Studies on thin layer drying of bagasse

Thin layer drying experiments of bagasse were carried out to determine the drying kinetics and also to identify a suitable drying model. The drying experiments were conducted in a laboratory scale dryer for a wide range of air temperatures (80–120°C), velocities (0.5–2 m/s), humidity level of air (9–24 g water(kg of d.a)−1) and product thickness (20–60 mm). Air temperature, velocity, humidity and mass of product were recorded continuously during experimentation. The data were fitted to the different semi-theoretical or empirical models and compared based on their correlation coefficient (r), chi-square (χ2), root mean square error and mean bias error values. Among the models considered, the Page model gave accurate predictions with a correlation coefficient of 0.99627. It is found that the drying of bagasse takes place only in the falling rate period, even though the product has high initial moisture content.