Elisabete Piancó de Sousa

Comportamento reológico e efeito da temperatura da polpa de pequi em diferentes concentrações

Despite the high economic potential of pequi pulp, studies related to its physical properties for use in industrial projects and processes are still scarce. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the rheological behavior of pequi pulp with different total soluble solids contents (6, 8, 10 and 12 °Brix) and at different temperatures (25, 30, 35, 40, 45 and 50 °C). The experimental measurements were made using a Brookfield viscometer and the rheological models Ostwald-de-Waelle, Herschel-Bulkley and Mizrahi-Berk were fitted to the experimental data for shear stress and shear rate. Of the rheological models tested, the best fits were observed using the Mizrahi-Berk model. The pequi pulp showed a trend for decreasing apparent viscosity with increasing shear rate, behaving as a non-Newtonian fluid with pseudoplastic characteristics.

Modelos de predição da cinética de secagem dos grãos de guandu

The objective of this research was to study the kinetics of the thin-layer drying of pigeon peas subjected to different drying conditions, using different mathematical models. The effective diffusivity and activation energy were determined with the Fick model. For this purpose, 200g samples of pigeon peas with an initial moisture content of 25% (w.b.) were dried in an experimental fixed bed dryer, adjusted to operate at temperatures of 40, 50, 60 and 70 °C, and a drying air rate of 1.0m s–1. For each temperature, drying was continued until the water content reached dynamic equilibrium. The average values for the temperature and relative humidity of the air were, respectively, 26 °C and 68%. For each temperature the effective diffusivity of the product was determined assuming the pigeon pea to be a sphere of equal volume. The effective diffusivity of the product in relation to the temperature was expressed by an equation similar to that proposed by Arrhenius. An analysis of the results allows for the conclusion that the equations of Cavalcanti Mata with six constants and of Midilli et al. satisfactorily represented the drying process under all conditions studied; and that using the Fick model the diffusivity of the pigeon peas ranged from 2.1x10–10 to 6.8x10–10 m2.s–1 at temperatures between 40 and 70 °C, respectively, with an activation energy equal to 34.51 kJ.mol–1.