Dehydration Characteristics of Maesaengi (Capsosiphon fulvescens) in Hot-air Drying

Maesaengi (Capsosiphon fulvescens) was dehydrated in a single layer at drying air temperatures ranging from 50-$80^{\circ}C$ in a laboratory scale convective dryer with an air velocity of 0.26 m/s. The effect of drying air temperature on the drying kinetic characteristics was determined. Maesaengi was dried to equilibrium moisture content within 200-600 min under these drying conditions. Drying rate curves of maesaengi showed an initial short period of a constant drying rate, followed by a falling drying rate period. The moisture decrease in the sample during dehydration was well described by the zero-order kinetic model. An Arrhenius-type equation was used to test the effect of temperature on drying rate according to an activation energy value of 29.36 kJ/mol.