TY - JOUR
TI - Modeling of convective drying kinetics of Pistachio kernels in a fixed bed drying system
AU - Balbay Asım
AU - Şahin Ömer
AU - Ülker Hakan
JN - Thermal Science
PY - 2013
VL - 17
IS - 3
SP - 839
EP - 846
PT - Article
AB - Drying kinetics of Pistachio kernels (PKs) with initial moisture content of  32.4% (w.b) was investigated as a function of drying conditions in a fixed  bed drying system. The drying experiments were carried out at different  temperatures of drying air (40, 60 and 80°C) and air velocities (0.05,  0.075 and 0.1 m/s). Several experiments were performed in terms of mass of  PKs (15g and 30g) using a constant air velocity of 0.075 m/s. The fit  quality of models was evaluated using the determination coefficient (R2),  sum square error (SSE) and root mean square error (RMSE). Among the selected  models, the Midilli et al model was found to be the best models for  describing the drying behavior of PKs. The activation energies were  calculated as 29.2 kJ/mol and effective diffusivity values were calculated  between 1.38 and 4.94x10-10 m2/s depending on air temperatures.