Modeling Drying Isotherms Using a Structure Transition Model

Abstract

Drying introduces structural changes in the target material that modify its interaction with water. In this work, we developed a model based on star fruit drying that considered two forms of interaction with water. This model provided a very good fit to the experimental data and was applicable to drying of other products such as apple, barley, and coffee. This model yielded better fits for data reported in the literature than other models. These findings suggest that the model is applicable to a wide range of systems.

Keywords:

• Averrhoa carambola L
• Drying curves
• Drying models
• Isotherms
• Kinetic models

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The authors thank Stephen Hyslop for editing the English of the manuscript. This work was supported by Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado da Bahia (FAPESB), Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP), Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq), and Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES), Brazil.