Convective drying of regular mint leaves: analysis based on fitting empirical correlations, response surface methodology and neural networks

Autor(es)

Silva Costa, Ariany Binda ^[1] ; Freire, Fabio Bentes ^[1] ; Ferreira, Maria do Carmo ^[1] ; Freire, Jose Teixeira ^[1]

Afiliação do(s) autor(es)

^[1] Univ Fed Sao Carlos, Dept Engn Quim, BR-13565905 Sao Paulo - Brazil

• Tipo de documento: Artigo Científico
• Fonte: ACTA SCIENTIARUM-TECHNOLOGY; v. 36, n. 2, p. 271-278, 2014.
• Citações Web of Science: 3

Resumo

In the present work, an analysis of drying of peppermint (Menta x villosa H.) leaves has been made using empirical correlations, response surface models and a neural network model. The main goal was to apply different modeling approaches to predict moisture content and drying rates in the drying of leaves, and obtaining an overview on the subject. Experiments were carried out in a convective horizontal flow dryer in which samples were placed parallel to the air stream under operating conditions of air temperatures from 36 to 64 degrees C, air velocities from 1.0 to 2.0 m s(-1) and sample loads from 18 to 42 g, corresponding to sample heights of 1.4, 1.7 and 3.5 cm respectively. A complete 33 experimental design was used. Results have shown that the three methodologies employed in this work were complementary in the sense that they simultaneously provided a better understanding of leaves drying. (AU)

• Processo FAPESP: 11/07499-5 - Desidratação de folhas fitoterápicas e condimentares: análise do processo de secagem
• Beneficiário: Maria Do Carmo Ferreira
• Modalidade de apoio: Auxílio à Pesquisa - Regular