Due to the need for substitution of fuel oil, the importance of Jatropha for biodiesel and the need for construction and improvements of the equipment used during harvest and postharvest of this crop, this research aimed to determine the shape and the size of Jatropha fruit during drying under five ambient conditions. The fruits harvested manually with moisture content of 4.40 kg kg-1 dry matter were dried in an oven with forced air ventilation in five temperature conditions: 45, 60, 75, 90 and 105 °C and relative humidities of 14.5, 7.4, 3.8, 2.2 and 1.4% respectively, until moisture content of 0.10 ± 0.007 (kg kg-1 dry matter). The roundness, sphericity, volume, surface area, projected area and surface-volume ratio were determined during drying. It is concluded that the reduction of the moisture content and the drying conditions alter the shape and reduce the size of the fruit of Jatropha, being possible to adjust a single equation to the experimental data of volume and surface area of the fruit of Jatropha during drying at different temperatures.
biodiesel; postharvest; Jatropha curcas L.; moisture content
