Thin Layer Convective Drying and Mathematical Modeling of Einkorn

Abstract

Einkorn (Triticum monococcum) was one of the first wheat to be domesticated some 10 000 years ago in the Near East. It originated in the mountainous areas of Turkey and its wild progenitor. However, it is now rarely grown in western Turkey, the Balkan countries, Germany, Switzerland, Spain. This study was undertaken to investigate the thin layer drying characteristics of the einkorn in a convective hot-air dryer. The drying characteristics of einkorn were examined at air temperature range of 40-70°C. During the dehydration experiments, air velocity was held stable at 0.8 m/s. Moisture transfer from the test samples was described by applying the Fick's diffusion model and the effective diffusivity was calculated. Temperature dependence of the effective diffusivity was described by the Arrhenius-type relationship. The experimental drying data of einkorn obtained were fitted to the wellknown semi-theoretical drying models. Drying rate constants and coefficients of models tested were determined by non-linear regression analysis. The accuracies of the models were measured using the coefficient of determination, mean relative percent deviation, root mean square error and reduced mean square of the deviation. All models are acceptable for describing drying characteristics of einkorn. © 2010 Czech University of Life Sciences Prague.