Influence of air characteristics on drying kinetics of beak pepper

Summary

The beak pepper belongs to the species Capsicum chinense and it is widely used in Brazilian cuisine in the preparation of various dishes and also pickled pepper. Since this is a highly perishable food, it is necessary to use methods for its preservation, highlighting the drying process. The objective of this work was to determine and analyze the drying kinetics of beak pepper under different conditions of temperature and air velocity of drying. The pepper was submitted to the drying process using a tray dryer in thin layer with drying air velocity controlled at 1.0, 1.5 and 2.0 m/s and temperature of 40, 50 and 60 °C. The peppers were placed into the equipment on removable stainless steel trays and specimens were weighed periodically until equilibrium is reached. The mathematical models of Page, Henderson and Pabis, Midilli and Kucuk, Thompson and Approximation of diffusion were adjusted to the experimental data. The best fit was determined according to the highest values of the coefficient of determination (R²), lower average deviation values (P) and the estimated average error (SE). The results obtained were that the pepper drying is influenced by the velocity and temperature of the drying air, since the higher the drying air temperature more quickly the equilibrium moisture content of the samples is reached. The Midilli and Kucuk model presented the best fit to the experimental data. The effective diffusivity values obtained range from 1.65 × 10^–10 to 5.01 × 10^–10 m²/s and the activation energy varies from 98.42 to 108.13 kJ/mol.

Key words:
Capsicum chinense ; Conservation; Midilli and Kucuk