Modeling of drying and adsorption isotherms of the fish feed

ABSTRACT

The aim of this work was to study the drying curves and equilibrium isotherms of extruded fish feed. The drying curves were determined at air temperatures of 50, 60, 70 and 80°C and airflow velocities of 1.5, 2.5 and 3.5 m/s). The equilibrium isotherms of relative humidity of air were obtained between 10 and 80 percent at 30, 40, 50, and 70°C. The experimental data were fitted for non-linear regression by using Statistica® to the models reported in the literature. The results showed that the drying curves and the equilibrium isotherms were significantly influenced by variations of the air temperature in a similar way to solid materials as described in the literature. The statistical results for models of Page and Peleg showed that the fitting of the experimental drying curve and isotherm data were satisfactory.