Determination of drying kinetics, specific energy consumption, shrinkage, and colour properties of pomegranate arils submitted to microwave and convective drying

Abstract In this study, the drying kinetics, effective moisture diffusivity ( D eff ), specific energy consumption (SEC), colour, and shrinkage S b ) of pomegranate arils were compared when dried by convective (CV) microwave (MW) drying. The experiments performed at air temperature 50, 60, 70°C velocity 1 m/s for CV 270, 450, 630 W MW results showed that increasing power increased . calculations demonstrated maximum was obtained (630 W). Maximum SEC in dryer 145.12 kWh/kg, whereas 35.42 kWh/kg. dryer, lowest values colour change 6.77 50.5%, respectively. Comprehensive comparison different methods (MW CV) revealed had best performance arils, considering time, diffusion, SEC, shrinkage.