine the optimal conditions for vacuum drying the olive cake, experiments based on the Taguchi method are carried out using an orthogonal L18[9] three-factor table each having three levels [1]. The parameters studied are the depression exerted under the olive cake layer, the drying time and the thickness of the layer[2]. The test bench used to carry out the experiments is adopted from the patenting carried out by A.LAJDEL and M.MAZOUZI [3 , 4]. It comprises a vacuum pump sucking the air contained in a tank linked to a throat on which the olive cake layer is placed in position as shown in Figure 1. The results obtained show that the optimal combination minimizing the water content of olive pomace is a thickness of 5mm, a drying time of 100 minutes and a negative pressure of -130 mbar which was identified as the most influencing factor.