Modelling the Dehydration Characteristics of Taro (Colocasia Esculenta) Slices in a Convective Cabinet Dryer

Abstract

This study was undertaken to determine the thin layer dehydration characteristics of Taro (Colocasia esculenta) slices in a convective cabinet dryer. The dehydration characteristics of the untreated taro slices were examined at air temperatures of 50, 60 and 70°C, sample thickness of 4 and 8 mm and at air velocity of 1.2 m/s. The effects of air temperature and sample thickness on the dehydration characteristics were determined. The experimental data obtained were fitted to eight thin layer dehydration models which are Newton, Page, Modified page, Henderson and Pabis, Logarithmic, Two terms, Wang and Singh, and the Two term exponential models. The regression was done using Sigma plots 10 statistical software. The accuracies of the models were measured using four statistics namely the coefficient of determination (R2), Reduced Chi square (χ2), Root mean square error (RMSE), and the Mean bias error (MBE). All the drying models used, except the Modified Page's model, were able to describe the dehydration characteristics of taro slices. However, the Logarithmic model proved to be the most précised for the description of the dehydration of the taro slices in a convective cabinet dryer.