Simulation of Heat and Mass Transfer in a Refractance Window Dryer for Aloe vera gel
Journal Title: Journal of Agricultural Machinery - Year 2024, Vol 14, Issue 2
Abstract
IntroductionDrying is one of the oldest methods of food preservation. To increase the efficiency of heat and mass transfer while maintaining product quality, the study of the drying process is crucial scientifically and meticulously. It is possible to conduct experimental tests, trial and error, in the drying process. However, this approach consumes time and cost, with a significant amount of energy resources. By harnessing available software and leveraging technological advancement to develop a general model for drying food under varying initial conditions, the drying process can be significantly optimized.Materials and MethodsThis study was conducted with the aim of simulating heat and mass transfer during Refractance window drying for aloe vera gel. Comsol Multiphysics version 5.6 is a three-dimensional model used to solve heat and mass transfer equations. For this purpose, the differential equations of heat and mass transfer were solved simultaneously and interdependently. The above model considered various initial conditions: water temperature of 60, 70, 80, and 90â, and aloe vera gel thickness of 5 and 10 mm. The initial humidity and temperature of the aloe vera is uniform. The initial temperature is 4â and the initial humidity of the fresh aloe vera sample is 110 gwater/gdry matter. Heat is supplied only by hot water from the bottom surface of the product.Results and DiscussionThe drying time was needed to reduce the moisture content of aloe vera gel from 110 to 0.1 gwater/gdry matter during Refractance window drying. Aloe vera gel with a thickness of 5 mm dried in 120, 100, 70, and 50 minutes at water temperatures of 60, 70, 80, and 90â, respectively. For a 10 mm thick layer of aloe vera gel, the drying time was 240, 190, 150, and 120 minutes, for water temperatures of 60 to 90â, respectively. These results demonstrate the importance of both the water temperature and thickness on the drying time. Furthermore, the drying rate of aloe vera gel increased as the water temperature increased from 60 to 90â, the drying rates were 0.915, 1.099, 1.57, and 2.198 gwater/min for 5 mm thickness and 0.457, 0.578, 0.732, and 0.915 gwater/min for 10 mm thick layer of aloe vera gel, respectively.ConclusionBased on the simulation results, the optimal model is with a water temperature of 90â and an aloe vera gel thickness of 5 mm. Overall, the modeling results are consistent with the results of experimental data.
Authors and Affiliations
A. Shahraki,M. Khojastehpour,M. R. Golzarian,E. Azarpazhooh,
Keywords
Related Articles
- EP ID EP736137
- DOI https://doi.org/10.22067/jam.2023.80368.1141
- Views 44
- Downloads 0
Optimization of the most important operational parameters of a pneumatic seeder using real-time monitoring for Cucumber and Watermelon seeds
Introduction: Since the application of pneumatic planters for seeds with different physical properties is growing, it is essential to evaluation the performance of these machines to improve the operating parameters under...
Application of generalized Hough transform for detecting sugar beet plant from weed using machine vision method
Introduction Sugar beet (Beta vulgaris L.) as the second most important worldâs sugar source after sugarcane is one of the major industrial crops. The presence of weeds in sugar beet fields, especially at early growth...
Spectral Feature Selection from the Hyperspectral Dataset to Identify Pistachio Leaves Infected by Psylla
IntroductionPistachio production has been adversely affected by Psylla, which is a devastating insect. The primary goal of this study was to select sensitive spectral bands to distinguish pistachio leaves infected by Psy...
Estimation of Apple Volume and Its Shape Indentation Using Image Processing Technique and Neural Network
Physical properties of agricultural products such as volume are the most important parameters influencing grading and packaging systems. They should be measured accurately as they are considered for any good system desig...
Development and Field Evaluation of a Variable-Depth Tillage Tool Based on a Horizontal Pneumatic Sensor Measurement
Soil compaction can be naturally occurred or can be machinery-induced. Subsoiling is often applied to loosen soil compaction and decrease soil strength to levels that allow for root development and growth. Variable-depth...