REHYDRATION KINETICS OF CONVECTIVELY DRIED MUSHROOM (PLEUROTUS TUBER-REGIUM): THEORETICAL AND EMPIRICAL MODELLING WITH SENSITIVITY ANALYSIS

Abstract

This study investigated the impact of rehydration temperature on the mass transfer kinetics of water into steam blanched convectively dried (70°C) mushrooms. The research employed both theoretical and empirical modelling approaches, supplemented with sensitivity analysis. The models were implemented using Matlab 2021 to provide a foundational understanding of the rehydration processes. Sensitivity analysis was conducted to identify the key factors influencing rehydration efficiency, using Monte Carlo Simulation to optimize drying protocols for enhanced rehydration performance. The results indicated a strong dependence of water rehydration on both temperature and time. The diffusivity of water into dried mushrooms ranged between 4.4569 E-10 to 6.3562 E-10 m²s^-1, increasing with higher temperatures. The activation energy was found to be 0.1388 kJ/mol, indicating uncomplicated moisture diffusivity. The Weibull model demonstrated superior performance with R², RMSE, and SSE values of 0.9985, 0.087, and 0.6665, respectively, compared to the Peleg model's performance. The rehydration process was found to be 74.1% dependent on time and 25.9% dependent on temperature. The study concluded that while drying is a complex and irreversible process, elevated rehydration temperatures can significantly improve the restoration of properties in dried mushrooms.