Mathematical Model of Drying Rate of Mulberry Leaf Herbal Tea (Morus Alba L.,) Using Rack Type Tray Dryer

Abstract

Mulberry is a plant that can grow wild throughout Indonesia, but is underutilized by the surrounding community. This study aims to apply mathematical models to optimize the performance and compare mathematical models with actual measurements on the Rack Type Tray Dryer. This research is an experimental study conducted in the field and laboratory. Testing on the dryer using an oven and a rack type dryer (tray dryer). Testing using a tray dryer consists of 2 variables of drying temperature, namely T1 = 40 ° C-45 ° C, and 50 ° C-55 ° C. The material used is old mulberry leaves. Data collection is carried out at intervals of 10 minutes until a constant mass is achieved. The parameters observed were the temperature of the drying room, relative humidity, and the moisture content of the material. At a temperature of 40˚C-55˚C, it has a final moisture content percentage of 8.22% and a drying time of 300 minutes. Drying at a temperature of 50˚C-55˚C has a final moisture content percentage of 7.72% and a drying time of 200 minutes. At a temperature of 40˚C-55˚C, the Newton, Henderson, and Page models have R2 values of 0.9996, 0.9998, and 0.9996. At a temperature of 50˚C-55˚C, the R2 values are 0.9998, 0.9996, and 0.9998. The resulting values indicate that the Newton, Henderson, and Page models have the same suitability for drying old mulberry leaves with a rack type tray dryer.