EFFECT OF TEMPERATURE AND SLICE SIZE ON AVOCADO PULP DRYING RATE AND OIL YIELD

Abstract

The effect of temperature and slice thickness on avocado pulp drying rate and oil yield wasdetermined at 50 o C, 60 o C and 70 o C. Pulp slices of 2mm and 5 mm thick were used. Theavocado pulp was found to contain 74-75% (wet basis) water, which makes extraction ofoil by both chemical and mechanical means difficult. Experimental results showed that oilyield increased with decreasing moisture content reaching a yield of 61% at 10% moisturecontent. The rate of drying increased with temperature, but decreased with slice thickness.The drying data obtained agreed well with several thin-layer drying models. The modelsshowed that the characteristic drying constant increased linearly with drying temperatureand decreased with slice thickness. The Physico-chemical properties of the obtained oilcompared favorably with those obtained from other conventional seed oils.