Mathematical Modelling of Convective Hot Air Drying of Garlic Slices | ||
| Journal of Soil Sciences and Agricultural Engineering | ||
| Article 3, Volume 16, Issue 6, June 2025, Pages 157-166 PDF (1.12 M) | ||
| Document Type: Original Article | ||
| DOI: 10.21608/jssae.2025.386458.1288 | ||
| Authors | ||
| S. E. Elfar* ; A. M. Matouk; Meral M. Khalil | ||
| Faculty of Agriculture, Dep. of Agric. Eng., Mansoura University, Egypt. | ||
| Abstract | ||
| The present study investigates the mathematical modelling and drying kinetics of garlic slices using a laboratory dryer at five drying air temperature levels (45, 50, 55, 60, and 65°C). Comparison was made between untreated and pretreated samples, using a 0.5% w/w sodium metabisulfite (Na₂O₅S₂) solution for 10 min. A constant air flow rate of 0.708 m³/s and slice thicknesses ranging from 2 to 3 mm were used. Ten different drying mathematical models were used to simulate and evaluate the drying data. The models were evaluated based on the coefficient of determination (R²), standard error (SE), chi-square (χ²), and root mean square error (RMSE). The results indicated that a three-term exponential model satisfactorily describes the garlic drying behavior at all drying air temperatures, for both treated and untreated garlic slices. The effective moisture diffusivities varied from 2.225 × 10-10 to 3.1187 × 10-10, and from 2.0517 × 10-10 to 2.9545 × 10-10 for treated and untreated garlic slices, respectively, over the temperature range studied. The activation energy was calculated based on the Arrhenius equation and found to be 15.429 and 16.552 kJ/mol for treated and untreated garlic slices, respectively. Pretreatment with sodium metabisulfite showed a positive effect on the rehydration rate and color, indicating improved product quality. | ||
| Keywords | ||
| Garlic slices; Mathematical modelling; effective moisture diffusivity; activation energy; rehydration ratio; color parameters | ||
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