Mathematical Modelling of Solar Drying of Mango Slices

This work is considered a successful attempt to solve the problem of solar drying of mango and the related quality attributes resulted from the drying process and storage conditions.Three experiments were conducted through the cooperation among the Department of Agricultural Engineering, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Khartoum, Sudan and the Food Research Centre, Ministry of Science and Technology, Sudan and the Institute of Agricultural Engineering, University of Goettingen, Germany to study thin layer solar drying of mango and the related quality attributes resulted from the drying process and sorption isotherms of solar dried mango slices. The first experiment was conducted at the Food Research Centre under controlled conditions using an air oven. Only the influence of drying temperatures at 50°C, 60°C, 70°C, 80°C and 90°C on many drying behaviour and quality were studied.In the second experiment, a natural convection solar dryer was designed and constructed to dry mango slices. The constructed dryer consisted of a drying chamber and a solar collector combined in one unit. Inside the drying chamber there were two movable mesh wire trays for easy loading and unloading.