Anchovy Drying Using Infrared Radiation

The present study investigated the drying of anchovy using infrared radiation experimentally; in addition, the dimensionless heat transfer coefficient in terms of Nusselt’s number was also investigated. The anchovy was dried from 78±1%wb down to 20±1%wb. The drying conditions were infrared power range 400-800 W, hot air temperatures range 50-70°C and hot air velocity range 0.5-1.5 ms^-1. The lowest drying time to reduce the moisture content was found at an air temperature of 70°C and velocity of 1.5 ms^-1. Drying took 446, 390 and 223 min at 400, 600 and 800 W of infrared power, respectively. The increase in drying temperature, hot air velocity and infrared power were significant factors for decreasing the moisture and darkness of dried anchovy. The modified correlations of Nusselt’s number for the anchovy drying could fit the experimental data quite well within ±10% deviation.