Effect of moisture absorption and temperature on the thermal properties of dried tigernut

The effect of moisture absorption and temperature on the thermal properties of dried tigernut was studied. Theproximate composition includes moisture content ranging from 0.97% to 6.45%, Ash content from 0.63% to 1.93%,fat from 12.95% to 16.63%, crude fiber from 18.71% to 33.78%, and carbohydrate from 43.58% to 58. 68%. Thethermal properties were determined by using the value obtained from the proximate composition and calculatedusing the Okoi and choi’s equation. The value obtained from the thermal properties are thermal conductivity whichranged from 0.28866 w/moc to 0.3562 w/moc, thermal diffusivity ranging from 0.1123m2/s to 0.2172ms/s andspecific heat capacity ranging 1.8484 kg/kgoc to 1.9261 kg/kgoc. The percentage moisture absorption capacity wasalso analyzed in the sample which ranged from 46.6% to 94.4%. Thermal properties refer to the response in theirtemperature. The result obtained showed that the sample conditioned at 100℃ had the highest thermal propertiesand this implied that the thermal properties of food is generally influenced by moisture, temperature and theirproximate composition. Further studies should be carried out on the Rheological properties of tigernut, kinetic rateof reaction of the nutrient with respect to time and the thermal properties should be utilized for the design ofequipment and for the mathematical model in terms of simulation and mass heat transfer in the material.