Dry and wet moisture content

Moisture content (MC) is reported on either a wet or a dry basis. For the wet
basis, the amount of water is divided by the total weight of the sample (solids plus
moisture). For the dry basis, the amount of water is divided by the dry weight
(solids only).
Critical moisture content
The critical moisture content is the average material moisture content at which the
drying rate begins to decline. A prototype drying test should be conducted to
determine the critical moisture content.
Water activity

The water activity (a w) of a food is the ratio between the vapor pressure of the
food itself, when in a completely undisturbed balance with the surrounding air
media, and the vapor pressure of distilled water under identical conditions. A water
activity of 0.80 means the vapor pressure is 80 percent of that of pure water. The
water activity increases with temperature. The moisture condition of a product can
be measured as the equilibrium relative humidity (ERH) expressed in percentage or
as the water activity expressed as a decimal.

Most foods have a water activity above 0.95 and that will provide sufficient
moisture to support the growth of bacteria, yeasts, and mold. The amount of
available moisture can be reduced to a point which will inhibit the growth of the
organisms.

Humidity (absolute humidity) (H)

Absolute humidity (expressed as grams of water vapor per cubic meter volume of
air) is a measure of the actual amount of water vapor (moisture) in the air,
regardless of the air's temperature. The higher the amount of water vapor, the
higher the absolute humidity
Dry bulb temperature (Tdb):
The dry-bulb temperature (DBT) is the temperature of air measured by a
thermometer freely exposed to the air, but shielded from radiation and moisture.
DBT is the temperature that is usually thought of as air temperature, and it is the
true thermodynamic temperature.
Wet bulb temperature (Twb):
The wet-bulb temperature is the lowest temperature that can be reached under
current ambient conditions by the evaporation of water only. Even heat-adapted
people cannot carry out normal outdoor activities past a wet-bulb temperature of
32 °C (90 °F), equivalent to a heat index of 55 °C (130 °F)
Dew point (Tdp):
Temperature to which a given air-water mixture needs to be cooled to start
condensation of water. At the dew point, the air is saturated with water vapor. The
dew point is also that temperature where the vapor pressure of water equals the
partial pressure of water in the air.
Relative humidity
Relative humidity is a percentage that represents the amount of water vapor in the
air at a given temperature compared to the max possible water vapor amount at that
same temperature. For instance, relative humidity of 25 percent means that air is at
a quarter of its possible water vapor capacity.

Drying curve
Drying curves are generally graphs of the moisture of a food product versus time,
or plots of the rate of water removal versus time.
Drying curves are very useful in understanding the “kinetics” of how a particular
product dries under a specific set of conditions. These operators use the
approach that all you have to do is get as much heat into the product as rapidly
as possible and you can keep pushing product through the dryer.

Time

Constant rate period

This is the stage at which the free moisture is evaporating from the solids at a
constant rate. If one were to measure the temperature of the bed or individual
particles of wet solids at this point, the temperature would be the wet cake
temperature. After the free moisture has evaporated, the cake temperature rises, an
indication of the end of the constant rate period. Several stages of this period can
occur due to the existence of bound moisture. If bound moisture exists, the energy
required to break the bonds is absorbed from the gas stream as heat input. As the
bonds break, the bound moisture is released and is removed as surface moisture
described above. The quantity of molecules of hydration and the temperature,
which the product must reach in order to break these bonds, affect the overall
constant drying rate period. One can generally observe a rise in the wet cake
temperature, after the free moisture has evaporated, to the temperature that is
required to break the bonds. This temperature then becomes the next wet bulb level
or isotherm. Several levels of bound moisture may exist during the drying process.
(Note: In general, this bound moisture phenomenon occurs mostly with inorganic
salts and therefore may not be a major concern of the pharmaceutical or
biochemical industry.)
Diffusion or falling rate period
This is the stage where the rate at which the liquid leaves the solid decreases. The
liquid that is trapped inside the particles diffuses to the outside surface of the
particle through capillary action. The random path that the liquid must take slows
down the drying process at this stage.

ESTIMATION OF DRYING TIME FOR FOOD PRODUCTS

Introduction

In order to determine the time required to achieve the desired reduction in product
moisture content, the rate of moisture removal or drying rate must be predicted. The
rate of drying depends on properties of drying air (the dry bulb temperature, RH, and
velocity of air and the surface heat transfer coefficient), the properties of food
(moisture content, surface to volume ratio and the surface temperature) and rate of
moisture loss. The size of the pieces has an important effect on the drying rate in both
the constant and falling rate periods. In the constant rate period, smaller pieces have a
larger surface area available for evaporation where as in falling rate period smaller
pieces have a shorter distance for moisture to travel through the food. Other factors
which influence the rate of drying include:

1. The fat content of the food (higher fat contents generally results in slower drying,
as water is trapped within the food).

2. The method of preparation of food (cut pieces lose moisture more quickly than
losses through skin.
3. The amount of food placed in a dryer in relation to its size (in a given dryer faster
drying is achieved with smaller quantities of food).

For constant rate drying period the following general expression would apply:

Rc = dw / dt = wo – wc / tc --------------(1)

Where,

w0 = Initial Moisture Content (kg water / kg dry solid )

wc = Critical moisture content (kg water / kg dry solid ) and

tc = Time for constant rate drying.

During falling rate drying, the following analysis would apply.

- dw/dt = Rc / wc (w) or

Where the limits of integration are between critical moisture content w c of end of
constant rate drying, tc and some desired final moisture content, w.

On integration:

t –tc = wc/Rc ln(wc/w) or time for falling rate becomes

tf = wc/Rc x ln (wc/w) ------------(3) and

The total drying times becomes

t = (wo - wc) /Rc + wc/Rc X ln (wc/w) ----------(4)

The above equation indicates that the time for complete drying from some initial
moisture content ‘wo’ to a desirable final moisture content w depends on knowledge
of critical moisture content ‘wc’, the time for constant rate drying t c, and the rate for
constant drying Rc.

Example

A tunnel dryer is being designed for drying apple halves from initial moisture content
of 70% (wet basis) to final moisture content of 5% (wet basis). An experimental
drying curve for the product indicates that the critical moisture content is 25% (wet
basis) and the time for constant drying is 5 min. Based on the information provided,
estimate the total drying time for product.

Solution

Initial product moisture content wo = 0.7 / 0.3 = 2.33 kg H2O / kg solids

Critical moisture content wc = 0.25 / 0.75 = 0.333 kg H2O / kg solids.

Final moisture content w = 0.05 / 0.95 = 0.0526 kg H2O / kg solids.

Time for constant rate drying tc = 5 min

Required:

Total drying time

Solution:

Rc = (wo – wc) / tc = (2.33 – 0.33) / 5 min = 0.4 kg H2O / kg solids min

Final drying time tF = wc/Rc X ln(wc/w)

= 0.333/0.4 X ln (0.333 / 0.0526)

= 1.54 min

Total drying time becomes t = 5 + 1.54 = 6.54 min.