PH—Postharvest Technology: Dielectric Properties of Common Bean

This paper discusses the variation of relative permittivity, dielectric loss factor, loss tangent, and a.c. conductivity of common bean, Phaseolus vulgaris L., variety Campeão-3 from 75 kHz to 5 MHz. Included are curves showing the variation of these dielectric properties on moisture and bulk density. The variation of relative permittivity on frequency, moisture content, and density was more regular compared to the behaviour of the other dielectric properties in that it continuously increases with moisture and bulk density and decreases with frequency. The conclusion is that of all dielectric properties the relative permittivity should provide less error in common bean moisture content determination.