Internutional Journal of Food Science and Technology (1991) 26,9%109 ADONIS 095054239100010U

Mathematical modelling of hot air drying of sweet

potato slices

L. M . DIAMANTE* & P. A . MUNRO, Massey University, Palmerston

North, New Zealand

Summary
The effect of air dry bulb temperature, air relative humidity, air velocity and sample
thickness on the thin-layer air drying of sweet potato slices was investigated. The drying
rate curves consisted of two approximately linear falling rate periods and contained no
constant rate period. Several mathematical models were fitted to the drying rates of
sweet potato slices under a range of drying conditions. It was found that the modified
Page equation best described the thin-layer air drying of sweet potato slices down to a
moisture content of 10% dry basis. Correlations were also determined for the slope and
intercept of the modified Page equation in terms of the experimental variables.

Keywords
Drying rate curves, Zpomoea batatus, modified Page equation, thin-layer air drying.

Introduction
A survey of recent literature shows that there are very few processed sweet potato
products available in any part of the world. In the developing countries this may be
attributed to varied quality and inconsistent supply of sweet potato roots and a lack of
suitable processing technology for small- and large-scale operations. Dehydration of
sweet potato roots is appropriate to developing countries as the product can be stored
for several months without risk of spoilage, and rehydrated or milled into flour and used
for a variety of purposes.
In order to design efficient driers for sweet potatoes quantitative data are needed for
drying rates under a range of drying conditions. Such data might be used to develop
simulation models for use in improving drier designs and drier operation. Morey ef al.
(1978) have shown that the more comprehensive of these simulation models include a
thin-layer equation to predict local drying rates within a deep bed.
The search for an accurate method of describing the drying rate of a thin layer of
material under constant drying conditions has often been reported in the literature
(Suarez et al., 1980; Igbeka, 1982; Hutchinson & Otten, 1983; Chiang & Petersen,
1985). The simplest model is the exponential equation (see Appendix for nomen-
clature):
M - Me
= a exp ( - b t )
Mo - Me
Authors’ address: Department of Food Technology, Massey University, Palmerston North, New
Zealand.
*Correspondent.
100 L. M . Diamante & P . A . Munro

This is sometimes referred to as the Hustrulid & Flikke equation (Hustrulid & Flikke,
1959) and has been used successfully by a number of workers (Ross & White, 1972;
Sharaf-Eldeen et al., 1980; White et al., 1981; Chiang & Petersen, 1985); A simplified
form of the Fick diffusion equation applicable to long drying times is very similar to
equation 1 (Chirife & Cachero, 1970):
M - Me
= a exp ( -ct/L2)
MO - M e
Equation (2) has been one of the most widely used equations in modelling drying data
(Chirife & Cachero, 1970; Vaccarezza et al., 1974; Igbeka, 1982). The derivation and
limitations of equation (2) are described in Karel et al. (1975) and similar textbooks.
Another model which has frequently been used to fit thin-layer drying data (Misra &
Brooker, 1980; Li & Morey, 1984, 1987; Syarief et al., 1984) is a purely empirical
equation first proposed by Page (1949):
M - Me
= exp (-xt") (3)
MO - Me
Equation (3) may be modified to include the same dependence on sample thickness as
the Fick diffusion equation to give the modified Page equation:
M - Me
= exp (-k[tlL*]") (4)
Mo - Me
The present work studies the drying rates of thin sweet potato slices as a function of
important air drying variables, and attempts to fit the data to equations (1)-(4). In a
previous study water desorption isotherms of two varieties of sweet potato were
reported (Diamante & Munro, 1990).

Materials and methods

Drying equipment
The laboratory drier (Fig. 1) consisted of a centrifugal fan (section I), a heating
section (section 2), a steam injection section (section 3) and a drying chamber (section
4). The centrifugal fan was powered by a variable speed motor (Zenith Electric Co. ktd,
London, UK), which was used to control air velocity (f0.1m s-'). Air velocity profiles
were determined both horizontally and vertically in the drying duct at an air velocity of
6m s-l using a pitot tube linked to a micromanometer. The heating section used a steam
heat exchanger and on-off 1-kW elements to provide a base load, and used a
proportional controller for temperature control (rtO.5"C). The steam injection section
was used to control air humidity via manual control of two gate valves. The drying
chamber consisted of a drying tray (185X175mm) made of stainless steel mesh
suspended from a weighing system. Dry bulb and wet bulb temperatures were
monitored in the drying chamber. There were several metres of empty ducting between
steam injection and the drying chamber to allow adequate mixing.
The weighing system consisted of a digital balance (Mettler PE 1600), an integrator
unit (Mettler GE 305 Lab Pac) to smooth out fluctuations in weight due to the air flow, a
thermal printer (Mettler GA 44) and a timer. The timer was custom built in the
Department of Production Technology, Massey University, and was set up to activate
the printer at pre-set time intervals. This arrangement allowed a virtually continuous
 Hot air drying of sweet potato slices 101

Section 2
Figure 1. Schema of drying apparatus showing variable speed motor ( l ) , centrifugal fan (2),
steam heat exchanger (3), gate valve (4), steam line (S),on-off heater switches ( 6 ) ,eight 1-kW
heaters (7), proportional controller (8), two 1-kW heaters (9), steam gate valves (lo), steam
injection for air humidity control (1 l ) ,wet bulb (12) and dry bulb (13) thermometers, electronic
balance (14), sweet potato slices (15), perforated tray (16), integrator (17), timer (18), printer
(19).

monitoring of sample mass with time. The timing interval was set to collect sufficient
data points during the run.

Sweet potatoes
Fresh New Zealand sweet potato, known as kumara, were purchased locally.
Kumara is a variety of Zpomoea batatus. The kumara were stored in a cabinet under
optimum conditions (15"C, 89% relative humidity) (Edmond & Ammerman, 1971).
Relative humidity was maintained at 89% using a saturated slurry of strontium nitrate
(Greenspan, 1977).

Experimental design
The experimental design used (Table 1) for the air drying of sweet potato slices was a
modified 24 factorial design (Box et al., 1978). The 24 experimental runs were blocked
to allow for changes in raw material and randomized to reduce the effects of any
systematic experimental errors with time. Five additional experimental runs were
performed at intermediate drying conditions with all four experimental variables set at
the medium levels specified in Table 1, to give an independent check on experimental
variability, and were also blocked and randomized before being incorporated with the
24 experimental runs. Thus, a total of 29 experimental runs were performed.

Drying rate curve determination

The laboratory drier was set on the required drying conditions, and left for about 1h
to reach steady state conditions. Sweet potato samples were taken from the storage
cabinet washed, peeled, trimmed and sliced to the required thickness using a
mechanical slicer with a rotating blade. A 400-g sample was evenly spread on the drying
tray in bed depths of 15-30mm and covered with a wire mesh to prevent movement.
 L. M . Diamante & P . A . Munro

The tray was suspended in the drying chamber and drying was continued until the
moisture content of the samples reached approximately 10% (dry weight basis). The
moisture content of the dried samples (five replicates) was determined using the
vacuum oven procedure of Makower et al. (1946) for dehydrated vegetables and the
mean value calculated. The weight of dry solids in the initial samples and hence the
moisture content of the samples at any given time during drying could then be
calculated.

Results and discussion

Drying rate curves
The optimum storage conditions (15"C, 89% relative humidity) prescribed by
Edmond & Ammerman (1971) allowed the sweet potatoes to be stored for several
months without significant deterioration. However, even with storage at constant
humidity there was still considerable variation in the moisture content of samples taken
for drying with a range €rom 179 to 251% dry basis (g waterh00g dry solids) and a mean
of 207% dry basis.
With the experimental configuration described air drag on the sample and tray
produced a maximum additional reading on the balance of 5 g at the commencement of
drying for the highest air velocity used (3m s-'). This air drag varied with air velocity
and decreased somewhat during the course of a drying run at fixed air velocity. It was
partly compensated for by taring the balance with the empty sample tray placed in the
flowing air stream for each run. However, some error in calculated sample moisture
content still occurred. In the worst run this error was a 2.2% moisture content (dry
basis) difference at the commencement of drying (moisture content then 222.1% dry
basis) reducing to a zero error at the end of drying. This error was smaller than the
random variations between samples so was not corrected for.

Table 1. Modified z4 factorial design for the 23 experimental runs. Blocks I and I1 are a standard 24 factorial
design requiring 16 runs. Block 111 includes medium values of the variables for greater precision
~ ~~

Block I Block I1 Block 111

A B C D A B C D A B C D
X -
X X
- X
X X
X +
+ x
X X
X X

Where:

high medium low

+ X -

A = dry bulb temperature ("C) 70 60 50

B = relative humidity (YO) 15.0 12.5 10.0
C = air velocity (m s-l) 3.0 1 .o 0.5
D = slice thickness (mm) 9 6 3
 Hot air drying of sweet potato slices 103

0 1
40 00 120 160 200
Moisture content, M (%dry basis)

Figure 2. Drying rate dMidt vs. sample moisture content, M . Experimental conditions: dry bulb
temperature, 70°C; relative humidity, 10.0%; air velocity, 0.5m s - ' ; slice thickness, 3mm.

Drying rate curves were plotted for each of the experimental runs. Figure 2 shows a
typical result. The curve consists of two approximately linear falling rate periods which
extend down at least t o a moisture content of 10% (dry weight basis). A constant drying
rate period was not observed in any of the experimental runs. No constant rate period
and two falling rate periods were also obtained by Chirife & Cachero (1970) for tapioca
slices and Vaccarezza et al. (1974) for sugar beet slices. The absence of a constant drying
rate period is not unexpected for sweet potato even though it has a high moisture
content. The cut surface of the sweet potato was dry with no free surface moisture
evident either visually or by touch. The transition between the two falling rate periods
did not correspond to any visible change in the sweet potato. The sample surface did
develop a hard, brittle outer layer during drying but its formation began before the
transition point. Chirife & Cachero (1970) attributed the change between falling rate
periods for tapioca slices to structural changes in the samples leading to changes in
diffusional mechanisms, and similar changes might be suggested for sweet potato. Karel
et al. (1975) analysed the drying of slabs of food and indicated that hygroscopic food
materials were expected to exhibit two falling rate periods. Sweet potato absorbs
significant quantities of water and is therefore hygroscopic (Diamante & Munro, 1990).

Fitting equations to drying curves

Each of equations (1)-(4) was fitted to the drying curves (M vs. t ) for all 29
experimental runs using linear regression analysis performed by a MINITAB program
(Ryan et al., 1981). The coefficients of determination for equations (3) and (4) (range,
r 2 = 0.982-1.000) were consistently higher than those for equations (1) and (2) (range,
r 2 = 0.955-0.999). Equations (3) and (4) were therefore selected for further
investigation. Equation (4), the modified Page equation, was finally selected for further
modelling in preference to equation (3) for two main reasons. Firstly, equation (4) gave
104 L. M. Diamante & P . A . Munro

200 -

180 -

160 -

140-
a
?i
-s
'0
8 120-

2
c 100-
0
U

E
2L" 80-
P
60 -

40 -

20 -

-
2:O 4.0 610 8lO 10.0 l2,O
Time, f ( h )
Figure 3. Moisture content vs. time plots comparing experimental curves with curves predicted
by the modified Page equation for the best fit ( r 2= 1.000) and the worst fit runs ( r 2 = 0.982) (see
Table 2 for key to experimental conditions).

lower variations in intercept value than equation (3) for the five replicated experimental
runs at the medium values of all four experimental variables. The mean and 95%
confidence bounds for the intercepts were -1.65+7% for equation (3) and -4.54+3%
for equation (4). Secondly, equation (4) has the conceptual advantage that it takes into
consideration variations in slice thickness, which are expected to vary the drying rate.
Equation (3) has been most successfully applied to grain drying where the size of units
of material is relatively constant and cannot be deliberately altered (Whitaker &
Young, 1972; Misra & Brooker, 1980). For the five replicated experimental runs the
mean and 95% confidence bounds for the slope ( n )of the modified Page equation were
1.20_+2.5%,and the coefficients of determination for the fit of these five runs to the
modified Page equation were in the range 0.998-1.000. These data together with the
confidence bounds for the intercept above indicate that the experimental methods used
gave closely reproducible results.
Figure 3 compares experimental and predicted drying curves for the two runs with
the highest and the lowest r 2 based on the modified Page equation (see Table 2). The
modified Page equation clearly describes the drying curves of sweet potato slices very
satisfactorily down to a moisture content of 10% (dry weight basis).
 Hot air drying of sweet potato slices 105

15 -W
U
,,Approxlmated regression line

I n
vw
I , , , , , , , , , , , , , I I , ,

-0.4-0.2 0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 1.2 1.4 1.6 1.8 2.0 2.2 2.4 2.6
Estimated effects

Figure 4. Normal probability plot for the estimated effects of the intercept of the modified Page
equation.

Mathematical modelling of drying rates

After selecting equation (4) to describe the drying curves for any single sample of
sweet potato slices, the slopes and intercepts for all 29 runs were fitted in terms of the
variables used in drying (air dry bulb temperature, relative humidity, air velocity and
slice thickness). The first step was to determine which experimental variables and which
interactions might need to be included in the multiple regression equations.
Using the 16 experimental runs which make up a standard 24factorial design (blocks
I and I1 of Table l), the estimated effects of the four experimental variables and of the
variable product interactions were computed based on the procedure of Box et al.
(1978) for both the intercepts and slopes. The estimated effects obtained for both the
intercepts and slopes were plotted on normal probability paper (Figs. 4 and 5). Each
point in Fig. 4 represents the effect on the intercept of the modified Page equation of
one experimental variable or of the interaction of specific experimental variables.
Points which lie on a straight line of this normal probability plot are normally
distributed and these effects are attributed to random variations or chance (Box et af.,
1978). Figure 4 indicates that air velocity and slice thickness were the main
experimental variables causing variations in the intercept of the modified Page equation
since these points are well away from the straight line. Air dry bulb temperature, air

Table 2. Experimental conditions (see Figs. 3 and 6)

~~

Dry bulb Relative Air Slice

Experimental Predicted temperature humidity velocity thickness
Fit curve curve ("C) (Yo) (ms-') (mm)
Best - --- -___ 50 12.5 1.o 6
Worst _._. ...... 70 15.0 0.5 9

Best - ___ 50 15.0 3.0 9

Intermediate -- - -._._ 70 15.0 0.5 9
Worst ...... 70 15.0 3.0 3

E
106 L. M . Diamante h P. A. Munro

15 =7T

14
13
> 12
f II
d 10
e
a 8
a 6
E 5
: 4
8 3
2

-0.18 -0.14 -0.10 -0.06 -0.02 002 0.06 0.10

-0.16 -012 -0.08 -004 0 0.04 0.08 012
Estimated effects

Figure 5. Normal probability plot for the estimated effects of the slope of the modified Page
equation.

velocity-slice thickness interaction and air dry bulb temperature-air velocity inter-
action were possible added causes of variation. Figure 5 similarly indicates that air dry
bulb temperature, air velocity and slice thickness were the main causes of the variations
of the slope values since the points for these effects were well away from the straight
line. Air relative humidity-slice thickness interaction and air velocity-slice thickness
interaction were possible added causes of variations. Hence the major variables that
affect the drying rates of sweet potato slices were air velocity, slice thickness and air dry
bulb temperature. The air relative humidity had a small effect on drying rates within the
relative humidity range IO-WXO.
A number of researchers have chosen to neglect the effect of air flow rates in the
analysis of thin-layer drying data, citing the conclusion of Henderson & Pabis (1962)
that resistance to moisture movement at the surface is negligible compared to internal
resistance for turbulent flows, which occur in most driers. However, Islam & Flink
(1982) pointed out that at air velocities of 2.5m s-' or less, the external mass transport
resistance is significant and needs to be considered in the analysis of the drying data.
This study has shown this to be the case for air velocity within the range 0.5-3.0m s-I.
The thickness of the sample has been shown to influence the rate of drying in the studies
of Igbeka (1982) and Chirife & Cachero (1970) for cassava or tapioca slices and
Vaccarezza et al. (1974) for sugar beet slices. The effect of air dry bulb temperature on
drying is well documented in the literature (Igbeka, 1982; Hutchinson & Otten, 1983;
Chiang & Petersen, 1985). Several investigators have shown that air relative humidity
below 20% has an insignificant effect on drying rates (White ef al., 1973; Chiang &
Petersen, 1985).
The intercept and slope of the modified Page equation were fitted with multiple
regression equations using the variables and interactions determined in Figs. 4 and 5.
The variables were fitted with regression equations with or without transformations to
seek equations with high r 2 . The two regression equations chosen for intercept and
slope are shown in Table 3 which summarizes the equations for modelling the drying of
sweet potato slices. Equation (5) is taken from the desorption isotherm study of
Diamante & Munro (1990). Equations (6) and (7) gave coefficients of determination
( r 2 ) of 0.965 and 0.861 respectively. Using the equations in Table 3, the predicted
 Hot air drying of sweet potato slices 107

I80

160

- 140
9
XI

D
t 120

s 100
C
E
s
p! 80
3
+
r
s"
60

40

20

-....,..
0
2.0 40 6.0 8.0 10.0 12.0 14.0
Time. f ( h )
Figure 6. Moisture content vs. time plots comparing experimental curves with curves predicted
by the mathematical model summarized by the equations in Table 3 (see Table 2 for key to
experimental conditions).

moisture content-time profiles were computed for all the experimental runs, and
plotted for comparison with the experimental results. By visual inspection of all the
plots the best- and worst-fitting runs were determined plus a run with an intermediate
fit, and these are illustrated in Fig. 6. Clearly at least half of the experimental runs
produced an excellent agreement between the experimental and predicted curves,

Table 3. Summary of equations for modelling the drying of sweet potato slices

List of equations
Moisture content (YOdry basis)
+ Me
M = (Mo- M e ) exp (-k [t/LZ]")
Equilibrium moisture content (% dry basis)
M, = 20.506 T-O.'@' (a,/[l - u ~ ] ) ~ . ~ ~ ~
Intercept
I n k = -7.871 + 0.0105T + 1.458 In V + 4.694W - 0.448VW
Slope
n = 0.921 + 0.00628T - 0.0490V - 0.269W2 + 0.0145HWZ+ 0.0375VW2
Where H = air %RH;t = slice half-thickness (cm); M o = initial moisture content (70dry basis); T = air
dry bulb temperature ("C); V = air velocity m s-'; W = slice thickness (cm); a, = water activity; f = time (h).
108 L. M . Diamante & P . A . Munro

whereas the worst-fitting run produced relatively poor agreement. The poor fit for the
worst three or four runs indicates that the model is not accurate for all experimental
conditions. This can be attributed partly to variability between sweet potato samples.
The initial moisture content of the samples varied significantly from run to run, with a
range 179-251% (dry weight basis), or 64-71% (wet weight basis). Other aspects of
sample composition, e.g. fibre content, starch content, probably also varied signifi-
cantly from sample to sample.
Mathematical models which have been developed for grain drying fit experimental
curves more closely than the worst fit shown in Fig. 6 (Whitaker & Young, 1972; Misra
& Brooker, 1980). However, grains have a much lower initial moisture content, usually
below 50% (dry weight basis), so the moisture content range is smaller both initially and
during drying. Vegetables have much higher moisture contents so the moisture content
range is much wider and mathematical fitting of drying curves might be expected to be
more difficult.

Acknowledgment
The first author is grateful to the New Zealand Government through its Bilateral Aid
Program for a scholarship grant.

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Appendix 1: Nomenclature

a empirical constant, dimensionless

a, water activity, dimensionless
b empirical constant, h-'
C empirical constant, cm2 hK'
H air relative humidity, YO
k empirical constant, intercept of modified Page equation, cm2" h-"
L slice half-thickness, cm
M moisture content, Yo dry basis (g waterI100g dry solids)
Me equilibrium moisture content, YO dry basis
Mo initial moisture content, O/O dry basis
n empirical constant, slope of Page or modified Page equation, dimensionless
f time, h
T air dry bulb temperature, "C
I.' air velocity, m s-l
W slice thickness, cm
X empirical constant, intercept of Page equation, h-"

(Received 5 November 1988, revision received 10 and accepted 12 October 1990)