Dehydration Kinetics of Garlic Slices in Fluidized Bed Dryer

Garlic (Allium sativum) slices were dehydrated using fluidized bed dryer at drying air temperature of 40, 50 and 60°C and air velocity of 2.5, 3.0 and 3.5m.s⁻¹. Garlic slices dried only in falling rate drying period. Drying temperature had significant effect on drying time, whereas air velocity had non-significant effect at 5% level. The effective moisture diffusivity varied from 1.02x10⁻⁰⁹ to 1.40x10⁻⁰⁹ m².s⁻¹. Activation energy ranged between 12.16 and 12.81kJ.mol⁻¹. The experimental data were fitted to Exponential and Page drying models. Page model was found to fit better to describe the drying behaviour of garlic slices.