Abstract—Drying kinetics of chamomile flower at different operating conditions was studied in a vibro fluidized bed dryer “V.F.B.D.,” Experiments were carried out in a column with height of 80 cm and ID of 10 cm. Flow rate used range from 29-34m3h-1, temperature ranged from 40-60℃and frequency from 7.8-11.8 Hz. Three mathematical models available in the literature were fitted to the experimental data. The accuracies of the models were measured using the correlation coefficient (R
2),root mean square error “R.M.S.E.,” and reduced chi-square (X
2). Among the various models tested with experimental data the Henderson and Pabis model was found to be the most suitable for describing drying curves of chamomile flower. The highest value of R
2 and the lowest values of X
2 and “R.M.S.E.,” were observed for drying air temperature of 50℃, frequency 11.8 Hz and air velocity 1.2 m/s.
Index Terms—Vibro-fluidized bed dryer, drying kinetics, mathematical modeling, chamomile flower.
Mahmood Reza Rahimi and Roghaye Zamani are with the Processes Intensification Research Lab., Department of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of Yasouj, 75918-74831, Iran (e-mail: mrrahimi@yu.ac.ir, zamani_r91@yahoo.com).
Hossein Sadeghi is with the Medicinal Plants Research Center, Yasouj University of Medical Sciences, Yasouj, Iran (e-mail: h_sadeghi_m@yahoo.com).
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Cite:Mahmood Reza Rahimi, Roghaye Zamani, and Hossein Sadeghi, "An Investigation on Drying Kinetics of Chamomile Flower in Vibrofluidized Bed Dryer," International Journal of Chemical Engineering and Applications vol. 5, no. 2 pp. 190-193, 2014.
