Journal
CHEMICAL ENGINEERING AND PROCESSING-PROCESS INTENSIFICATION
Volume 46, Issue 1, Pages 63-69Publisher
ELSEVIER SCIENCE SA
DOI: 10.1016/j.cep.2006.04.004
Keywords
cyanobacteria; Aphanothece; drying; chlorophyll a; colour
Categories
Ask authors/readers for more resources
This study was undertaken to investigate the dehydration characteristics of the cyanobacterium Aphanothece microscopica Nageli in a convective hot-air dryer. The dehydration characteristics of the biomass were examined at air temperatures of 40, 50 and 60 degrees C and sample thicknesses of 3, 5 and 7 mm. During the dehydration experiments, air velocity was held stable at 1.5 m/s (parallel flow). The effects of air temperature and sample thickness on the dehydration characteristics and quality parameters (instrumental colour and chlorophyll a) of the dehydrated biomass were determined. The transport of water during dehydration was described by Fick's equation and effective diffusivity was between 8.1 x 10(-8) and 18.8 x 10(-8) m(2) s(-1). The experimental dehydration data on biomass obtained were fitted to the Henderson and Pabis model, and the drying rate constant was between 0.005 and 0.024 min(-1). The response surface methodology was very efficient in determining product quality, showing the strong effect of temperature on instrumental colour and chlorophyll a content. The thicknesses evaluated showed a less significant effect on the final quality. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available