Determination of thermophysical properties of cupuassu (Theobroma grandiflorum) dry almonds

In comparison to cocoa, little has been reported on the drying of cupuassu almonds that can be used produce cupulate, a chocolate type product. Thus, in this study thermophysical properties dry (moisture = 9.68 % d.b.) were determined as: thermal conductivity (k) 0.14 kW/(m.K), specific heat (cp) 2.86 kJ/(kg.K), diffusivity (?) 4.8·10-5 m²/s, effective (Deff) 9.94·10-10 - 6.29·10-10 m²/s and activation energy (Ea) 14.90 kJ/mol. These results showed similarity values between cocoa allows perform more studies for development dryers almonds.