EFFECT OF ULTRASOUND PRETREATMENT ON DRYING KINETICS, SPECIFIC ENERGY CONSUMPTION AND QUALITY INDICES OF MICROWAVE-DRIED JUTE LEAVES
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Date
2024
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Nigerian Society of Engineers Technical Transaction Journal
Abstract
This study investigates the effect of ultrasound pretreatment on drying kinetics, specific energy
consumption and quality indices of microwave-dried jute leaves. Fresh jute leaves were pretreated
with ultrasonic cleaner for 30 mins. The effect of the ultrasound pretreated jute leaves (UPJL) and
untreated jute leaves (UNJL) on the drying time, rehydration ratio, drying kinetics, specific energy
consumption and quality indices (protein, vitamin A, vitamin C, iron and potassium) were determined
using standard procedures. Eight drying models (Page, Logarithmic, Henderson and Pabis, Newton
(Lewis), Wang and Singh, Parabolic, Midilli, Prakash and Kumar) were used to determine the drying
kinetics. UPJL has lower drying time and energy consumption compared to UNJL. However, the
UNJL has a higher rehydration ratio than UPJL. The Page model was found to best fit the
experimental data compared to other models. The protein content of the dried jute leaves ranged from
12.05% to 12.83%, Vitamin A (2.81 to 2.87 mg/100g), Vitamin C (30.46 to 35.08 mg/100g), iron (5.42
to 6.53 mg/100g) and potassium (213.25 to 215.16 mg/100g), respectively. UNJL gave higher vitamin
A, vitamin C and protein while UPJL favours iron and potassium contents. Ultrasound pretreatment
enhances jute leaf drying rate and quality, thus showing promising potential.
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Keywords
Microwave, Ultrasound, Jute leaves, Quality indices, Drying