Influence of dry matter content and drying conditions on effective diffusion coefficient of onion (Allium cepa, L)

Demand for fresh and dehydrated onions has increased considerably over the last two decades. To meet this challenge new varieties possesing superior field characteristics have been developed whose dehydration characteristics differ markedly. In this work the influence of dry matter content in the raw onion and drying conditions on the effective diffusion coefficient is studied. In the falling rate period, the diffusion activation energy was found to be 33.9 kJ/mol, and the D-o parameter (the effective diffusivity at high moisture contents) was found to be 5.0736 x 10(-5) m(2)/s. On the basis of measurements with seven different onion varieties (with raw dry matter content between 19.5 and 23.5 kg dry matter/kg fresh product) an exponential relationship was found between the effective diffusivity and dry matter content of the raw onion.