Drying characteristics and solar convective drying kinetics of China Hami melon slice

Abstract

This experimental study aims to investigate the influence of solar drying parameters on water loss of fresh Hami melon flakes. This article presented the experiment results of drying kinetics .In this study, drying kinetics was conducted on a solar convective dryer with heat pump at four air temperatures (i.e., 40 °C, 50 °C, 60 °C, and 70 °C), flow rates (i.e., 1, 2, 3, and 4 m/s), and sample thickness (i.e., 2, 5, 8, and 11 mm). The characteristic drying curve of Hami melon has been determined by experimental results. Eight models were simulated, and the Midilli– Kucuk model had highest fitting degree in thin layer drying models when all drying data was simulated. Within the scope covered, Fick’s second law of diffusion was often used to compute an effective water diffusivity, which raised from 8.66×10 m/s to 3.12×10 m/s with drying temperatures, airflow rates, and thickness. The activation energy is 11.71 kJ/mol, it indicates the effect of temperature on diffusion coefficient.