Estimation of Effective Moisture Diffusivity of Rapeseed (Brassica napus L.)

The effective moisture diffusivity and its dependence on drying temperature during drying of rapeseed were experimentally investigated. The data were recorded from thin layer drying experiments at nine different combinations of drying air temperatures of 40, 50, and $60^{\circ}C$ and the relative humidities of 30, 45, and 60%. The moisture diffusion equation was analyzed using stepwise multiple regression analysis. Effective moisture diffusivities were calculated based on the moisture diffusion equation for a spherical shape using Fick's second law. The effective diffusivities during the drying of rapeseed were $l.72{\times}10^{-11}$ , $2.41{\times}10^{-11}$ and $3.31{\times}10^{-11}\;m^2{\cdot}s^{-1}$ at 40, 50 and $60^{\circ}C$ , respectively. The activation energy for moisture diffusion during drying was $28.47\;kJ{\cdot}mol^{-1}$ . The dependence of moisture diffusivity on temperature was described by an Arrhenius-type equation. Drying occurred in the falling rate period and the internal moisture diffusion phenomenon is the governing physical mechanism of the moisture movement in the particles.