The initial phase of convection drying of vegetables and mushrooms and the effect of shrinkage

The results of measurements of loss of water in convection drying of slices of cut vegetables and mushrooms, not touching one another, indicate that the rate of drying of these products decreases from the beginning of the process. Consequently, almost all researchers have assumed that during the initial stage of drying, there is no stage of constant drying rate determined by conditions of external water exchange. Instead, it was assumed that models of the drying of these products from initial to final water content should be solutions of differential equations of internal mass diffusion or semi-empirical exponential equations. Such a view is not, however, compatible with the theory of convection drying of solids with high initial water content, such as vegetables and mushrooms. The results of studies presented in this paper, show that the initial stage of drying of red beet, onions, carrots, garlic and mushrooms, is a constant rate process determined by the known model of the theory of drying based on laws of external exchange of heat and water. Losses of water from 10 to 30% were compatible with the model, with a relative error of less than 1%, and from 40 to 50% with an error less than 5%. The introduction into the equation of a coefficient to allow for shrinkage of the products, extended the range of applicability of the model from 20 to 50% water loss with a relative error of less than 1%, and from 50 to 80% with an error of less than 5%. (C) 1999 Silsoe Research Institute.