Comparison of the Experimental and predicting Data of Drying Characteristics of Cocoa Pod Using Cabinet Dryer at Different Temperature

Abstract

Cocoa pod husks serve as potential sources of disease transmission in cocoa farms when it is not properly handled, Therefore, quick-drying is essential to prevent deterioration. This study evaluated the drying characteristics of cocoa pod husk as affected by drying at different temperatures 70 0 C, 80 0 C and 90 0 C and the effect of the drying system. This was achieved by developing a mathematical model in a cabinet dryer.The change in moisture content of the cocoa pod husk was monitored at regular intervals of 30min until the moisture content of the sample became constant. The result shows that the drying rates were higher for the highest temperature (90 o C) used in this experiment and decreases with the decrease in dry air temperatures.The model was then validated with the data obtained from the cabinet dryer and there was no significant difference between the experimental drying rate and predicted values at 5%level significance. Midili kucuk (0.989 ≤ R 2 ≤ 0.998) and Hii et al (0.983 ≤ R 2 ≤ 0.996,) models were selected as the best model for predicting the drying characteristics of cocoa pod.