Mathematical modeling of thin-layer drying of fermented and non-fermented sugarcane bagasse

This work reports hot-air convective drying of thin-layer fermented and non-fermented sugarcane bagasse. For this purpose, experiments were carried out in a laboratory-scale dryer assessing the effects of solid-state fermentation (SSF) on the drying kinetics of the processing material. The fermented sugarcane bagasse in SSF was obtained with the use of Kluyveromyces marxianus NRRL Y-7571. Drying experiments were carried out at 30, 35, 40 and 45 °C, at volumetric air flow rates of 2 and 3 m3 h−1. The ability of ten different thin-layer mathematical models was evaluated towards representing the experimental drying profiles obtained. Results showed that the fermented sugarcane bagasse presents a distinct, faster drying, behavior from that verified for the non-fermented material at the same conditions of temperature and volumetric air flow rate. It is shown that the fermented sugarcane bagasse presented effective diffusion coefficient values of about 1.3 times higher than the non-fermented material. A satisfactory agreement between experimental data and model results of the thin-layer drying of fermented and non-fermented sugarcane bagasse was achieved at the evaluated experimental conditions.