Drying characteristics of bay laurel (Laurus nobilis L.) fruits in a convective hot-air dryer

Abstract

In this study, drying characteristics of bay laurel (Laurus nobilis L.) fruits were investigated in a laboratory scale hot-air dryer at air temperature in a range of 70 to 100°C. Moisture transfer from the test samples was described by applying the Fick’s diffusion model and the effective diffusivity was calculated. Temperature dependence of the effective diffusivity was described by the Arrhenius-type relationship. The experimental drying data of bay laurel fruits were used to fit page, logarithmic, Twoterm and approximation of diffusion, and Midilli et al. (2002) models and the statistical validity of models tested were determined by non-linear regression analysis. The Two-term model showed a better fit to experimental drying data obtained when compared with other models.

Key words: Bay laurel fruits, convective air drying, moisture ratio, effective diffusivity, activation energy.