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A New Empirical Model for Predicting Intermittent and Continuous Drying of “Neve” Melon (Cucumis melo sp.) Seeds

The objective of this work was to intermittently and continuously dry “Neve” melon seeds and study their behavior. The seeds were dried in a fixed-bed dryer at a temperature of 60 °C under the influence of air velocity of 1 m s−1, followed by the prediction of drying kinetics, including that of intermittent processes with its effective time (pseudo-continuous drying) and tempering time (intermittent drying). The dried seeds were crushed to produce flour. The flours were evaluated for physicochemical parameters. To describe drying kinetics (continuous and intermittent drying) of “Neve” melon seeds, empirical models were used, including a new model proposed in this article to describe intermittent drying when the period of intermittence is included in the process. An optimization software was developed (LS Optimizer) and used to determine parameters (and their uncertainties) of the intermittent drying. The parameters of empirical models, used to describe continuous and pseudo-continuous drying, were determined by LAB Fit Curve Fitting Software. The Page model was the one that best fitted in the prediction of the experimental data of continuous and pseudo-continuous drying kinetics of seeds. A new model proposed in this work, based on Page and Lewis equations, was able to predict the kinetics of intermittent drying processes including the tempering time. The flours showed moisture content below 6%, and intermittent drying preserved proteins and lipids more than continuous drying, especially with drying and tempering periods of 10 and 20 min, respectively.