THE THIN-LAYER DRYING CHARACTERISTICS OF MACADAMIA IN-SHELL NUTS AND KERNELS

The thin-layer drying behaviour of macadamia in-shell nuts and kernels for a temperature range of 26-56-degrees-C and 21-48-degrees-C, respectively, and a relative humidity range of 15-75% and 14-63%, respectively, was examined. The two-term exponential model predicted accurately the drying behaviour of in-shell nuts and kernels. The temperature dependence of the drying rate constants was best explained by an Arrhenius-type relationship. At low moistures, the removal of moisture from the kernel was faster when in-shell nuts were dried than when extracted kernels were dried.