Dehydration of acerola (Malpighia emarginata D.C.) residue in a new designed rotary dryer: Effect of process variables on main bioactive compounds

• A new rotary dryer, named as roto-aerated dryer was used in drying of acerola residues.
• A detailed characterization of the acerola residues has been performed.
• The product quality has been quantified considering the content of bioactive compounds.
• Conditions with high drying performance and high product quality levels were identified.

Residues of acerola generated as byproduct of fruit processing industry have been studied in this work, due to its potential use as food supplementation. To ensure proper processing, a detailed characterization of the acerola residues has been performed. The dehydration of these residues in a new dryer, named as roto-aerated dryer, has been investigated in this work. The effect of a pre-treatment with ethanol prior to the air-drying has also been analyzed. The performance of this new dryer and the effect of processing variables have been investigated considering the drying responses, as well as the quality of product. The product quality has been quantified considering the content of bioactive compounds (total phenolic content, citric acid content and total flavonoid compound). The results shown that the new dryer proved to be a good alternative for drying of acerola residue, due to the high drying rate and the good quality of the product after drying..