Modelling and thermodynamic properties of the drying of acuri slices

Abstract Acuri is a fruit little explored industrially with great perspectives and possibilities for use, but for this to occur the moisture content must be reduced, thus increasing its shelf life and enabling it to be used in markets far from its place of production. Hence the objective here was to dry acuri slices with a thickness of approximately 4.07 mm at temperatures of 60, 70, 80 and 90 °C, adjust different mathematical models to the experimental data and determine the diffusion coefficients, the activation energy and the thermodynamic properties. It was observed that a temperature increase of 30 °C reduced the total process time by 36%, with maximum drying rates of 1.22; 1.88; 2.16 and 2.45 kg of water kg of dry matter min -1 at the temperatures of 60, 70, 80 and 90 °C, respectively. Of the mathematical models tested, the Logarithmic model presented the best fit to the experimental data and was selected as the most adequate model to represent the phenomenon investigated. The effective diffusion coefficients increased with increase in temperature to the order of 10-10 m2 s-1 and the temperature dependence was described by the Arrhenius equation which presented an activation energy of 17.66 kJ mol-1. The enthalpy and entropy values decreased with increase in drying temperature, while Gibbs free energy increased in the temperature range evaluated.