Resumen

FERREIRA, Sebastião R  y  COSTA, Antônio R. S. Mass Transfer Parameters in Fruit Drying. Inf. tecnol. [online]. 2009, vol.20, n.2, pp.89-104. ISSN 0718-0764.  http://dx.doi.org/10.4067/S0718-07642009000200012.

An analytical model was developed to determine mass transfer parameters during fruit drying. The model considers radius shrinkage during the drying process. With the mathematical model the external mass transfer coefficient k_m and the water diffusivity D_AB can be simultaneously evaluated. To test the model, experimental data of water mass M_A versus drying time t, and the initial radius R₀ and the radius at the end of the process R_f were determined. The values obtained for D_AB and k_m were of the same order of magnitude as those calculated by a numerical method from the literature. The proposed methodology, that considers volume shrinkage, can be used to estimate drying parameters with acceptable accuracy for engineering calculations.

Palabras clave : mass transfer; fruit drying; mathematical modeling; diffusivity.

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