TITLE:
Physical Transformations of Agri-Food Products during Their Convective Drying: Characterization of the Contraction and Isotropicity of Okra
AUTHORS:
Kondia Honoré Ouoba, Abdou-Salam Ganame, Désiré Bama, Abdoul Salam Ibrango, Salifou Ouedraogo
KEYWORDS:
Physical Transformations, Contraction, Isotropicity, Okra
JOURNAL NAME:
Journal of Minerals and Materials Characterization and Engineering,
Vol.11 No.6,
November
8,
2023
ABSTRACT: The physical transformations in terms of contraction of okra dimensions during convective drying were examined. During drying, the lateral and longitudinal dimensions of okra decrease over time. The lateral dimensions go from their initial value to around 53%, 65% and 66% of this value after 530 min. The length of the two samples used goes from 8.65 and 9.02 cm to 6.79 and 7.52 cm after 14,300 min, i.e. a variation of 78.50% and 83.37%. All the two directions give variations almost linear depending on the water content. These linear contractions result in a volume contraction of the okra. It considerably decreases in volume during the drying process. The volume goes from 831.32 cm3 to 367.57 cm3 in min, a variation of 44.22%. The isotropic index reveals that okra does not behave the same in the lateral and longitudinal directions. It contracts its diameter more than its length.