Application of Three Types of Dryers Namely Tunnel Fluidized Bed and Fluidized Bed with Microwave for Drying of Celery Corn and Sour Cherry: Experiments and Modeling

In this paper, water content from celery, corn, and sour cherry were removed through tunnel, fluidized bed, and fluidized bed with microwave dryers. One day before performing the experiments, the fruits were put into a refrigerator and were ground into slices with average dimensions of 5×8×8 mm. For each experiment, 40 g of the samples were inserted in dryers. Moisture content in the samples was determined by weighting the samples using a balance. Experiments were accomplished in the air flow rate of 1 to 3 m/s, the temperature of 40 to 60 oC, and the microwave power of 180 to 540 w. Influences of these operating conditions on the drying yield were presented and discussed. This study evidenced that the fluidized bed with microwave field resulted the highest drying rate among the applied drying methods. The optimum temperature and air velocity for attaining the maximum drying performance were 60 oC and 1 m/s. In addition, the Exponential and Page’s models were used to fit the experimental data. The results showed that Page’s model had a good agreement with the experimental data.