Drying Rate of Turmeric Herbal (Curcuma Longa L.) Using Tray Dryer

This study reports the turmeric of drying operation. Variables that have been compared are size or surface area of the sample, drying air rate and drying temperature. In this case it was found that the effect of increasing surface area would be able to increase the amount of water evaporated from the sample. The effect of drying air flow rate at the same temperature decreases the ability to evaporate air in turmeric samples. This is due to the reduced time of interaction of the drying air with the sample surface. Relatively small temperature variations do not show significant differences. The optimal drying rate is achieved by using drying air temperature at 39°C with drying flow of 4,5 m/s and the turmeric sample with surface area of 0,00525 m2. The effect of this drying variable obtained significantly on the size of the dried turmeric.