Modelagem matemática para descrever a secagem de discos de cenoura (Daucus carota L.).

Abstract

Drying is a process used in several productive sectors, among which stands out the food industry. From this perspective, studies have been developed in order to improve the drying processes in order to improve the quality of the final product. Given this, we present in this work the study of mathematical modeling that describes the drying of carrots which is a vegetable known to have high moisture content. In addition, to evaluate the drying process through empirical and diffusive models and to determine through experimental data the carrot drying curves for temperatures of 40, 50, 60 and 70 o C, as well as to characterize the carrot throughout the process. by making physicochemical analyzes available to the entire scientific community. Thus, several mathematical models are proposed in the literature for the study of carrot drying kinetics, seeking to estimate the simultaneous heat and mass transfers involved in drying kinetics. These models are used to predict the behavior of drying curves of the material. The operating conditions used in the procedure were for carrot discs 5 mm thick and approximately 38 mm in diameter on average. It was noticeable from the results that among the empirical models Page was the one that best fit the experimental data. On the other hand, there are diffusive models that have been widely used in the description of processes involving transport phenomena, since these models, besides presenting parameters with physical meanings, can also describe the distribution of moisture content inside. product at a specified time and in a specified position. Through the physicochemical analysis it can be said that with the drying process, no significant losses in the nutrients were detected, thus concluding that this conservation procedure used is advantageous, since they reduce expenses such as transport, storage and increase the time, shelf life of this product.