, Yakup Daşdemirli 2
, Bahadır Acar 3
, Megen Guled Mohammed 4
, Özgür İnanç 5
2Karabuk University, Faculty of Technology, Energy Systems Engineering, 78000, Karabuk, Turkey
3Karabuk University, Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences, Machine Engineering, 78000, Karabuk, Turkey
4Karabuk University, Faculty of Technology, Energy Systems Engineering, 78000, Karabuk, Turkey
5Karabuk University, Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences, Machine Engineering, 78000, Karabuk, Turkey
Abstract
In this study, the freeze-drying (FD) behavior of ginger (Zingiber officinale) at thicknesses of 5 and 7 mm was analyzed experimentally and statistically. The drying process was evaluated using ten empirical models to decide which was most proper for predicting weight reduction. Among the evaluated models, the Logarithmic Model was the most correct in describing the drying kinetics for both sample thicknesses, showing the lowest error rates of 8.39% for 5 mm samples and 8.42% for 7 mm samples. The 5 mm samples had statistical parameters of correlation coefficient (R2) = 0.9902, chi-square (X2) = 1.402×10-3 and root mean square error (RMSE) = 0.03211. The 7 mm samples had R2 = 0.9986, X2= 1.153×10-3, and RMSE = 0.03411. Additionally, the calculated effective moisture diffusion coefficient (Deff) values for 5 mm and 7 mm were 2.075×10-7 m2/s and 4.079×10-10 m2/s, respectively, which are in line with the values reported for different food items.
