THIN LAYER DRYING AND REHYDRATION OF PAPAYA (CARICA PAPAYA L.)

Objective: The current research aimed to study the mathematical modeling of the papaya drying kinetics. Methods: The drying experiments were performed at 60 ºC and the influence of four different techniques (with or without the use of ultrasound and/or vacuum) on the rate of moisture evaporation was studied. Six different semi-theoretical drying mathematical models were compared based on their coefficient of determination and mean square error to characterize the drying curves. The rehydration potential of dried papaya slices was also evaluated at 25 ºC and 80 ºC. Results: Data showed that process rate was lower when drying was performed without the use of ultrasound and/or vacuum (control drying). The Two Terms model showed the best fit for control, vacuum (VD) and ultrasound assisted vacuum drying (USVD), while the Page model gave the best fit to ultrasound assisted drying (USD) experimental data. Conclusion: The rehydration potential of USVD was predominately better when compared to the samples dried by the other techniques.