Modelling of transient moisture concentration of semolina pasta during air drying

The drying process for pasta is considered on an empirical basis in industrial applications. The results presented in this paper concern the theoretical and experimental data, obtained during the drying process of semolina pasta. The moisture concentration is modelled for durum semolina pasta by assuming the mass transfer between the pasta and the air. As the transport kinetics are entirely controlled by the internal transport resistance, Fick’s law applies. The moisture concentrations of durum pasta are predicted as a function of pasta properties (initial moisture concentration, thickness and food composition) and air properties (air temperature and relative humidity). The model was afterwards validated for different model inputs and the validation measurements correspond well with the experimental data. Finally a parameter study was performed to study the impact of the model parameters on the moisture concentration.