1

MODELLING THE DRYING CHARACTERISTICS OF SWEET POTATO

(Ipomoea batatas L.) CHIPS USING A MECHANICAL DRYER

Thesis Manuscript

Presented to the Faculty of the

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURAL ENGINEERING

VISAYAS STATE UNIVERSITY

Visca, Baybay City, Leyte

In Partial Fulfillment of the

Requirements for the Degree of

BACHELOR OF SCIENCE IN AGRICULTURAL ENGINEERING

RONALD HAMOT SALILI

December 2018
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ABSTRACT

SALILI, RONALD HAMOT. DECEMBER 2018. MODELLING THE DRYING

CHARACTERISTICS OF SWEET POTATO (Ipomoea batatas L.) CHIPS

USING A MECHANICAL DRYER

Thesis Adviser: Prof. Arthur It. Tambong

The study was conducted to establish and model the drying characteristics of

sweet potato chips using a mechanical dryer at drying air temperature of 60, 70 and 80
0
C and chip thickness of 5 mm, 8 mm and 10 mm.

Results indicated that the dying behavior, expressed in terms of the

instantaneous moisture of chips with the drying time and dying rate were influenced by

both the drying air temperature and thickness of the sweet potato chips. The higher the

drying temperature, the faster was the reduction of moisture of moisture with time and

drying rate. In contrast, the thinner the thickness, the faster was the moisture reduction

and drying rate. The instantaneous moisture content of sweet potato chips was best

described by the Modified Page Equation. Based on the results, the best temperature

and thickness combination that gave the best result in terms of dying time and color of

the chips was 70 0C ±8 and chip thickness of 5 mm. at this combination, the drying

behavior of the chips can be best expressed by the mathematical drying model: Mt =

(Mo-Me)(1.42461)e(0.5614)t+Me, with R value of 0.9319. The drying time to reach the

desired moisture content of 12%, dry basis, was only 2.72 hours.
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CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

Nature and Importance of the Study

The sweet potato, Ipomoea batatas L. (Lam.), is a dicotyledonous plant which

belongs to the family of Convolvulaceae. Among the approximately 50 genera and

more than 1000 species of this family, only I. batatas is of major economic importance

as a food. As a world crop, it ranks seventh from the viewpoint of total production. In

monetary terms, it ranks thirteenth globally in the production value of agricultural

commodities and is fifth on the list of the developing countries’ most valuable food

crops (Woolfe, 1992). In the Philippines sweet potato belong to the secondary crop

which is used as a substitute to rice.

The Philippine Statistics Authority (2008) reported that during the second

quarter of 2018, sweet potato production dropped to 153.99 thousand metric tons from

158.82 thousand metric tons in 2017 or by 3.0 percent. Bicol Region, the biggest

producer with 41.86 thousand metric tons shared 27.2 percent to total sweet potato

production this quarter. This was followed by Central Luzon and Eastern Visayas with

20.4 percent and 16.0 percent shares, respectively. 1

The drying rate of sweet potato chips under different condition differ due to

many constraints. It is not always possible to determine completely the influence of

these factors at all possible drying parameter combinations. In this aspect drying

models, the drying behavior and drying time under any conditions could easily be

determined. There are no such drying models yet for sweet potato.
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Objectives of the Study

The main objective of the study was to model the drying characteristics of the sliced

peeled sweet potato of different thickness and drying temperature using a mechanical

dryer.

Specifically aimed to:

 Determine the drying characteristics of the sliced peeled sweet potato as

affected by the drying temperature and thickness using a mechanical dryer.

 Develop a mathematical model of the drying characteristics of sliced peeled

sweet potato dried in a mechanical dryer.

Scope and Limitations of Study

This study was focused only on the drying characteristics of sliced peeled sweet

potato of different thickness using a mechanical dryer at different drying air

temperature of 40, 60, and 80 0C and at a constant air velocity of 1 m/s.

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CHAPTER 2
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

The Sweet Potato

According to Lebot (2008), sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas (L.) Lam.,

Convolvulaceae, Dicotyledons) is ranked seventh in world crop statistics, just after

cassava. Its roots are rich in carbohydrates and vitamin A and its leaves are rich in

proteins. It can produce more edible energy per hectare and per day than wheat, rice or

cassava. It has diverse uses ranging from consumption of fresh roots or leaves to

processing into animal feed, starch, flour, noodles, natural colorants, candy and alcohol.

The underground storage organs of the sweet potato plant are storage roots, as for

cassava. Unlike yams, I. batatas does not produce tubers which correspond to

subterranean stems or part of a stem that thicken and contain stored reserves. Sweet

potato produces storage roots which present a cellular arrangement identical to a

primary root with a radial vascular bundle.

Figure 1. Typical Sweet Potato Roots

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Principles of Drying

Drying is the removal of water from a product down to moisture safe for storage.

It is characterized by the removal of the moisture trough the application of heat. Drying

is one important method of preservation. The drying of food is done during season of

abundance for consumption to preserve them during lean seasons. The aims of drying

are reduced of the volume of the product, increase its shelf-life and to lower the

transportation cost (Hermoso, 2008).

Drying rate are crucially important if high quality products are to be produced.

The condition of moderate temperature and high humidity inside the drier are often

ideas for the growth of molds, yeast and bacteria. However, with some martials

particularly starchy ones, a condition known as “case hardening” occurs if drying rates

are to fast. Drying process of the slices depends on air temperature, relative humidity,

time and velocity of the air.

Drying Practices

Sun drying is believed to be the oldest method of preservation. This requires

days that are bright and hot with air free from moisture. Solar drying has the double

advantage of requiring no expense of the fuel and of free from the danger of

overheating, but it will degrade the quality of the root since the product is spread only

directly on the ground., which is exposed to the contaminating agents such as dirt, dust

and others. This way of drying can cause also slow and uneven drying since adverse

weather condition can interrupt the drying process. To improve the product quality and

hasten the drying process, mechanical dryers available in the market are expensive. To
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reduce the energy cost, solar dryers are also developed and promoted for dying of fruits

(Abad, 2002).

Quality of Dried Roots

Quality of the dried roots is determined by means of its color, taste and flavor.

Duckworth (1996) stated that flavor is the property which is largely due to the

stimulation of the chemical senses of the consumer. Taste and smell are the dominant

aspect of this most subjective of all quality attributes. Salunke (1974) stated that the

textures of the dried fruit are rather soft, so that improvement in the firmness to protect

the integrity through handling and processing is highly desirable.

Drying Models

A more comprehensive simulation models include a thin layer equation to

predict local drying rates. Two of such models are the Paige and the Single Term

Approximate Form of Diffusion (Ajibola, 1989).

The modified Page equation suggested a two-constant empirical model for

describing thin-layer drying of agricultural crops. It is a modified form of the

exponential model and is expresses as:

𝑀𝑡 −𝑀𝑒
𝑀𝑅 = − exp(−𝑘𝑡)𝑛 (1)
𝑀𝑜 −𝑀𝑒

where:

MR = moisture ratio

Mt = instantaneous moisture content, dry basis (%)

Me = equilibrium moisture content, dry weight basis (%)

M0 = initial moisture content, dry weight basis (%)

t = time, min
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B1 = drying constant

n = drying constant

The constant B1 and the n are determined experimentally. The model has been

used of material by Wang and Singh (1978) to describe the drying characteristics of

rough rice; by White, et al., (1981) in the drying of soya beans; by Li and Morey (1987)

in the study of the thin layered of American ginseng and Alijoba (1989) in describing

the thin layered of melon seed. In these studies, B1 and n were related to the initial

moisture content, air temperature and air relative humidity. It studies comparing the

modified Page equation with other commonly used thin-layer models, the model was

found to give the best fit for thin-layer drying data in-shell pecan (Chinnan, 1984);

sunflower seed (Syarief, et al., 1984) and soya seeds (Hutchinson and Otten. 1983).

The single term approximate from of diffusion equation was used by

Simmonds, et al. (1953). The equation expressed as:

𝑀𝑡 −𝑀𝑒
𝑀𝑅 = = 𝐴[exp(−𝐵1 𝑡)] (2)
𝑀𝑜 −𝑀𝑒

where:

MR = moisture ratio

Mt = instantaneous moisture content, dry basis (%)

Me = equilibrium moisture content, dry weight basis (%)

M0 = initial moisture content, dry weight basis (%)

t = time, min

B1 = drying constant

Linear and Non-Linear Mathematical Model

Linear and nonlinear mathematical models are tools to find the relationship

between different variables. Table 1 shows the most common models used for fitting
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the relationship between two variables Y (moisture content) and X (thickness and

temperature) which represent the dependent and the independent variables, respectively

(Guarte, 1996).

Table 1. Commonly used models for fitting the relationship between two variables.

Mathematical Model Equation

Linear Y = A + BX

Logarithmic Y = A + BlnX

Exponential Y = ABX

Power Y = AXB

This equation may be used to relate moisture content as a function of each

variable: the temperature and the thickness of the slices peeled sweet potato needed to

derive the drying model.

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CHAPTER 3

MATERIAL AND METHODS

Preparation of the Samples

Fresh sweet potato was used in this study. The sweet potato was purchased in

Baybay City market. They were peeled and sliced into three different thickness of 5mm,

8mm, 10mm. the sliced sweet potato was weighted using an electronic weighing scale.

The Mechanical Dryer

The mechanical dryer was used in this study. Figure 2 shows the image of the

dryer and its parts.

Door Blower
Frame

Figure 2. The Mechanical Dryer

Experimental Design

The study was conducted using a 2-factor experiment in a completely

randomized design (CRD) with drying air temperature (60, 70, and 80 0C) and thickness

(5mm, 8mm, 10mm) of the sliced peeled sweet potato as the factors. There were nine
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treatment combination and the experiment were replicated three times. Table 2 shows

a sample table used in recording data from the experiment.

Table 2. Sample raw data table from the experiments.

Replication Treatment
Treatment
R1 R2 R3 Mean

T1 (60 0C, 5mm) X11 X12 X13 X1

T2 (60 0C, 8mm) X21 X22 X23 X2

T3 (60 0C, 10mm) X31 X32 X33 X3

T4 (70 0C, 5mm) X41 X42 X43 X4

T5 (70 0C, 8mm) X51 X52 X53 X5

T6 (70 0C, 10mm) X61 X62 X63 X6

T7 (80 0C, 5mm) X71 X72 X73 X7

T8 (80 0C, 8mm) X81 X82 X83 X8

T9 (80 0C, 10mm) X91 X92 X93 X9

Modelling the Drying Characteristics of Sweet Potato

The data gathered in dying process behavior of the sliced peeled sweet potato

dried in the mechanical dryer at drying air temperature values of 60, 70, 80 0C and

chips thickness of 5mm, 8mm, and 10mm at constant drying air velocity of 1.0 m/s

were fitted to different drying models shown in equation (1) and (2).

In fitting the drying data to the different thin-layer drying models, the moisture

content of the sliced peeled sweet potato was converted to moisture ratio as shown in

equation (3). However, in the computation of the dimensionless moisture ratio,

knowledge of the equilibrium moisture content associated with a given set of drying

condition is essential. Equilibrium moisture content was computed based on the final
 12

drying weight for each of the experimental conditions. Chinnan (1984) and Syarief, et

al., (1984) used the final moisture content as the equilibrium moisture content of the

samples.

From the moisture content data of each drying trial, the moisture ratio (MR)was

computed using the formula.

𝑀𝑡 −𝑀𝑒
𝑀𝑅 = (3)
𝑀𝑜 −𝑀𝑒

The MR values for each trial were regressed against time using the linearized

form of equations (1) and (2) as shown in the equation (5), (6), (7) respectively as

follows:

ln 𝑀𝑅 = −𝑘𝑡 (4)

ln(−𝑙𝑛𝑀𝑅) = 𝑛𝑙𝑛𝑘1 + 𝑛𝑙𝑛𝑡 (5)

and

ln(𝑀𝑅) = ln 𝐴 − 𝐵1 𝑡 (6)

The appropriate model was selected based on the model that gave the highest

coefficient of determination (R2). The empirically derived constants for each treatment

combination of temperature and thickness of the chips were used to derive the

appropriate mathematical models. To evaluate the validity of the drying model, the

predicted values were compared to the experimental data and plotted in a graph for each

treatment combination.

Data Gathered

During the conduct of the experiment, the following data gathered.

 Initial Moisture Content

a) Moisture content, wet basis (MCwb)

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𝑊𝑖 −𝑊𝑑
𝑀𝐶𝑤𝑏 = 𝑥100 (8)
𝑊𝑖

b) Moisture content; dry basis (MCdb)

𝑊𝑖 −𝑊𝑑
𝑀𝐶𝑑𝑏 = 𝑥100 (9)
𝑊𝑑

where:

Wi = initial weight of the sample before oven dry, grams

Wd = weight if the sample after oven drying or the bone-

dry weight, grams

 Temperature

 Initial weight of the sample

 Final weight of the sample

 Instantaneous weight

 Instantaneous moisture content

𝑊𝑡 −𝑊𝑑
𝑀𝐶𝑡𝑤𝑏 = 𝑥100 (10)
𝑊𝑡

𝑊𝑡 −𝑊𝑑
𝑀𝐶𝑡𝑑𝑏 = 𝑥100 (11)
𝑊𝑖

where:

Wt = instantaneous weight of each sample at any time t,

Wd = dry matter weight of each sample computed based

in its final moisture content, g

Mtwb = instantaneous moisture content at any time t, wet

basis, %

Mtdb = instantaneous moisture content at any time t, dry

basis, %
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 Final moisture content

 The drying rate. The instantaneous drying rate of each samples were

computed using the equation presented by Guarte (1996) as:

𝑑𝑚 𝑀𝑡 −𝑀(𝑡+∆𝑡)
= (12)
𝑑𝑡 ∆𝑡

where:

dm/dt = drying rate, g H2O/100g dry matter, hr

Mt = moisture content of the samples at any time t, dry basis

M(t+Δt) = moisture content of the samples after a drying time

interval Δt, dry basis

 Physical characteristics

Data Analysis

The effect of drying air temperature and thickness of the sliced peeled sweet

potato on the instantaneous moisture content and drying rate of the sliced peeled sweet

potato was analyzed using analysis of variance (ANOVA) in a completely randomized

design (CRD) shown in Table 3. Treatment means ere compared using Tukey’s

Honestly Significant Difference (HSD) test.

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Table 3. ANOVA on the effect of drying temperature (Φ, 0C) and thickness (t, mm) of

the sliced peeled sweet potato on a certain characteristic.

Degrees of Computed
Source of Mean Square p-
Freedom Sum of Squares (SS) F Value
Variation (MS) Value
(df) (F)

𝐼
𝑆𝑆𝐴 𝑀𝑆𝐴
Factor A I-1 𝑆𝑆𝐴 = 𝐽𝐾 ∑(𝑋̅𝑖 − 𝑋̅)2 𝑀𝑆𝐴 =
𝐼−1 𝑀𝑆𝐸
𝑖=1

𝐽
𝑆𝑆𝐵 𝑀𝑆𝐵
Factor B J-1 𝑆𝑆𝐵 = 𝐼𝐾 ∑(𝑋̅𝑗 − 𝑋̅)2 𝑀𝑆𝐵 =
𝐽−1 𝑀𝑆𝐸
𝑗=1

𝐽
𝐼
̅̅̅̅ ̅ ̅ ̅ 2
𝑆𝑆𝐴𝐵 𝑀𝑆𝐴𝐵
AxB (I-1)(J-1) 𝑆𝑆𝐴𝐵 = 𝐾 ∑ ∑(𝑋 𝑖𝑗 − 𝑋𝑖 − 𝑋𝑗 + 𝑋 ) 𝑀𝑆𝐴𝐵 =
(𝐼 − 1)(𝐽 − 1)
𝑖=1 𝑗=1 𝑀𝑆𝐸

𝐼 𝐽 𝐾
𝑆𝑆𝐸
Error IJ(K-1) ̅̅̅̅̅
𝑆𝑆𝐸 = 𝐾 ∑ ∑ ∑(𝑋 ̅̅̅̅ 2
𝑖𝑗𝑘 − 𝑋𝑖𝑗 ) 𝑀𝑆𝐸 =
𝐼𝐽(𝐾 − 1)
𝑖=1 𝑗=1 𝑘=1

𝐼 𝐽 𝐾

Total IJK-1 ̅̅̅̅̅

𝑆𝑆𝑇 = ∑ ∑ ∑(𝑋 ̅ 2
𝑖𝑗𝑘 − 𝑋 )
𝑖=1 𝑗=1 𝑘=1
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CHAPTER 4

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Drying Characteristics of Sweet Potato

The drying characteristics of the sweet potato chips, dried inside the mechanical

dryer were expressed in terms of the drying behavior and drying rate. The drying

behavior refers to the plot of the instantaneous moisture content against drying time

while drying rate refers to the amount of moisture removed per time interval, dM/dT

expressed in terms of gram water per 100 dry matter-hour.

The data on the instantaneous moisture contents of sweet potato chips are

presented in Appendix Tables 1-3 and summarized in Figures 3-5.

350

300
Moiture Content, % d.b.

250

200

150

100

50

0
0 1 2 3 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18
Drying Time, hr

60 0C 70 0C 80 0C

Figure 3. The drying behavior of 5mm thick chips at different drying temperature.
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350

300

Moisture Content, % d.b.

250

200

150

100

50

0
0 1 2 3 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18
Drying Time, hr

60 0C 70 0C 80 0C

Figure 4. the drying behavior of 8mm thick sweet potato chips at different drying
temperatures.

350

300
Moisture Content, % d.b.

250

200

150

100

50

0
0 1 2 3 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18
Axis Title

60 0C 70 0C 80 0C

Figure 8. The drying behavior of 10 mm thick sweet potato chips at different drying
temperature.

The result shows that the instantaneous moisture content decreased as the drying

time increased. The higher the temperature, the lower was the instantaneous moisture

content values as the time progressed. The lowest instantaneous moisture at any given
 18

time was observed drying temperature of 80 0C, followed by 70 0C and 60 0C, in that

order. This was attributed to the high-pressure gradient that was developed between the

inner part of the product and its surface. The higher the temperature, the higher was the

temperature gradient and the higher was the moisture removal. On the other hand, the

thinner was the thickness of the chips, the faster was the removal of moisture as shown

by the values of the instantaneous moisture contents.

The effects of the drying temperature and the thickness of the chips on the

drying behavior of the chips were also determined by conducting an ANNOVA using

a two-factor factorial in CRD. Results are presented and summarized in Table 4 and the

comparison of treatment mean are shown in Table 5.

Results of the ANOVA indicated that drying temperature significantly affected

the instantaneous moisture content of the chips during the first 3 hours of drying. On

the other hand, the thickness of the chips significantly affected the instantaneous until

the 10th hour of drying. However, there was no significant interaction between the

temperature and the thickness of the chips. This indicates that the effects of both factors

on the moister removal were independent from each other. The temperature factor

affects the moisture removal because of the faster removal at high temperature while

for the thickness, the thinner the thickness, the faster was the removal and the lower the

moisture content as the drying proceeded.

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Table 4. Summary of the computed F ratios from the analysis of variance for drying f sweet potato chops at different time as affected by drying

temperature and thickness.

Drying Time, hr f-tab

Source of Variation 1 2 3 4 6 8 10 12 14 5% 1%
Temperature 14.81** 50.21** 6.15* 1.85ns 0.61ns 50.21** 0.081ns 0.51* 0.26ns 4.25 8.02
Thickness 23.68** 16.32** 49.31** 28.97** 4.98* 16.32** 14.33** 0.15ns 13.81** 4.25 8.02
AxV 0.80 0.39 1.87 0.81 0.49 0.39 0.37 1.156 0.69 3.63 6.42
ns
not significant *-significant at 5% level **highly significant

Table 5. Summary of the results on drying rate of sweet potato chip using Tukey’s Honestly Significant Difference.

Drying Time, hr
Treatments
1 2 3 4 6 8 10 12 14
0
T1 (60 C, 5mm) 19.69ab 82.59ab 8.979cd 3.59b 0.27a 0.13a 0.20a 0.62a 0.41a
T2 (60 0C, 8mm) 164.38bc 93.85a 27.90bc 8.00b 0.09a 0.39a 0.04a 0.98a 0.63a
T3 (60 0C, 10mm) 135.88c 94.00a 46.71a 21.18a 0.89a 0.93a 0.03a 1.21a 0.92a
T4 (70 0C, 5mm) 215.33a 54.87cd 20.46cd 2.07b 0.26a 0.19a 0.33a 32a 0.32a
T5 (70 0C, 8mm) 193.21ab 73.69bc 29.20ab 6.82b -0.04a 0.61a 0.05a 0.91a 0.32a
T6 (70 0C, 10mm) 176.45bc 73.01bc 20.46cd 14.15ab 0.46a 0.78a 0.19a 1.10a 0.78a
T7 (80 0C, 5mm) 209.19a 52.19d 5.736d 2.79b 0.46a 0.13a 0.07a 0.29a 0.28a
T8 (80 0C, 8mm) 184.60ab 69.00cd 24.53cd 7.40b 0.09a 0.48a 0.43a 0.73a 0.87a
T9 (80 0C, 10mm) 177.49bc 64.81cd 29.16ab 14.13ab 0.49a 0.99a 0.16a 1.18a 0.62a

Note: Treatment means having the same letter are not significant different at 5% level
 20

Drying Rate of Sweet Potato Chips

The drying rate refers to the amount of moisture removal during the drying

process per unit time. This is computed by subtracting the current value of moisture

content (dry basis), from the previous value and divided by the time interval given in

gH2O per 100 g dry matter-hr. The drying rate of sweet potato chips are shown in

Appendix Table 4-6 and summarized in Figures 9-11.

250

200
dM/dT, g/g-hr

150

100

50

0
0 1 2 3 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18
Drying Time, hr

60 0C 70 0C 80 0C

Figure 9. The drying rate 5 mm thick of sweet potato chips at different drying

temperature.
 21

250

200
dM/dT, g/g-hr
150

100

50

0
0 1 2 3 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18
Drying Time, hr

60 0C 70 0C 80 0C

Figure 10. the drying rate 8 mm thick of sweet potato chips at different drying

temperature.

200
180
160
140
dM/dT, g/g-hr

120
100
80
60
40
20
0
0 1 2 3 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18
Drying Time, hr

60 0C 70 0C 80 0C

Figure 11. The drying rate 10 mm thick of sweet potato chips at different drying

temperature.

Results have shown that the drying rate was highest during the first two hours

of drying for all temperatures. However, the highest drying rate was observed at 80 0C,

followed by 70 0C, and 60 0C in that order. Similar explanation can be given for the

drying behavior in terms of the values of the instantaneous moisture content. The higher
 22

the temperature, the more moisture was removed per unit time due to the higher-

pressure difference build-up between the inner part of the product and its surface at

high temperature. The higher the pressure difference, the more moisture was extracted

from the product for removal by the heated moving air. The result farther showed that

highest moisture removal was also highest at the least chip thickness of 5 mm during

the first hour of drying.

Figure 12-14 shows the drying rate of sweet potato chips plotted against the

moisture content dry basis.

250

200
dM/dT, g/g-hr

150

60 0C
100
70 0C
50 80 0C

Moisture Content, % d.b.

Figure 12. the drying behavior of 5 mm thick chips at different drying temperatures.

250

200
dM/dT, g/g-hr

150

60 0C
100
70 0C
50 80 0C

Moisture Content, % d.b.

 23

Figure 13. the drying behavior of 8 mm thick chips at different drying temperatures.

200
180
160
140
dM/dT, g/g-hr

120
100
60 0C
80
70 0C
60
40 80 0C
20
0

Moisture Content, % d.b.

Figure 14. the drying behavior of 10 mm thick chips at different drying temperatures.

Results have shown that there was no visible constant drying rate for all the

thickness values of chips and drying temperatures. Only the first falling rate and the

second falling rates are observed. The results were attributed to the data collection

interval which was only every after one hour from the start of drying. It was highly

possible that the constant drying rate occurred during the first few minutes from the

start of drying.

The effects of drying temperature and thickness of the chips and the drying rate

were statistically determined using ANOVA a 2-factor factorial in CRD. Results of the

ANOVA are shown and summarized in Table 6. The results of the comparison of means

for those data that were found significantly during the ANOVA are shown in Table 7.

Results of analysis indicated that drying temperature had significant effects on the

drying rate during the first 3 hours of drying and became insignificant in the later hours

of drying. On the other hand, the thickness of the chips showed significant effects on

the drying rate until the 10th hour of drying. However, the interaction effect was not

significant throughout the drying process. This means that the effects of the two factors
 24

on the drying rate were independent from each other. The results further showed that

the drying temperature had influence the drying rate only when the moisture available

for drying was still sufficient which occurred during the first 3 hours of drying. On the

other hand, the significant effects of the thickness throughout the drying process

showed the importance of thickness in the drying process of the chips. The thinner the

chips, the faster was the drying rate, the shorter the drying time to reach the desired

moisture content.
 25

Table 6. Summary of the computed F ratios from the analysis of variance for the moisture content of sweet potato chips at different time

as affected by drying temperature and thickness.

Drying Time, hr f-tab

Source of Variation 1 2 3 4 6 8 10 12 14 5% 1%
Temperature 24.66** 50.21** 6.15* 1.85ns 0.61ns 50.21** 0.08ns 0.51* 0.26ns 4.25 8.02
Thickness 56.74** 16.32** 49.31** 28.97** 4.98* 16.32** 14.33** 0.15ns 13.81** 4.2 8.02
AxV 1.80 0.39 1.87 0.81 0.49 0.39 0.37 1.15 0.69 3.63 6.42
ns
not significant *-significant at 5% level **highly significant

Table 7. Summary of the results on drying rate of sweet potato chip using Tukey’s Honestly Significant Difference.

Drying Time, hr
Treatments
1 2 3 4 6 8 10 12 14
0
T1 (60 C, 5mm) 101.25bc 20.54c 14.74bc 6.08c 5.53 c
5.25c 4.38d 3.59c 2.76d
T2 (60 0C, 8mm) 137.46ab 43.61bc 15.70bc 7.70bc 7.51 bc
6.73bc 6.63bc 5.26bc 4.00dd
T3 (60 0C, 10mm) 175.70a 81.70a 34.98a 13.80a 12.01a 10.15a 10.08a 7.65a 5.79ab
T4 (70 0C, 5mm) 70.52c 15.65c 8.88c 6.80bc 6.28c 5.88c 5.22d 4.57c 3.92cd
T5 (70 0C, 8mm) 111.24b 37.54bc 17.08bc 10.26bc 10.35 ab
9.13ab 9.03bc 7.20ab 5.99ab
T6 (70 0C, 10mm) 129.24b 56.22ab 27.01bc 12.86a 11.93a 10.35a 9.96a 7.75a 6.19ab
T7 (80 0C, 5mm) 68.00c 16.65c 10.08bc 7.28bc 6.35 c
6.09bc 5.94bd 7.88a 4.77bc
T8 (80 0C, 8mm) 111.97b 43.33bc 18.79bc 11.39ab 11.19ab 10.22a 9.34ab 7.88a 6.13ab
T9 (80 0C, 10mm) 121.84b 57.02ab 27.86ab 13.73a 12.74 a
10.75a 10.42a 8.05a 6.79a

Note: Treatment means having the same letter are not significant different at 5% level
 26

Modelling the Drying Behavior of the Sliced Peeled Sweet Potato Using a

Mechanical Dryer

The modeling of the drying characteristics of the sweet potato chips at different

temperature was done by converting the instantaneous moisture content into moisture

ratio using equation (4). The values of the moisture ratio for each drying trial were then

fitted against drying time using the linearized equations (5), (6) and (7). The derived

regression constant A and B at different temperatures and thickness of chips are

presented in Table 8.

Results have shown that the Modified Page Equation gave consistently higher

R2 ranging from 0.7785 to 0.9685. Based on these rules, the modified Page equation

was chosen to represent the drying behavior of the sweet potato chips at different

temperature and thickness of the chips. It was selected to represent the drying behavior.

Table 9 summarizes the derived drying equation models for sweet potato chips at

different thickness and drying temperatures

 27

Table 8. The value of the constants (A and B) and the coefficient of determination (R2)

from selected results fitting the moisture ratio with the drying time in mechanical dryer

at 5, 8, and 10 mm thickness using two existing models.

Thickness Temperature Equation A B k1 n R2

Page
0.99233 0.7678 0.7785
Equation
60 0C
Diffusion -
0.25035 0.7576
Model 0.5072
Page
1.42461 0.5614 0.8277
Equation
5 mm 70 0C
Diffusion -
0.16161 0.7323
Model 0.3223
Page
1.50321 0.5121 0.7727
0 Equation
80 C
Diffusion -
0.23203 0.7803
Model 0.4383
Page
0.88524 0.9649 0.9184
0 Equation
60 C
Diffusion
2.20119 0.9122 0.9128
Model
Page
0.48924 0.6858 0.9685
0 Equation
8 mm 70 C
Diffusion -
0.24751 0.8442
Model 0.5931
Page
0.509 0.6553 0.9666
Equation
80 0C
Diffusion -
0.34301 0.9015
Model 0.7607
Page
0.7802 1.0113 0.8926
Equation
60 0C
Diffusion -
0.43823 0.9323
Model 0.8589
Page
1.25973 0.7007 0.8424
Equation
10 mm 70 0C
Diffusion
0.22587 -0.577 0.8213
Model
Page
1.40537 0.603 0.8359
Equation
80 0C
Diffusion -
0.16724 0.7719
Model 0.4356
 28

Table 9. Derive drying equation models for sweet potato chips at different thickness

and drying air temperatures.

Thickness Temperature Equations R2

60 Mt = (Mo-Me)(0.99233)e(0.7678)t+Me 0.7785

5 mm 70 Mt = (Mo-Me)(1.42461)e(0.5614)t+Me 0.8277

80 Mt = (Mo-Me)(0.4383)e(0.5614)t+Me 0.7803

60 Mt = (Mo-Me)(0.88524)e(0.6858)t+Me 0.9184

8 mm 70 Mt = (Mo-Me)(0.48924)e(0.6858)t+Me 0.9685

80 Mt = (Mo-Me)(0.509)e(0.6553)t+Me 0.9666

60 Mt = (Mo-Me)(0.8589)e(0.43823)t+Me 0.9323

10 mm 70 Mt = (Mo-Me)(1.25973)e(0.7007)t+Me 0.8424

80 Mt = (Mo-Me)(1.40537)e(0.603)t+Me 0.8359
 29

CHAPTER 5

SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Summary

This study was conducted to establish the drying characteristics of the sliced

peeled sweet potato chips using mechanical dryer; to formulate a mathematical model

of the drying characteristics of sweet potato chips. The experiments were conducted

using a 2-factor factorial in CRD with drying air temperature of 60, 70, and 80 0C and

chip thickness of 5, 8, and 10 mm.

Results of the experiments indicated that the drying behavior, expressed in

terms of the instantaneous moisture content and the drying rate of the chips, were

affected by both the drying temperatures and chip thickness. The higher the drying

temperature, the higher was the reduction of moisture at different drying stages, and the

faster was the drying rate. In contrast, the lesser the thickness, the faster was the

reduction of the instantaneous moisture content and the drying rate. Based on the

modelling of the experimental data, the Modified Page Equation consistently gave the

highest value of R2. Based on this result, the Modified Page Equation was used in the

modeling of the drying behavior of the sweet potato chip for all treatments.

The derived drying equation models re given by the following equation at

different drying temperatures and chip thickness:

Thickness Temperature Equations R2

60 Mt = (Mo-Me)(0.99233)e(0.7678)t+Me 0.7785

5 mm 70 Mt = (Mo-Me)(1.42461)e(0.5614)t+Me 0.8277

80 Mt = (Mo-Me)(0.4383)e(0.5614)t+Me 0.7803

8 mm 60 Mt = (Mo-Me)(0.88524)e(0.6858)t+Me 0.9184
 30

70 Mt = (Mo-Me)(0.48924)e(0.6858)t+Me 0.9685

80 Mt = (Mo-Me)(0.509)e(0.6553)t+Me 0.9666

60 Mt = (Mo-Me)(0.8589)e(0.43823)t+Me 0.9323

10 mm 70 Mt = (Mo-Me)(1.25973)e(0.7007)t+Me 0.8424

80 Mt = (Mo-Me)(1.40537)e(0.603)t+Me 0.8359

Results of the evaluation of the models indicated that the different models fitted

well to experimental data and each model can be used to determine the instantaneous

moisture content of the sweet potato chips at any given time and to predict the drying

time to reach the desired moisture content of the chips.

Conclusion

Based on the results, the following conclusion are made:

1. The drying air temperature affected significantly the drying

behavior of the sweet potato chips expressed in terms of the

changes in the values of the instantaneous moisture content and

drying rate at different stages in drying. The higher the

temperature, the higher was the moisture reduction and the

drying rate.

2. The thickness of the sweet potato chips significantly affected the

drying behavior of the chips. The thinner the chip, the faster was

the moisture reduction and drying at different stages of drying.

3. The experimental data on the instantaneous moisture content of

the sweet potato chips at different stages of drying fitted well to

the Modified Page Equation.

 31

Recommendation

Based on the results of the study, the following are recommended:

1. For the commercial drying of sweet potato chips, a drying temperature

at 70 0C ±8 and chip thickness of 5 mm may be used.

2. The drying time and the desired moisture content can be predicted using

the developed equation; Mt = (Mo-Me)(1.42461)e(0.5614)t+Me.

 32

LITERATURE CITED

WOOLFE, Jennifer A. (5 March 1992). Sweet Potato: An untapped food resource.

Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press and the International Potato Center
(CIP). ISBN 9780521402958.

LEBOT, V. 2008. Tropical root and tuber crops: cassava, sweet potato, yams, aroids.
Cabi. UK.

AJIBOLA, O. O. 1989. Thin-layer of Melon Seeds. Journal of Food Process

Engineering. 9(4):305-3-8

ABAD, J. T. 2002. Drying characteristics of Sweetened Mango (Mangiferaindica

Linn) Slices. BSAE Undergraduate Thesis, LSU, Baybay, Leyte:4-7

CHINNAN, M. S. 1984. Evaluation of Selected Mathematical Models for Describing

Thin-layer Drying in Shell Pecan. Trans ASAE 27(2):610-15. CHIRIFE, J. and R. A.
CACHERO. 1970. Through-circulation Drying of Tapioca Root. Journal of Food
Sciences 35:364-368.

DUCKWORTH, R. B. 1966. Fruit and Vegetable. Peganon Press. New York.

GUARTE, R. C. 1996. Modelling Water Desorption Isotherms of Copra. Modeling

the Drying Behavior of Copra and Development of a Natural Convection Dryer for
Production of High Quality Copra in the Philippines. Dissertation. University of
Hohenheim. 160 pages.

HUTTCHINSON, D. AND L. OTTEN. 1983. Thin-layer Drying of Soybeans and

White Beans. Journal of Food Technology 18(14): 507-22

LI, Y. and R. V. MOREY. 1997. Thin-layer Drying Rates and Quality of Cultivated
American Ginseng. Trans. ASAE 30(3): 842-7

ROSS. I. J. and G. M. WHITE. 1972. Thin-layered Drying Characteristics of White

Corn. Trans. ASAE. 15(1) 175-6

SALUNKE, D. K., R. L. MCLAUGHIN, S. L. DAY, and M. B. MARKLEY 1963.

Preparation and Quality Evaluation of Processed Fruit Products with Sucrose and
Synthetic Sweeteners. Food Tech 17(2): 203

SYARIEF, A. M., R. V. MOREY and R. J. GUSTAFSON. 1984. Thin-layer Drying

Rates of Sunflower Seeds. Trans. ASAE 27(1): 195-200.

WANG, C. Y. and R. P. SING. 1978. A Single Layer Drying Equation of Rough Rice.
ASAE Paper N. 78-3001. ASAE. St. Joseph, MI. USA

WHITE, G. M., I. J. ROSS and C. G. PONELEIT. 1981. Fully Drying Rates of

Sunflower Seeds. Trans. ASAE. 27(1): 195-200
1
https://psa.gov.ph/vegetable-root-crops-main/sweet-potato
 33

Appendix Table 1. Instantaneous moisture content (% dry basis) of sweet potato chips
at 60 0C.

Drying Time, hr 5 mm thickness 8 mm thickness 10 mm thickness

0 292.944 301.853 311.594
1 101.252 137.468 175.706
2 18.6539 43.6161 81.7054
3 9.67475 15.7089 34.9872
4 6.08097 7.70767 13.8048
6 5.53034 7.51255 12.0187
8 5.25637 6.73148 10.1587
10 4.84541 6.63363 10.0863
12 3.59646 5.26834 7.65234
14 2.76115 4.00032 5.79721
16 2.21053 3.31767 5.21997
18 1.52024 2.14693 3.85989

Appendix Table 2. Instantaneous moisture content (% dry basis) of sweet potato chips
at 70 0C.

Drying Time, hr 5 mm thickness 8 mm thickness 10 mm thickness

0 292.944 304.456 305.696
1 101.252 111.245 129.241
2 18.6539 37.5458 56.2246
3 9.67475 17.0814 27.0191
4 6.08097 10.2612 12.8622
6 5.53034 10.3599 11.9352
8 5.25637 9.13967 10.3593
10 4.84541 9.0335 9.96601
12 3.59646 7.2078 7.75671
14 2.76115 5.99128 6.19616
16 2.21053 4.97411 5.21795
18 1.52024 4.46738 4.24229
 34

Appendix Table 3. Instantaneous moisture content (% dry basis) of sweet potato chips
at 80 0C.

Drying Time, hr 5 mm thickness 8 mm thickness 10 mm thickness

0 277.205 296.586 299.337
1 68.0096 111.979 121.844
2 15.819 43.3317 57.0287
3 10.0828 18.7925 27.8679
4 7.28865 11.3914 13.7317
6 6.3578 11.1968 12.7429
8 6.09184 10.2233 10.7574
10 5.94391 9.34687 10.4268
12 5.3522 7.88639 8.05333
14 4.77543 6.13409 6.79437
16 4.19867 5.74442 5.74038
18 3.07504 4.67305 4.68795

Appendix Table 4. Drying rate (g water/ 100 of dry matter-hr) of sweet potato chips at
60 0C.

Drying Time, hr 5 mm thickness 8 mm thickness 10 mm thickness

0 0.34514 0.58537 0.68004
1 0.27531 0.34132 0.28862
2 0.41766 0.63401 0.92757
3 0.62447 0.68265 1.217
4 0.20548 0.04892 0.03618
6 0.13699 0.39053 0.93002
8 0.27531 0.09756 0.89303
10 3.59379 8.00121 21.1824
12 8.97911 27.9073 46.7182
14 82.5977 93.8522 94.0001
16 191.693 164.385 135.889
18 0 0 0
 35

Appendix Table 5. Drying rate (g water/ 100 of dry matter-hr) of sweet potato chips at
70 0C.
Drying Time, hr 5 mm thickness 8 mm thickness 10 mm thickness
0 0.34514 0.25336 0.48783
1 0.27531 0.50858 0.4891
2 0.41766 0.60826 0.78028
3 0.62447 0.91285 1.10465
4 0.20548 0.05308 0.19666
6 0.13699 0.61012 0.78791
8 0.27531 0.04937 0.46354
10 3.59379 6.82022 14.1569
12 8.97911 20.4644 29.2054
14 82.5977 73.6987 73.0163
16 191.693 193.212 176.455
18 0 0 0

Appendix Table 6. Drying rate (g water/ 100 of dry matter-hr) of sweet potato chips at
60 0C.

Drying Time, hr 5 mm thickness 8 mm thickness 10 mm thickness

0 0.56182 0.53568 0.52621
1 0.28838 0.19484 0.527
2 0.28838 0.87615 0.62948
3 0.29586 0.73024 1.18672
4 0.07396 0.43822 0.16532
6 0.13298 0.48676 0.99272
8 0.46543 0.09727 0.4944
10 2.79413 7.40115 14.1363
12 5.73618 24.5392 29.1607
14 52.1906 68.6469 64.8155
16 209.195 184.608 177.493
18 0 0 0