Mathematical modelling of thin layer drying kinetics of cashew apple pomace in hot air oven dryer

Due to renewed interest in fruit residue application, cashew apple pomace and other fruit pomace are receiving unparallel attention as substitute for food ingredient or food enrichment options. This necessitates this study to investigate drying as vital approach in preserving and conditioning cashew apple pomace. In this study, cashew apple fruits were blended in fruit blender and filtered through 150 microns filter; the filtrate was further tightened in a fabric material and pressed with manual hydraulic press to further express the juice in it. The pomace was stored in a refrigerator at 3 ?C for 18 h to homogenise the moisture. The pomace was divided into nine equal weights, a portion was fed into hot air oven dryer at 60 ?C and constant circulating air velocity of 2.2 m/s, the changes in mass was measured using digital mass balance after every 10 minutes. The procedure was repeated at 70 and 80 ?C and in triplicate; in each case the mass of the samples was measured. It was found that cashew pomace dry under a single falling rate period, effective moisture diffusivity increased with increasing drying temperature and ranges from 9.02015?10-9 to 2.12177?10-8, activation energy was estimated as 41.880 kJ/K, specific drying energy consumption decreased with increasing drying temperature and ranges from 24.1 to 45.3 MJ/kg. Our proposed drying model was found to adequately simulate the drying kinetics of cashew apple pomace.