Drying kinetics of jabuticaba pulp by regression models

Abstract

Jabuticaba tree is native to the Atlantic Forest in Southern Brazil, and its fruit is widely consumed in the fresh form, but it is highly perishable, requiring conservation techniques. The aim of this study was to describe the drying kinetics of jabuticaba pulp at temperatures of 50 and 60°C, comparing the Henderson, Simple Three-Parameter Exponential, Lewis, Thompson, Fick and Wang and Sing regression models and estimating the Absolute Drying Rate (ADR) for the best model. Parameters were estimated using the SAS software. The evaluation of the quality in the adjustment and selection of models was made based on the adjusted determination coefficient, Residual Standard Deviation and Akaike Information Criterion. Models presented good adjustment to data, and the Lewis model was the most suitable to describe the drying kinetics of jabuticaba pulp at temperatures of 50 and 60°C, with drying rate of 0.000063 and 0.000082 g of water/s respectively. ADR indicated that in one third of the drying time, 70% of moisture loss occurred at both temperatures and after this period, there was a deceleration of moisture loss until stabilization, when equilibrium moisture content is reached.