Experimental Study and Mathematical Modeling of Silverside Fish Convective Drying

Abstract

The aim of this work was to study the effect of air‐drying process on the convective drying kinetics of silverside fish and to determine the suitable thin‐layer drying model. This product is chosen for its high‐protein content and nutritional value, and its use as a very important foodstuff in developing countries. A nonlinear regression procedure was used to fit experimental drying curves with most used empirical mathematical models available in literature. The comparison criteria between experimental and calculated data were the coefficient of determination and the reduced χ2. It was found that the Midilli et al. and two‐term models give the best fit. The effective diffusivity was determined to be 8.7630 × 10−10–3.2131 × 10−09 m2/s in the temperature range of 45–70C and in the relative humidity range of 20–40%. The activation energies for moisture diffusion were calculated to be varied from 35.6471 to 37.2625 kJ/mol. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS Fish is a major source of food for human nutrition. In fact, silverside fish are certainly a source of proteins and lipids, approximately 6.09 and 19.11 g/100 g, respectively. Therefore, silverside has a great importance in Tunisian food customs. This product is characterized by its high contents of moisture, which represent the most significant cause of their deterioration after its fishing, particularly in relatively hot countries. Fish can thus be valorized by drying, which is an efficient technique for improving stabilization and storage. Thus, the basic objective in drying agricultural products is the removal of water in the solids up to a certain level, at which microbial spoilage and deterioration chemical reactions are greatly minimized. Moreover, knowledge of drying behavior is important in the design, simulation and optimization of the drying process.

Dehydration kinetics of salmon and trout fillets using ultrasonic vacuum drying as a novel technique

“…Arrhenius equation parameters calculated for D eff values of the fillets.Toujani et al[29] and Wang et al[34]; However, Wang & Singh model was determined the worst model from different thin-layer mathematical models in the present study; this finding agrees with previous studies by Toujani et al…”

“…In the present study, Two-term models and Henderson-Pabis models were determined as good-fitting models like Moraes et al [26], [29] and Wang et al [34]. Moreover, the k values for the Page and Logarithmic models increased with increasing temperatures (Tables 4 and 5).…”

“…Tables 4 and 5 indicate all the models gave a [13] for meat and chicken. However, the best models for drying fish were reported as Midilli et al [29], Two-term models [34] and Henderson-Pabis model [26]. Moraes et al [26] reported that the Henderson-Pabis model showed a good fit for convective drying of anchovy fillets.…”

“…The Midilli et al model gave the best fit for tilapia fillets [35] and sardine fish [36] dried with a microwave. Toujani et al [29] reported that the Two-term model and Midilli et al model were found to adequately predict the convective drying process of silverside fish.…”

“…At the initial stage of the drying process, the moisture movement is rapid because of the evaporation of moisture at the product's surface. However, it decreases exponentially while drying because of the difficulty of the transport of the evaporated water through material [29]. The basic aims of vacuum drying are to create both high moisture diffusion and low environment pressure to increase mass and heat transfer.…”