Mathematical Modelling of Thin Layer Sun and Solar Drying of Cassava Chips

In this paper, the effect of sun and solar drying and pretreatment conditions (soaking in water; soaking in water and then blanching; blanching and then soaking) on the drying characteristics and kinetics of cassava chips were investigated. The drying time was shorter for samples pretreated by soaking only (SK) compared to the others. It was observed that pretreatment conditions and drying method significantly (P < 0.05) affected the drying rate. The drying for all experiments occurred in the falling rate period with no constant rate period. Four mathematical models were studied for the description thin layer drying characteristics of pretreated cassava chips. The models considered were the Henderson and Pabis, Newton, Logarithmic and the Page model. Comparing the correlation coefficients (R-2), chi-square (c(2)) and root mean square error (RMSE) values of four models, it was observed that the highest values of R-2 and lowest chi(2) and RMSE were obtained using Page model. This shows that the Page model represents drying characteristics better than other models. The effective moisture diffusivity values were estimated from Fick's diffusional model. These values obtained for solar dried samples were generally higher than those obtained for sun dried samples.