Comparative Investigation of Mass Transfer Process Based on Finite Difference Numerical Method and Experimental Results for Drying of Papaya Fruit

In this research, Papaya slices with dimensions of 0.5×2×5 cm3 were dried at 45 °C using a cabinet dryer in which drying air velocity and relative humidity were 0.9 m/s and 30%, respectively. The moisture diffusion coefficient of Papaya was determined in this drying condition. Mass transfer equation with its boundary conditions was solved based on finite difference method. Finally, coefficient of determination and goodness of fitting between the gained theoretical model by solving mass transfer equation, and experimental data were obtained R2=0.996 and RMSE=0.00115. Therefore, finite difference numerical method showed a suitable correlation with low error into the experimental data for solving of mass transfer equation.