Fluidized Bed Drying of 2-Phase Olive Oil Mill By-Products

Abstract

This study is focused on the fluidized bed drying of solid olive oil mill by-products (SOB) resulting from the 2-phase oil extraction method. The most usual method used in SOB drying is the rotary dryer, which revealed some problems and disadvantages that can be easily solved with the development of new drying techniques based on exhaustive studies of the solid and a better comprehension of the drying process. Two-phase SOB drying in a fluidized bed proved to be a suitable alternative that provides high-efficiency drying at relatively low air temperatures (T < 150°C). Drying kinetics modeling was developed based on well-known empirical models such as Henderson & Pabis's model and Page's model. An n-order potential model is presented, showing a good accuracy for the description of the experimental drying curves of 2-phase SOB and it was possible to correlate satisfactorily its fitting parameters with the process variables.

Keywords:

• Dryer
• Fluidized bed
• Olive oil waste
• Pomace drying

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This study was financially supported by the “BIOLIVE” project (V Framework Programme), EU-QLRT-2000-00766, and the “FPU” Programme of the Ministry of Education and Science, Spain. Thanks are given to the BFEL (Federal Research Centre for Nutrition and Food), in Karlsruhe (Germany), which collaborated in the DSC analysis.