Mass transfer characteristics of bisporus mushroom (Agaricus bisporus) slices during convective hot air drying

An accurate understanding of moisture transfer parameters, including moisture diffusivity and moisture transfer coefficient, is essential for efficient mass transfer analysis and to design new dryers or improve existing drying equipments. The main objective of the present study was to carry out an experimental and theoretical investigation of mushroom slices drying and determine the mass transfer characteristics of the samples dried under different conditions. The mushroom slices with two thicknesses of 3 and 5 mm were dried at air temperatures of 40, 50 and 60 A degrees C and air flow rates of 1 and 1.5 m s(-1). The Dincer and Dost model was used to determine the moisture transfer parameters and predict the drying curves. It was observed that the entire drying process took place in the falling drying rate period. The obtained lag factor and Biot number indicated that the moisture transfer in the samples was controlled by both internal and external resistance. The effective moisture diffusivity and the moisture transfer coefficient increased with increasing air temperature, air flow rate and samples thickness and varied in the ranges of 6.5175 x 10(-10) to 1.6726 x 10(-9) m(2) s(-1) and 2.7715 x 10(-7) to 3.5512 x 10(-7) m s(-1), respectively. The validation of the Dincer and Dost model indicated a good capability of the model to describe the drying curves of the mushroom slices.