ABSTRACT
Red mombin is a seasonal fruit and susceptible to degradation reactions due to its high water content. This highlights the need to use processes that prolong its life and make it available all year round, including to markets away from the production sites. Thus, the objective of this study was to produce red mombin pulp powder in spouted bed dryer, evaluate it regarding physical and chemical parameters and assess its hygroscopic behavior at temperatures of 20, 30 and 40 °C, fitting the models of the GAB, Oswin and Peleg to the experimental data. The results of the physical and chemical analyses showed intermediate wetting time of 0.39 g min-1, solubility higher than 60% and mean flowability with Hausner ratio and Carr index of 1.26-1.34 and 0.21-0.25, respectively. The powder particles exhibited spherical shape, smooth surface and some irregularities, with tendency to form agglomerates. The isotherms had a type-II sigmoidal behavior, and the Peleg model, at all temperatures, showed the best fits to the experimental data with determination coefficients above 0.99 and mean percentage deviations lower than 2.0%.
Key words:
Spondias purpurea L.; drying; hygroscopicity
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