Depiver, J.A.; Mallik, S. An Empirical Study on Convective Drying of Ginger Rhizomes Leveraging Environmental Stress Chambers and Linear Heat Conduction Methodology. Agriculture2023, 13, 1322.
Depiver, J.A.; Mallik, S. An Empirical Study on Convective Drying of Ginger Rhizomes Leveraging Environmental Stress Chambers and Linear Heat Conduction Methodology. Agriculture 2023, 13, 1322.
Depiver, J.A.; Mallik, S. An Empirical Study on Convective Drying of Ginger Rhizomes Leveraging Environmental Stress Chambers and Linear Heat Conduction Methodology. Agriculture2023, 13, 1322.
Depiver, J.A.; Mallik, S. An Empirical Study on Convective Drying of Ginger Rhizomes Leveraging Environmental Stress Chambers and Linear Heat Conduction Methodology. Agriculture 2023, 13, 1322.
Abstract
This study presents an experimental investigation of the convective drying process of ginger rhizomes (Zingiber officinale). It analyses the effect of moisture content on the thermal properties of dried ginger rhizomes. Drying experiments were conducted under controlled conditions to establish the relationship between moisture content and thermal conductivity. The drying kinetics were examined to provide insights into the drying behaviour of ginger rhizomes and the influence of moisture content on their thermal properties. The results demonstrated a significant impact of initial moisture content and convective drying conditions on the drying process. As drying progressed, the moisture content decreased, leading to a reduction in thermal conductivity. It was observed that drying under convective drying takes 24 hours compared to open sun drying at nine days and solar tunnel drying at eight days. The drying temperature of 60°C was considered optimum.
The results show that dried ginger at an absolute moisture content of 6.63% (wb) with a thermal conductivity of 0.0553W/m. K for unblanched ginger, 9.04% (wb) with thermal conductivity of 0.0516W/m. K for blanched ginger, 8.56% (wb) moisture content with a thermal conductivity of 0.0483W/m. K for peeled ginger and 5.98% moisture content with a thermal conductivity of 0.0460W/m. K for unpeeled ginger would be ideal for making powdered ginger rhizomes. These findings have practical implications for the food industry, as they can aid in designing and improving drying processes for ginger rhizomes and similar agricultural products. By understanding the relationship between moisture content and thermal properties, more efficient drying strategies can be developed to minimise energy consumption and maintain the quality of the dried product.
Keywords
Ginger Rhizomes; Moisture Content; Thermal Conductivity; Forced Convection; Drying Temperature
Subject
Biology and Life Sciences, Agricultural Science and Agronomy
Copyright:
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
