The present study aimed at investigating the influences of drying air temperature and flow rate on energy parameters and dehydration behaviour of apple slices. For this purpose, apple slices were dried in a convective dryer at air temperatures of 50, 60 and 70 °C, and air velocities of 1, 1.5 and 2 m s -1. Dehydration rate increased as the air temperature and flow rate increased from 50 to 70 °C and 1 to 2 m s -1 , respectively. The effective moisture diffusivity was determined to be in the range of 6.75×10 . Results of data analysis showed that the maximum energy consumption (23.94 kW h) belonged to 50 °C and 2 m s -1 and the minimum (13.89 kW h) belonged to 70 °C and 1 m s -1 treatment. Energy efficiency values were in the range of 2.87-9.11%. Moreover, the results indicated that any increment in the air temperature increases thermal and drying efficiencies while any increment in the air flow rate decreases both of them.Keywords: apple; moisture diffusion; thermodynamic parameters; energy efficiency.Practical Application: Traditional drying methods pose some problems such as long drying time and dust and microbial contamination of the dried materials. Artificial drying methods should be employed to overcome these problems. In spite of some advantages for industrial dryers, energy requirement in drying technology is one of the key problems to overcome. The drying process generally consumes large amounts of energy; therefore, it is crucial to make sure of high energy efficiency and low environmental impact in this process.

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Article Highlights • Drying curves of paddy were modeled using mathematical and ANN modeling techniques • Among the applied models, the Midilli model was determined as the best one describing drying curves • ANN with 4-10-14-1 topology, tansig transfer function and LM algorithm provided the best results • ANN modelling had better performance in prediction of drying curves

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