Drying kinetics and mathematical modelling of Ailanthus excelsa leaves

Abstract

Ailanthus excelsa (Simaroubaceae) is a plant used in Indian system of medicine by providing a range of potential health beneficiary activities. The present investigation was carried out to study the drying kinetics of Ailanthus excelsa leaves using different drying methods viz., shade drying, tray drying (40±1 °C) and dehumidified air drying (40±1 °C and 15±1% RH). Irrespective of drying methods for Ailanthus excelsa leaves, a reduction in moisture content was observed. The Ailanthus excelsa leaves took 28 h, 9 h and 6 h to dry under shade drying, tray drying and dehumidified drying respectively, from 238.64% (d.b.) till the desired moisture content (less than 5%) was attained. Six thin layer models were selected for describing the drying process of Ailanthus excelsa leaves. Among the different drying methods, the Page model was best fitted with the samples dried under dehumidified air dryer with the highest R2 value of 0.9996.