MODELING OF THE KINECTICS OF MICROWAVE OVEN DRYING OF PLANTAIN (MUSA PARADISIACA)

摘要

In this work the mathematical modeling of the drying process of plantain (Musa paradisiaca), in a microwave oven is presented. The applied power was 300 W and measurements of mass and color were performed every 3 minutes. Two geometric forms of the product cuts were studied: round slices (15 mm-thickness and 45 mm- diameter) and blocks (15 mm-thickness and 50 mm-length). The corresponding drying times for the slices were 140 min and 130 min for the blocks at the highest temperature. The numerical model obtained for the kinetics of drying was the logarithmic one. Color was used to monitor the quality of the final product. The central portion of the samples presented a more noticeable change in color than the external parts. In some cases the sample turned from pale yellow to dark brown. This change was remediated using a blanching operation with a lemon juice solution (10% v/v).