Numerical study of the intermittent dehydration of banana slices in a tray dryer

Drying is one of the most frequently used ancient food processing techniques and has existed alongside human civilization throughout the ages. Due to the use of heated air as a heat transfer fluid for heat and mass transfer between the dry air and the product or material to be dried, the drying process has a high energy requirement. The purpose of this research is to apply a method for intermittent drying of bananas using a tray dryer under existing operating conditions. Consequently, intermittent heating is a slower process than continuous heating, but the issue of burning or carbonization on the surface of the produce to be dried can be avoided. By measuring and controlling the psychrometric parameters of the inlet and outlet air, the duration spent in the dryer, and the energy consumption, these results were obtained. From these data, Fick's diffusion law-based drying curves are plotted. After validating the results, it has been determined that intermittent drying consumes less energy when compared to continuous drying under identical operating conditions.