Affiliations 

  • 1 School of Industrial Technology, Universiti Sains Malaysia, 11800 USM, Penang, Malaysia
Bioresour Technol, 2010 Nov;101(21):8396-401.
PMID: 20639118 DOI: 10.1016/j.biortech.2010.05.061

Abstract

In this study optimization of drying oil palm trunk core lumber (OPTCL) biomass using microwave radiation was reported. Optimizing of the drying conditions using microwave, avoid burning, shrinkage and increasing the permeability of OPT was aimed to develop a new value added material. A set of experiments was designed by central composite design using response surface methodology (RSM) to statistically evaluate the findings. Three independent process variables including time (2-10 min), sample weight (300-1000 g) and input power (660-3300 W) were studied under the given conditions designed by Design Expert software. The results showed the effectiveness of microwave drying in reducing the time and better removal of moisture as compared to that of oven drying with no significant changes. Employing optimum conditions at 6.89 min of time with a microwave power set at 4 for a sample of 1000 g, predicting 14.62% of moisture content.

* Title and MeSH Headings from MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.