ABSTRACT
The banana industry in Thailand holds immense potential, driven by favorable growing conditions, robust domestic consumption, and active participation in the export market. Solar dryers have the potential to revolutionize fruit processing by providing a sustainable, cost-effective, and nutritionally rich solution. This research aims to optimize the greenhouse solar drying process for bananas using response surface methodology. The specific variables under investigation are drying temperature and drying time. A designed greenhouse solar dryer, tailored for commercial use in the target area, was employed for the experiment. Statistical analysis and response surface methodology were utilized to evaluate the effects of the experimental variables on two key outputs: moisture content and color change of the dried banana product. The findings of this study contribute to a deeper understanding of the potential of solar drying in the context of banana processing. The research outcomes provide valuable insights for optimizing the solar drying process, thereby facilitating the development of the banana industry and its applicability.
ABSTRACT
The aim of this study was to examine the possibility to use two petroleum based solvents, kerosene and a distillate rich in benzene (A150), as practical solvents for the degradative solvent extraction at 350⯰C in reference to 1-MN. It was found that the thermal degradation behavior of two biomass samples, a rice straw and Leucaena, in the three solvents was rather similar and that only the distribution of Soluble, Deposit, and Residue was affected by the difference of solubility of the solvents. Preparation of solvent treated biomass (STB) using the three solvents gave the yields close to the sum of the yields of Soluble, Deposit, and Residue. It was judged that A150 may be used to preparing Soluble and that Kerosene can well be used to prepare STB.
