Mathematical model for heat and mass transfer during convective drying of pumpkin

- The first principle model for heat and mass transfer during drying of pumpkin was solved.
- Arrhenius parameters for effective diffusivity were estimated by fitting the experimental values to model predictions.
- The estimated values satisfactorily predict drying dynamics for a range of operating conditions.

Convective drying is a popular technique for drying of food materials. A plethora of empirical models have been used to fit the convective drying kinetics of food materials in general and pumpkin in particular. In literature, there exists a gap in the study of convective drying of pumpkin using first principle based model. In this article, a first principle based model for heat and mass transfer with appropriate convective boundary condition have been formulated. The model resulted in the set of partial differential equations, which have been solved using method of lines (MOL). The simulated model demonstrates good qualitative agreement with the reported literatures and experimental data. The Arrhenius parameters (activation energy and the pre exponential factor) for effective diffusivity have been estimated by fitting experimental data. Using the estimated values, the drying kinetics under various drying conditions have been simulated and found to be in good agreement with the experimental data. The different drying regimes exhibited by the pumpkin were explained using the temperature and moisture profiles predicted by the model.