Mathematical modeling of thin-layer microwave drying of corn husk and investigation of powder properties

The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of different microwave powers on the drying kinetics of chopped corn husks and to determine the properties of the corn husk powder obtained after grinding the dried product. The drying behavior of corn husks was determined using eleven commonly used thin-layer models. The obtained powders were analyzed for moisture content, water activity, color, tapped and bulk densities, wettability, flowability, and cohesiveness. In addition, the effective moisture diffusivity and activation energy of corn husks were calculated from drying data. From the analysis of the results, the drying rate and the drying time of corn husk slices considerably decreased with increasing microwave power. Among all used drying models, the Page model was found to satisfactorily describe the kinetics of microwave drying of corn husk. The effective moisture diffusivity values ranged from 2.264x10(-10) to 8.941x10(-10) m(2)s(-1).