DRYING CURVES OF UMBU FRUITS WITH OSMOTIC PRE-DRYING

Ripe and semi-ripe umbu fruits (Spondias tuberosa Arruda Câmara) have been undergone into an osmotic pre-drying in a sucrose solution at 76oBrix, from an initial moisture content to its stability. After the osmotic drying, fruits have been dried up to final water rates of 40, 35 and 30%b.u., in the experimental fixed dryer at temperatures of 70, 80 and 90oC and drying air speed of 1.27m.s -1 . Proposed equations by Page and Fick have been set up to experimental dada (by using one, two and three series terms) by non-linear regression. The obtained results allow the conclusion that the best found adjusts have been the ones with Page’s equation, where the determining coefficients were over 99.5%. However, Fick’s equation, even having used three terms from the series, hadn’t shown a satisfactory adjust for all temperatures in study, although it was used three terms from the series.