Drying Characteristics of Okra slices on drying in Hot Air Dryer

Drying is an essential process in the preservation of agricultural products. Various drying methods are employed to dry different agricultural products. Care must be taken in choosing the drying system. Study comparing traditional drying and other drying methods for the reduction of the drying time and to a significant improvement of the product quality in terms of color texture and taste. Reduces the possibilities, the contamination by insects and microorganisms so that product is prevented. An experimental study was performed to determine the drying characteristics of okra using hot air dryer. For the hot air drying, the test samples were dried in a laboratory scale hot air dryer at a constant air velocity of 1 m/s and air temperature in the range of 40-90 degrees C. Drying characteristics of okra slices were investigated in a hot air dryer for a temperature range 60 to 90 degrees C at constant air velocity 1.0 m/s. Results indicated that drying took place in the falling rate period. The sample dried at 40 degrees C was found better in color texture and taste as compared to the samples obtained at 60 and 90 degrees C. The drying data were fitted to different drying models. The performance of these models was investigated by comparing the determination of coefficient, reduced chi-square and root mean square error between the observed and predicted moisture ratios.