Modelling Mass Transfer during Hot Air Drying of Banana Using Cellular Automaton

Cellular Automaton (CA) was applied, for the first time, to model mass transfer during the drying process. CA is a discrete model with powerful potential application for simulating complex systems. In this paper, a two-Dimensional (2D) model was applied to simulate drying process of banana slices. The system was designed for a grid with size of 30×90 square cells, four possible states, and von Neumann neighborhoods. The logical trends of the model results were examined by running program for different process conditions such as various temperatures, air relative humidity values, air flow velocities, and sample thicknesses. Validation of the model was performed by comparing estimated and experimental data of banana drying for three temperatures (60, 70, and 80°C). The model showed high accuracy for predicting moisture content (R2 values higher than 0.99). Notable accuracy based on simple rules to pattern the complexity of the system and flexibility indicated the superior application of cellular automaton for modeling food processes.