Drying Kinetics of Osmotically Pre-Treated Plum Tomato Pieces

The air-drying kinetics of plum tomato pieces pre-treated with different osmotic solutions were investigated. Four pre-treatment solutions (comprised of salt, sugar and/or calcium lactate), three sample geometries (halves, quarters and eighths) and two air-drying temperatures (55 and 65degC) were studied. In general, the rate of drying over time appeared to fit an exponential curve (R2 values between 0.74 and 0.99). A closer look at the data indicated that the rate of drying appeared to follow two separate falling rate periods. The change from one falling rate period to another was observed for samples at a transition moisture ratio of ~ 0.2, for all geometries and temperatures. Thus, modeling the process was improved by including the two falling rate periods. The drying constant (K) for the two falling rate periods ranged between 0.05 to 0.3 h-1. Moisture diffusivity values ranged from 2.5 x 10-9 to 9 x 10-9 m2 s-1 and were relatively constant during the first falling rate period. During the second falling rate period, the diffusivity increased as the moisture ratio decreased, though this change was less pronounced as the sample size decreased from halves to eighths. The untreated samples had lower diffusivities than those with osmotic pre-treatment but there were no differences amongst the various pre-treatment solutions. In general, moisture diffusivities showed a dependence on the sample size, as the larger tomato samples had higher values of diffusivity. The greater diffusivity seen in the larger samples may be due to the collapse of cell walls in the skin.