Thermodynamic properties and drying kinetics of ‘okara’

Abstract

‘Okara’ is the insoluble part obtained after the aqueous extraction of soybeans, generated in large quantities as a by-product of the ‘tofu’ industry or soybean water-soluble extract. This work aimed to study ‘okara’ convective drying kinetics, determine the effective diffusion coefficient, and obtain activation energy and thermodynamic properties under different drying conditions. The by-product ‘okara’ was obtained from the processing of BRS 257 soybean water-soluble extract, homogenized and dried in a forced-air oven at temperatures of 40, 50, 60 and 70 °C until constant weight. Among the analysed models, Wang & Singh was selected to represent the drying phenomenon. Effective diffusion coefficient increased with the temperature rise, and the activation energy for the net diffusion in the drying was 28.15 kJ mol-1. Enthalpy and Gibbs free energy increased with the elevation of drying temperature.