Optimize the Capacity of Freeze Drying for Banana Chips

Abstract

In 21stcentury, there is a large demand of development of pharmaceutical and food products because it is directly related with human hygiene. So the quality of final product should not be compromised with process of manufacturing. The Freeze–drying is considered to be an attractive dehydration method of preserving the quality of high value food products. Since it is concerned with the human hygeine. But, it is an expensive operation, which calls for efcient tools capable of maximizing its the capacity. In the present work, freeze drying process is studied for banana chips. The mathematical models of the drying process are discretized and solved using Finite Volume Methedology. The drying time for different thicknesses of banana chips is determined in an attempt to find the optimum thickness for maximum rate for production. In Chapter 1 basic concept of the freeze drying process is reported. Chapter 2 describes the literature riview regarding the optimization of the freeze drying process and the experimental data of the yoghurt, skim milk. In Chapter 3 mathematical formulation of the freeze drying process is discussed. Discretization of the fundamental govrning equations of the freeze drying process and solution algorithm are reported in Chapter 4. The results of the simulations are reported in Chapter 5. In Chapter 6 conclusions derived from the result are discussed. The scope for the future work is given in Chapter 7.