Determination of drying kinetics and sorption isotherm of black pepper (Piper Nigrum)

¹ School of Chemical Engineering and Chemistry, Mapúa University, 658 Muralla St., Intramuros, Manila 1002, Philippines
² School of Microelectronic Engineering, University Malaysia Perlis (UniMAP), Kampus Alam, Pauh Putra, 02600 Arau, Perlis, Malaysia.

^* Corresponding author: fcdevera@mapua.edu.ph

Published online: 22 November 2017

Abstract

In the present study of food products, determination of the drying characteristics of black pepper using an oven is not yet completely established. This study aimed to determine the drying kinetics and sorption isotherm of black pepper using a convective oven at 30°C, 40°C and 50°C. The data gathered in this study were used to fit in selected mathematical models for drying kinetics and sorption isotherm. Among these models, the Midilli model (MR=0.5338exp(0.7273t^-0.0551)+-0.0005t for 30°C, MR=0.5814exp(0.6293t-^0.0764)+ -0.0008t for 40°C and MR=0.3187exp(1.1777t-^0.0466)+ -0.0011t for 50°C) was the best fit to explain the moisture transfer in black pepper, while the GAB Model (m/0.1302=((0.1906)(0.7811)a_w)/(1-(0.7811)a_w)[1-(0.7811)a_w+(0.1906)(0.7811)a_w])) was for the equilibrium moisture content and water activity relationship. After evaluating the data, the drying characteristics of black pepper at 40°C yielded better results than 30°C and 50°C. XLSTAT and ANOVA Add-in of Microsoft Excel was the software used to compute for the necessary values in the assessment of the mathematical models for this study.