NONLINEAR NUMERICAL APPROXIMATIONS OF TRANSPORT COEFFICIENTS AND PHENOMENOLOGICAL COEFFICIENTS GOVERNING THE COCOA DRYING PROCESS

Abstract

Cocoa beans are highly coveted products in the food and cosmetics industries due to their numerous therapeutic properties. These products generally have high humidity or intermediate humidity, hence the importance of their stabilization by drying. Obtaining well-dried cocoa that meets international requirements requires mastery of this process. This paper deals with a numerical strategy based on the Least Square Method for the determination of transportation coefficients and phenomenological coefficients from the non-linear mathematical model which governs the coupled transport of water and acid in a bean cocoa during drying. Our work reveals that the absolute values of Da, Dea, and De are respectively of the order of , , and  (Kg/m.s) while the absolute values of Kaa, Kea and Kee are of the order of , , and  (kg.s.°C/m3). In addition, the transport coefficients and the corresponding phenomenological coefficients have the same direction of variation with respect to time. Numerical simulations are carried out for five tests on conditions (Relative Humidity, Speed, Temperature) accurate.