JOURNAL OF FOOD PROCESS ENGINEERING, vol.30, no.5, pp.564-577, 2007 (SCI-Expanded)
In the theoretical analysis of convective drying process, two boundary conditions are common for concentration: constant concentration and convection. In this study, these two boundary conditions were comparatively examined by comparing theoretical results obtained with regard to experimental ones. Pumpkin (Cucurbita pepo) was considered as the product to be dried while air was the drying medium. The drying characteristics of pumpkin were determined for various values of drying air parameters, including temperature, velocity and relative humidity. Sorption isotherms of the dried pumpkin were also determined for different temperatures and water activities. The values of the effective moisture diffusivity, D-eff, and the convective mass transfer coefficient, h(m), were predicted, and these values were found to agree fairly well with those available in the existing literature.