IDENTIFICATION OF THE RECEDING EVAPORATION FRONT IN CONVECTIVE FOOD DRYING

We investigate experimentally the behaviour of the receding evaporation front during the drying of food products by measuring the temperature distribution profile within the potato slab. The effect of key process parameters on the receding speed of this evaporation front is investigated. We show that the square root of the drying time varies linearly with the transient position of the front. Also, the receding velocity of the front is seen to be related to the drying rate of the product as the front decelerates inward to the center of the material.