International Journal of Food Science and Technology 2010, 45, 19561962

1956

Short communication
A new mathematical model for thin layer drying of fruits
Lemuel M. Diamante,1* Reiner Ihns,2 Geoffrey P. Savage1 & Leo Vanhanen1
1 Department of Wine, Food and Molecular Biosciences, Lincoln University, Lincoln, Canterbury, New Zealand
2 Department of Agriculture and Food Technology, Hochschule Neubrandenburg, Neubrandenburg, Germany
(Received 25 March 2010; Accepted in revised form 11 June 2010)

The aim of this study was to t a new mathematical model on the thin layer drying curves of fruits. Thin
layer drying studies at dierent temperatures (60, 80 and 100 C) were carried out on two varieties each of
kiwifruit and apricot. The new model was compared statistically with three other drying models (Henderson
and Pabis, Page and logarithmic) published in the literature. The proposed equation gave the highest
coecient of determination for both varieties of kiwifruit and apricot and closely followed by the Page
equation. Statistical evaluation of the experimental and predicted moisture ratio showed that the proposed
equation consistently gave the lowest reduced Chi-square, root mean square error and mean relative
percentage error. The results indicate that the proposed equation has the best curve tting ability for both
fruits. However, there is no theoretical basis oered for the good curve tting ability of the equation.

Summary

Keywords

Apricot, kiwifruit, mathematical model, page equation, thin layer drying.

Introduction

Hot air drying of agricultural products is one of the

most popular preservation methods because of its
simplicity and low cost. The simplest form of hot air
dryers consists of an insulated cabinet with drying trays
where heated air passes through the food samples.
Foods are exposed to the hot air for a certain period
until dried. Packaged dried fruits and vegetables can
keep for several months even at ambient conditions.
Drying of fruits and vegetables is a complicated
process involving simultaneous, coupled heat and mass
transfer, particularly under transient conditions. Drying
studies are usually performed at constant drying conditions of temperature, velocity and humidity using a thin
layer of sample. Basically, constant-condition batch thin
layer drying experiments will consist of measurement of
moisture loss with time. The plot of moisture content
against time is known as the drying curve (Watson &
Harper, 1988).
The thin layer drying curves of fruits and vegetables
were usually modelled using empirical, semi-empirical
and analytical equations. There are about sixteen thin
layer drying models reported in the literature which
include fteen models summarised by Pardeshi et al.
(2009) and the Weibull distribution model by Babalis
et al. (2006). Some of the popular mathematical models
used for fruits include the logarithmic equation used for
*Correspondent: E-mail: Lemuel.Diamante@lincoln.ac.nz

mushroom, pumpkin and strawberry (Doymaz, 2007,

2008; Xanthopoulos et al., 2007), Page equation for
carrot, kiwifruit and sweetpotato (Diamante & Munro,
1991, 1993; Doymaz, 2004; Simal et al., 2005), Henderson and Pabis equation for fruits (Karathanos, 1999),
and Midilli et al. (2002) equation for fruits and vegetables (Akpinar, 2006).
Diamante et al. (2010) published the eect of temperature on the thin layer drying characteristics of green
and gold kiwifruits. They reported that the drying of
both kiwifruits consists of a constant rate period and
two stages of falling rate periods. However, the method
used for determining the drying characteristics was a bit
complicated.
In this work, a new empirical model is proposed to
describe the thin layer drying of fruits (kiwifruit and
apricot). This model is compared statistically with three
other empirical or semi-empirical models (Henderson
and Pabis, Page and logarithmic) published in the
literature and commonly used for fruits and vegetables.
The rst two models consist of two constants which can
be determined by linear regression on the transformed
axes. The third model consists of three constants
obtained by nonlinear regression analysis on the transformed axes. For the proposed model, the constants can
be determined by polynomial regression which is available in all statistical packages and even on a programmable calculator. For simplicity, the mathematical
models with four or more constants were no longer
considered.

doi:10.1111/j.1365-2621.2010.02345.x
 2010 The Authors. Journal compilation  2010 Institute of Food Science and Technology

A new mathematical drying model L. M. Diamante et al.

tingen, Germany) for monitoring the weight loss of

the sample (Diamante et al., 2010). Drying was carried
out down to a nal moisture content of about 0.20 kg
water per kg dry solids at temperatures of 60 1,
80 2 and 100 2 C and a constant air velocity of
0.20 m s)1 owing perpendicularly to the sample. Two
experimental runs were carried out at each temperature and each fruit variety. The drying temperature
and ambient temperature and relative humidity were
monitored using data loggers (Tinytag Ultra2, Chichester, UK) for the whole duration of the experiment.
A Psychrometric Chart (Carrier, New York, NY,
USA) was used in determining the ambient humidity
of the air. The air velocity was measured using a vaneanemometer (Extech Instruments, Taipei, Taiwan).
The drying tray (15 20 cm) was lled with a single
layer of fruit slices. The amount of fruit slices on the
tray ranged from 120 to 130 g for kiwifruit and 226
and 256 g for apricot. The variation in the amount
used was attributed to the dierences in the sizes of
fruits.

Materials and methods

Materials

Two varieties each of kiwifruit [green (Hayward) and

gold (Hort16A)] and apricot (Southern Red and Moorpark) were purchased from a local supermarket in
Christchurch, New Zealand. The fruits were stored in a
refrigerator at 5 C before the experiment which lasted
for about 4 weeks for each fruit. The kiwifruit was
peeled and cut crosswise into 5- mm-thick slices and
used as the experimental samples. The apricot was cut
into 1 8 slices, and the stone was discarded.
Hot air drying experiments

The hot air dryer used was a modied oven dryer

(Watson Victor Ltd., Auckland, New Zealand). The
oven door was cut open on the upper portion to serve
as the outlet of used air. The temperature sensor was
also transferred to the middle part of the oven so that
it adjusted the temperature of the dryer very close to
that of the drying tray. The hot air dryer that consist
of fan, heaters with temperature controller, drying
chamber where the drying tray is suspended and an
electronic weighing balance (Sartorius ED5201, Goet-

Moisture content determination

At the end of the experiments, the moisture content of

the dried samples was determined using an air oven

Table 1 Regression analyses results of the different thin layer drying equations for green and gold kiwifruits
Temperature
(oC)

Thin-layer drying
equation

60 R1

Henderson and
Page
Logarithmic
Proposed
Henderson and
Page
Logarithmic
Proposed
Henderson and
Page
Logarithmic
Proposed
Henderson and
Page
Logarithmic
Proposed
Henderson and
Page
Logarithmic
Proposed
Henderson and
Page
Logarithmic
Proposed

60 R2

80 R1

80 R2

100 R1

100 R2

Pabis

Pabis

Pabis

Pabis

Pabis

Pabis

Green kiwifruit
Constants
d = 1.5749
g = 0.00213
p = )17.7553
a = )5.5341
d = 1.6418
g = 0.00189
p = )11.5627
a = )5.5955
d = 1.6349
g = 0.00286
p = )8.3541
a = )5.7311
d = 1.6920
g = 0.00286
p = )14.0267
a = )5.8443
d = 1.6878
g = 0.00305
p = )2.7067
a = )5.6465
d = 1.6901
g = 0.0335
p = )2.1513
a = )5.4073

f = -0.0165
h = 1.3451
q = )0.0008
b = 1.0504
f = )0.0166
h = 1.3655
q = )0.0011
b = 1.0423
f = )0.0253
h = 1.4002
q = )0.0023
b = 1.3309
f = )0.0282
h = 1.4260
q = )0.0016
b = 1.4181
f = )0.0393
h = 1.5299
q = )0.0086
b = 1.4295
f = )0.0386
h = 1.5001
q = )0.0098
b = 1.2992

r2

r = 18.0797
c = 0.0335

r = 11.8674
c = 0.0368

r = 8.6323
c = 0.0090

r = 14.3801
c = 0.0010

r = 2.9021
c = 0.0156

r = 2.3138
c = 0.0313

0.980
0.996
0.983
0.997
0.981
0.996
0.986
0.997
0.976
0.997
0.982
0.998
0.978
0.997
0.982
0.997
0.966
0.999
0.989
0.999
0.962
0.998
0.991
0.999

d = 1.8600
g = 0.00184
p = )3.0499
a = )4.8878
d = 1.7910
g = 0.00171
p = )5.4485
a = )4.5282
d = 1.1852
g = 0.00358
p = )2518.766
a = )6.8477
d = 2.0346
g = 0.00312
p = )4.5110
a = )5.3765
d = 1.5162
g = 0.0382
p = )5.6267
a = )5.6591
d = 1.3636
g = 0.00405
p = )16.8726
a = )5.8431

Gold kiwifruit
Constants

r2

f = -0.0173
h = 1.3666
q = )0.0032
b = 0.6904
f = )0.0167
h = 1.3740
q = )0.0021
b = 0.4914
f = )0.0251
h = 1.3793
q = )9.95E)06
b = 1.9916
f = )0.0317
h = 1.4168
q = )0.0041
b = 1.2164
f = )0.0345
h = 1.4439
q = )0.0044
b = 1.5070
f = )0.0321
h = 1.4384
q = )0.0017
b = 1.6706

0.969
0.996
0.997
0.999
0.971
0.992
0.983
0.997
0.938
0.982
0.937
0.985
0.959
0.997
0.981
0.997
0.977
0.998
0.987
0.998
0.974
0.997
0.976
0.998

r = 3.1965
c = 0.0773

r = 5.7249
c = 0.1007

r = 2518.9346
c = )0.0736

r = 4.6652
c = 0.0243

r = 5.8401
c = )0.0097

r = 17.1136
c = )0.0365

Henderson and Pabis equation is MR = d exp(-ft); Page equation is MR = exp((-gth); logarithmic equation is MR = p exp(-qt) + r; Proposed equation is
ln(-ln MR) = a + b(ln t) + c(ln t)2, where r2 = coefficient of determination; MR = moisture ratio; t = time.

 2010 The Authors. Journal compilation  2010 Institute of Food Science and Technology

International Journal of Food Science and Technology 2010

1957

1958

A new mathematical drying model L. M. Diamante et al.

Table 2 Statistical results of the different thin layer drying equations for green and gold kiwifruits
Temperature
(oC)
60 R1

60 R2

80 R1

80 R2

100 R1

100 R2

Thin-layer drying
equation
Henderson and
Page
Logarithmic
Proposed
Henderson and
Page
Logarithmic
Proposed
Henderson and
Page
Logarithmic
Proposed
Henderson and
Page
Logarithmic
Proposed
Henderson and
Page
Logarithmic
Proposed
Henderson and
Page
Logarithmic
Proposed

Pabis

Pabis

Pabis

Pabis

Pabis

Pabis

Green kiwifruit
RMSE

v2
0.022032
0.000238
0.010311
0.000109
0.028914
0.000273
0.009425
0.000123
0.028144
0.000157
0.007349
0.000129
0.031540
0.000140
0.012204
0.000134
0.033057
0.000160
0.003271
0.000115
0.034220
0.000225
0.002212
0.000128

0.014123
0.002270
0.095734
0.001611
0.016413
0.002464
0.091308
0.001748
0.016004
0.001838
0.081328
0.001698
0.016145
0.001677
0.104802
0.001655
0.016719
0.001676
0.054683
0.001466
0.017298
0.001998
0.044970
0.001556

P (%)

v2

Gold kiwifruit
RMSE

P (%)

21.77628
15.42070
20.01595
14.60727
21.39923
14.61264
18.72008
13.38242
23.36698
12.40153
40.55048
12.03612
24.37413
14.98433
21.27113
15.01172
22.39701
7.75572
11.31370
7.07465
23.53720
8.54605
9.73451
6.53331

0.054546
0.000381
0.001953
0.000067
0.046911
0.000682
0.008542
0.000193
0.007770
0.000341
0.008268
0.000681
0.086242
0.000159
0.002780
0.000100
0.025197
0.000163
0.005558
0.000194
0.012168
0.000096
0.007128
0.000170

0.021860
0.002731
0.041569
0.001256
0.021436
0.003880
0.086926
0.002028
0.014117
0.003399
0.083005
0.004424
0.029264
0.002095
0.048129
0.001742
0.018822
0.002029
0.070290
0.002158
0.014116
0.001620
0.079407
0.002072

27.12660
13.79168
8.37137
5.35465
26.71808
19.41563
19.58052
13.28155
44.10940
38.03985
44.11896
37.23407
43.53949
20.91764
22.36914
18.34801
19.71611
7.95032
13.15920
8.14228
16.80913
7.42705
15.15859
8.63018

v2 = reduced chi-square; RMSE = reduced mean square error; P = mean relative percentage error.

(Watson Victor Ltd.) set at 105 C. All the dried

samples were used by dividing into ve portions and
dried following a standard method (Method 950.46)
(AOAC, 2002). The moisture content of the samples was
calculated on a per cent dry basis, and the average value
of the triplicate samples was used.
Drying curve and equilibrium moisture content
determination

MR d exp ft

The thin layer drying curves and equilibrium moisture

contents of green and gold kiwifruits and Southern Red
and Moorpark apricots were determined using the
procedure from Diamante et al. (2010).

To facilitate the linear regression of eqn 3 to obtain

the constants, it can be transformed into,
ln MR ln d  ft

where the intercept is ln d and the slope is f.

The Page equation is,

Mathematical models

The proposed model is a quadratic equation of the

following form:
ln ln MR a b ln t c ln t

where MR is the moisture ratio and can be calculated

by,
MR

where M is the moisture content of the sample at time t,

Me is the equilibrium moisture content of sample and Mi
is the initial moisture content of sample. The constants
a, b and c can be determined by carrying out a
polynomial regression on ln ()ln MR) vs. ln t.
The three models for comparison are the Henderson
and Pabis, Page and logarithmic. The Henderson and
Pabis equation is,

M  Me
Mi  Me

International Journal of Food Science and Technology 2010

MR exp g th

Again to facilitate the linear regression of eqn 5 to

obtain the constants, it can be transformed into,
ln ln MR ln g h ln t

where the intercept is ln g and the slope is h. It may be

noted that the transformed Page equation has some
similarity with the previously proposed equation.

 2010 The Authors. Journal compilation  2010 Institute of Food Science and Technology

A new mathematical drying model L. M. Diamante et al.

Table 3 Regression analyses results of the different thin layer drying equations for apricot Southern Red and Moorpark varieties

Temperature
(oC)
60 R1

60 R2

80 R1

80 R2

100 R1

100 R2

Thin-layer drying
equation
Henderson and
Page
Logarithmic
Proposed
Henderson and
Page
Logarithmic
Proposed
Henderson and
Page
Logarithmic
Proposed
Henderson and
Page
Logarithmic
Proposed
Henderson and
Page
Logarithmic
Proposed
Henderson and
Page
Logarithmic
Proposed

Pabis

Pabis

Pabis

Pabis

Pabis

Pabis

d = 1.1304
g = 0.00170
p = )5.5985
a = )6.7371
d = 1.4547
g = 0.00123
p = )6.6064
a = )6.2170
d = 1.4490
g = 0.00177
p = )4.6761
a = )6.2104
d = 1.4730
g = 0.00171
p = )5.1124
a = )6.1983
d = 1.3713
g = 0.00278
p = )3.7557
a = )5.4846
d = 1.30884
g = 0.00224
p = )2.6881
a = )6.0719

Southern
Red apricot
Constants

r2

f = )0.0054
h = 1.1818
q = )0.0008
b = 1.3532
f = )0.0060
h = 1.2230
q = )0.0007
b = 0.9962
f = )0.0115
h = 1.3047
q = )0.0017
b = 1.2420
f = )0.0115
h = 1.3106
q = )0.0016
b = 1.2222
f = )0.0156
h = 1.3062
q = )0.0029
b = 1.0873
f = )0.0161
h = 1.3501
q = )0.0037
b = 1.3349

0.995
0.999
1.000
1.000
0.989
0.998
0.996
0.999
0.987
1.000
0.997
1.000
0.987
0.999
0.995
0.999
0.989
0.999
0.997
1.000
0.981
1.000
0.999
1.000

r = 5.6361
c = )0.0190

r = 6.7478
c = 0.0239

r = 4.8036
c = 0.0074

r = 5.2592
c = 0.0104

r = 3.8621
c = 0.0279

r = 2.7741
c = 0.0019

d = 1.2319
g = 0.00176
p = )6.8169
a = )6.1609
d = 1.2923
g = 0.00153
p = )5.1483
a = )6.4646
d = 1.4051
g = 0.00232
p = )7.9390
a = )5.9532
d = 1.5055
g = 0.00181
p = )3.4368
a = )6.0915
d = 1.4780
g = 0.00176
p = )2.0450
a = )6.3030
d = 1.5440
g = 0.00214
p = )5.6145
a = )6.1805

Moorpark
apricot
Constants

r2

f = )0.0054
h = 1.1566
q = )0.0006
b = 1.0693
f = )0.0058
h = 1.1949
q = )0.0008
b = 1.1849
f = )0.0112
h = 1.2529
q = )0.0010
b = 1.1904
f = )0.0119
h = 1.3035
q = )0.0010
b = 1.1757
f = )0.0161
h = 1.3956
q = )0.0045
b = 1.3734
f = )0.0179
h = 1.3732
q = )0.0023
b = 1.3939

0.990
0.999
0.997
0.999
0.980
0.999
0.997
0.999
0.977
0.997
0.993
0.998
0.969
0.999
0.994
0.999
0.990
0.999
0.999
0.999
0.987
1.000
0.996
1.000

r = 6.8905
c = 0.0097

r = 5.2229
c = 0.0012

r = 8.0631
c = 0.0079

r = 3.5616
c = 0.0165

r = 2.1344
c = 0.0030

r = 5.8041
c = )0.0028

Henderson and Pabis equation is MR = d exp(-ft); Page equation is MR = exp((-gth); Logarithmic equation is MR = p exp(-qt) + r; Proposed equation is ln(ln MR) = a + b(ln t) + c(ln t)2, where r2 = coefficient of determination; MR = moisture ratio; t = time.

Lastly, the logarithmic equation is,

MR p exp q t r

Doymaz, 2007, 2009; Goyal et al., 2007; Pardeshi

et al., 2009). These statistical values can be calculated
as follows:

To facilitate the regression of eqn 7 to obtain the

constants, it can be transformed into,
ln MR ln p  q t ln r

The constants p, q and r can be determined by

carrying out nonlinear regression on ln MR vs. t.
Statistical analyses and evaluation

The thin layer drying data were subjected to linear and

polynomial regression analyses using the Excel Program
(Microsoft Corporation, USA) and nonlinear regression
analysis using the spss Program (SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL,
USA).
The reduced Chi-square (v2), root mean square error
(RMSE) and the mean relative percentage error (P)
were used as the primary criteria to select the best
equation to account for variation in the experimental and predicted values (Menges & Ertekin, 2006;

 2010 The Authors. Journal compilation  2010 Institute of Food Science and Technology

N
P

v2

MRexp  MRpre 2

i1

Nn
N
P

B MRexp  MRpre
B
RMSE Bi1
@
N

11=2
C
C
C
A


N 
100 X
MRexp  MRpre 

P

N i1 
MRexp

10

11

where MRexp is the experimental moisture ratio, MRpre

is the predicted moisture ratio, N is the number of
observations and n is the number of constants in the
drying model.

International Journal of Food Science and Technology 2010

1959

A new mathematical drying model L. M. Diamante et al.

Table 4 Statistical results of the different thin layer drying equations for apricot Southern Red and Moorpark varieties

Temperature
(oC)
60 R1

60 R2

80 R1

80 R2

100 R1

100 R2

Thin-layer drying
equation
Henderson and
Page
Logarithmic
Proposed
Henderson and
Page
Logarithmic
Proposed
Henderson and
Page
Logarithmic
Proposed
Henderson and
Page
Logarithmic
Proposed
Henderson and
Page
Logarithmic
Proposed
Henderson and
Page
Logarithmic
Proposed

Pabis

Pabis

Pabis

Pabis

Pabis

Pabis

v2

Southern
Red Apricot
RMSE

P (%)

0.001485
0.000029
0.000072
0.000036
0.013465
0.000158
0.001377
0.000033
0.013750
0.000042
0.001051
0.000029
0.014951
0.000067
0.001490
0.000044
0.009066
0.000050
0.000751
0.000011
0.007045
0.000030
0.000410
0.000028

0.037691
0.005267
0.008210
0.005819
0.115274
0.012501
0.036736
0.005652
0.114842
0.006311
0.031406
0.005241
0.119852
0.008019
0.037453
0.006446
0.092607
0.006902
0.026264
0.003206
0.081634
0.005295
0.019400
0.005100

5.69463
1.33661
1.33722
2.23682
15.08181
9.65092
7.65439
5.02821
13.75727
3.69427
5.83040
3.22651
14.30228
4.94618
7.35035
4.23509
10.04645
3.33604
4.58995
2.25614
14.10143
2.19603
3.05371
2.03167

v2

Moorpark
Apricot
RMSE

P (%)

0.005211
0.000081
0.000486
0.000060
0.006468
0.000040
0.000323
0.000040
0.010513
0.000152
0.000977
0.000128
0.017364
0.000103
0.000985
0.000061
0.010755
0.000052
0.000263
0.000047
0.015122
0.000040
0.001920
0.000046

0.071919
0.008990
0.021929
0.005652
0.080214
0.006341
0.017897
0.006268
0.102108
0.012286
0.031070
0.011250
0.131188
0.010084
0.031191
0.007774
0.103197
0.007169
0.016092
0.006801
0.122394
0.006294
0.043509
0.006714

11.06022
5.76505
4.83358
5.02821
11.59257
3.65356
3.30441
3.51621
14.93524
7.06224
6.58926
5.90738
17.89420
6.67755
5.97629
4.32313
13.19603
3.31268
2.74063
3.00115
15.14682
4.44879
8.01350
4.60358

v2 = reduced chi-square; RMSE = reduced mean square error; P = mean relative percentage error.

Results and discussion

Thin layer drying of green and gold kiwifruits

Tables 1 summarises the results of regression analyses of

the dierent thin layer drying equations for green and
gold kiwifruits. The proposed equation gave the highest

coecient of determination (r2) for both kiwifruit and

all the drying data and closely followed by the Page
equation. Simal et al. (2005) reported that the Page
equation gave the best simulation of the drying curves of
green kiwifruit based on the percentage of explained
variance. The statistical evaluations of the experimental
and predicted moisture ratios (MR) of the dierent
700

700

Experimental 60 C

Experimental 60 C

600

600

Predicted 60 C

Moisture content (% db)

Predicted 60 C

Moisture content (% db)

1960

Experimental 80 C

500

Predicted 80 C
400

Experimental 100 C
Predicted 100 C

300

200

Experimental 80 C

500

Predicted 80 C
400

Experimental 100 C
Predicted 100 C

300

200

100

100

0
0

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

400

Time (min)

Figure 1 Drying curves of green kiwifruit at different temperatures

showing the experimental data (symbols) and predicted curves based
on the proposed equation for the best tting drying data.

International Journal of Food Science and Technology 2010

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

400

Time (min)

Figure 2 Drying curves of gold kiwifruit at different temperatures

showing the experimental data (symbols) and predicted curves based
on the proposed equation for the worst tting drying data.

 2010 The Authors. Journal compilation  2010 Institute of Food Science and Technology

A new mathematical drying model L. M. Diamante et al.

800
Experimental 60 C

700

Moisture content (% db)

Predicted 60 C
600

Experimental 80 C
Predicted 80 C

500

Experimental 100 C
400
Predicted 100 C
300

200

100

0
0

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

Time (min)

Figure 3 Drying curves of apricot Southern Red variety at different

temperatures showing the experimental data (symbols) and predicted
curves based on the proposed equation for the worst tting drying
data. Correction added on 16 August 2010, after rst online
publication. Figures 3 and 4 are now included.

900
Experimental 60 C

800

Predicted 60 C

700

Moisture content (% db)

The results indicate that the proposed equation has the

best curve tting ability for kiwifruits compared with
the other equations.
Using the data from Table 1, the predicted drying
curves for the green and gold kiwifruits were obtained
and plotted with their corresponding experimental
drying curves. Figure 1 shows the drying curves of
green kiwifruit at dierent temperatures for the best
tting data (P-values of 13.38% for 60 C, 12.04% for
80 C and 6.53% for 100 C). Figure 2 presents the
drying curves of gold kiwifruit for the worst tting data
(P-values of 13.28% for 60 C, 37.23% for 80 C and
8.63% for 100 C). The predicted drying curves almost
coincide with the experimental drying curves as shown
in Fig. 1. The predicted drying curves slightly deviate
from the experimental drying curves especially at 80 C
as shown in Fig. 2.
The thin layer drying curves of green and gold
kiwifruits at dierent temperatures show that the higher
the temperature, the shorter the drying time for the same
nal moisture content. The same observation was
reported by Simal et al. (2005) for thin layer drying of
green kiwifruit at dierent temperatures.

Experimental 80 C

Thin layer drying of Southern Red and Moorpark apricots

600
Predicted 80 C
500

Experimental 100 C

400

Predicted 100 C

300
200
100
0
0

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

Time (min)

Figure 4 Drying curves of apricot Moorpark variety at different

temperatures showing the experimental data (symbols) and predicted
curves based on the proposed equation for the worst tting drying
data.

equations for the green and gold kiwifruits are shown

in Table 2. The proposed equation consistently gave
the lowest reduced Chi-square (v2) (range from
0.000067 to 0.000681), RMSE (range from 0.001256
to 0.004424) and mean relative percentage error (P)
(range from 5.35% to 37.23%) for both kiwifruits.
Doymaz (2007) reported v2 of 0.000046, RMSE of
0.023086 and P-value of 2.77% for Wang and Singh
equation with the best curve tting for green apples.
While Pardeshi et al. (2009) mentioned v2 of 0.000294,
RMSE of 0.016933 and P-value of 7.97% for Thompson equation with the best curve tting for green peas.
There were three data where the Page equation was
slightly better than the proposed equation but were
statistically not signicantly dierent from each other.

 2010 The Authors. Journal compilation  2010 Institute of Food Science and Technology

Table 3 presents the results of regression analyses of the

dierent thin layer drying equations for Southern Red
and Moorpark apricots. Again the proposed equation
gave the highest r2 values for both apricot and all the
drying data followed closely by the Page equation.
Menges & Ertekin (2006) found that the Henderson and
Pabis, Page and logarithmic models can explain the thin
layer drying behaviour of sulphured and nonsulphured
apricots based on v2, RMSE, mean bias error (MBE)
and modelling eciency (EF). They reported that v2
varied from 0.000057 and 0.000802, RMSE between
0.007670 and 0.022265, MBE between 0.000455 and
0.008503 and EF between 0.990801 and 0.999412 for the
two apricot samples. The statistical evaluation of the
experimental and predicted MR of the dierent equations for Southern Red and Moorpark apricots are
shown in Table 4. The proposed equation consistently
gave the lowest v2 (range from 0.000011 to 0.000128),
RMSE (range from 0.003206 to 0.011250) and P-values
(range from 2.03% to 5.91%) for both apricots. The
results indicate that the proposed equation has the best
curve tting ability for apricots compared with the other
equations.
Again using the data from Table 3, the predicted
drying curves for the Southern Red and Moorpark
apricots were obtained and plotted with their corresponding experimental drying curves. Figure 3 shows
the drying curves of Southern Red apricot at dierent
temperatures for the best tting data (P-values of 2.24%
for 60 C, 3.23% for 80 C and 2.03% for 100 C).

International Journal of Food Science and Technology 2010

1961

1962

A new mathematical drying model L. M. Diamante et al.

Figure 4 presents the drying curves of Moorpark apricot

for the worst tting data (P-values of 5.03% for 60 C,
5.91% for 80 C and 4.60% for 100 C). The predicted
drying curves almost coincide with the experimental
drying curves as shown in Fig. 3. This time the predicted drying curves almost coincide with the experimental drying curves as shown in Fig. 4 because of the
low P-values. Pardeshi et al. (2009) reported that the
equation with P-values below 10% gave good curve
tting of the experimental data.
The thin layer drying curves of two varieties of
apricots at dierent temperatures show that the higher
the temperature, the shorter the drying time for the same
nal moisture content. The same observation was
reported by Menges & Ertekin (2006) for thin layer
drying of sulphured and nonsulphured apricots at
dierent temperatures.
Mathematical modelling the thin layer drying of fruits

The results in the previous sections show that the new

proposed equation gave the best curve tting for thin
layer drying of the fruits studied compared with three
commonly used equations (Henderson and Pabis, Page
and logarithmic). The proposed equation utilises three
constants that could easily be obtained by carrying out
polynomial regression using any statistical packages or
even a programmable calculator. This is very useful for
research workers in the developing countries that have
limited computing facilities. It must be noted however
that there is no theoretical basis that could be oered for
the good curve tting ability of the equation.
Conclusion

Based on the results presented between the proposed

equation and previous equations and the thin layer
drying data for kiwifruit and apricot, it can be
concluded that the proposed equation can be used to
describe the thin layer drying of fruits. However, more
comparisons need to be carried out before conrming its
validity to other fruits and possibly other agricultural
crops like vegetables, legumes, nuts, grains and cereals.

International Journal of Food Science and Technology 2010

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 2010 The Authors. Journal compilation  2010 Institute of Food Science and Technology

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