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1 Article Title Experimental and mathematical investigation of parameters drying of

leather by hot air
2 Article Sub- Title
3 Article Copyright - Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2018
Year (This will be the copyright line in the final PDF)
4 Journal Name Heat and Mass Transfer
5 Family Name Benmakhlouf
6 Particle
7 Given Name Naima
8 Suffix
Corresponding
9 Author Organization University of Tunis El Manar
10 Division Sciences Faculty of Tunis, Laboratory of Energy and
Thermal and Mass Transfer (LETTM)
11 Address Tunis 2092
12 e-mail [email protected]
13 Family Name Azzouz
14 Particle
15 Given Name Soufien
16 Suffix
17 Author Organization University of Tunis El Manar
18 Division Sciences Faculty of Tunis, Laboratory of Energy and
Thermal and Mass Transfer (LETTM)
19 Address Tunis 2092
20 e-mail
21 Family Name Cafsi
22 Particle El
23 Given Name Afif
24 Suffix
25 Author Organization University of Tunis El Manar
26 Division Sciences Faculty of Tunis, Laboratory of Energy and
Thermal and Mass Transfer (LETTM)
27 Address Tunis 2092
28 e-mail
29 Schedule Received 2 December 2017
30 Revised
31 Accepted 25 May 2018
32 Abstract The determination of leather drying characteristics is of a fundamental
importance to give an optimization of the drying step. As it is the target of this
paper to depict an experimental way to determine the kinetics of leather drying,
an experimental study was carried out on a laboratory-scale dryer under various
conditions of air humidity, temperature and air velocity in order to optimize
the drying circumstances. Leather samples were dried in convection dryer, the
drying kinetics were experimentally investigated at 40, 45, 50, 55 and 60 °C
and performed at three values of relative humidity 15, 30 and 45% and three air
velocities 1, 1.5 and 2 m/s. To compare drying kinetics, experimentally
obtained data, X = f (t), were correlated by fitting the selected five mathematical
models that were tested to fit the drying curves, the Modified Page model
appeared the most suited to characterize experimental data. High levels of
correlation between measured data and those of modeled data were achieved for
leather and dryers, employing Modified Page model. The drying process of
leather presented a combination of the short warm-up period, the first falling
rate period and the second falling rate period.
33 Keywords separated
by ' - '
34 Foot note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in
information published maps and institutional affiliations.
 JrnlID 231_ArtID 2392_Proof# 1 - 28/05/2018

Heat and Mass Transfer

https://doi.org/10.1007/s00231-018-2392-5
1
3 ORIGINAL
2

4
5 Experimental and mathematical investigation of parameters drying
6 of leather by hot air
Q1 7 Naima Benmakhlouf 1 & Soufien Azzouz 1 & Afif El Cafsi 1
8
9 Received: 2 December 2017 / Accepted: 25 May 2018
10 # Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2018

11 Abstract

F
12 The determination of leather drying characteristics is of a fundamental importance to give an optimization of the drying step. As it

O
13 is the target of this paper to depict an experimental way to determine the kinetics of leather drying, an experimental study was
14 carried out on a laboratory-scale dryer under various conditions of air humidity, temperature and air velocity in order to optimize

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15 the drying circumstances. Leather samples were dried in convection dryer, the drying kinetics were experimentally investigated at

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16 40, 45, 50, 55 and 60 °C and performed at three values of relative humidity 15, 30 and 45% and three air velocities 1, 1.5 and 2 m/
17 s. To compare drying kinetics, experimentally obtained data, X = f (t), were correlated by fitting the selected five mathematical
18 models that were tested to fit the drying curves, the Modified Page model appeared the most suited to characterize experimental
19 data. High levels of correlation between measured data and those of modeled data were achieved for leather and dryers,
D
20 employing Modified Page model. The drying process of leather presented a combination of the short warm-up period, the first
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21 falling rate period and the second falling rate period.

22 Nomenclature 1 Introduction 63
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24
25 M moisture content of sample at time t, gH2O/g dry.
26
27 M0 initial moisture content, gH2O/g dry matter. Drying is a process used for millennia by man, it is an impor- 64
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28
29 Me equilibrium moisture content, gH2O/g drymatter. tant unit operation used in numerous industries and well 65
30
31 MR dimensionless moisture content. known as a dominant industrial consumer of fossil fuel- 66
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32
33 r correlation coefficients. derived energy in developed countries. It is one amongst the 67
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34
35 T air temperature (K). oldest methods of conservation of several products. The pro- 68
36
37 t time (min). cesses of drying are multiple and depend on the type and 69
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38
39 V drying air velocity (m/s). quality of the products to be dried, water amount to be re- 70
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40
41 S second. moved, the desired final quality or the desired functionality 71
42
43 72
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RH Air relative humidity (%). for the dried product [1]. The classical drying process and the
45
44 MR Average moisture ratio (−). most used one is the convective drying. During the drying 73
46
47 s standard error. process, two processes simultaneously take place: a heat trans- 74
48
49 N Number of calculated points. fer from the heat source to the product and a product of the 75
50
51 n Number of parameters in model. heart of the transfer material to its surface and from its surface 76
to the surrounding air [2–46]. 77
52 Superscripts and subscripts Drying is of a great interest for bio products preservation, 78
54
55 0 initial. but it is a complex process involving heat and mass transfer 79
56
57 e equilibrium. phenomena and is frequent in most processing industries, it is 80
58
59 exp. experimental. probably the primary and the most expensive stage. The leath- 81
60
61 pre predicted. er material has a very long history, it started with the appear- 82
62
ance of man on earth who used it as the main material for 83
* Naima Benmakhlouf clothing. The skin has evolved over the ages and continues 84
[email protected] to be seducing by its natural qualities. Drying of this product 85
rose slowly from the stage of a craft process to the stage of a 86
1
Sciences Faculty of Tunis, Laboratory of Energy and Thermal and scientifically and technologically controlled process [4]. The 87
Q2 Mass Transfer (LETTM), University of Tunis El Manar, instrumentation allows kilns, not only to control the operating 88
2092 Tunis, Tunisia
 JrnlID 231_ArtID 2392_Proof# 1 - 28/05/2018

Heat Mass Transfer

89 conditions, but also to optimize, in particular, to shorten the Juan Monzó Cabrera et al. (2004) [29] made an experimen- 142
90 operation by controlling the quality of the final product [5]. tal study on samples of tanned leather. The drying process is 143
91 However, it is generally recognized that in an industrial pro- done by microwave to obtain a distribution of the moisture 144
92 cess, the drying step is the most energy intensive. In recent constant over their entire surface and therefore a better final 145
93 years, additional constraints regarding quality, pollution, en- quality of the material and parallel to a deeper understanding 146
94 ergy cost and security were imposed. For these requirements, of the process. They applied a drying model in three steps 147
95 improve energy efficiency and lower the cost of the final based on knowledge of the dielectric properties of the mois- 148
96 product, commendable efforts have been made in applied re- ture content and the specific energy consumption during each 149
97 search. The improvement of a drying operation directly to an period of drying, but his study is just focused on drying pro- 150
98 industrial scale is both difficult and costly. The drying is in cess using microwave and the latter method is not applied in 151
99 general operation with a particular area, which requires much the industry, 152
100 energy and wherein the potential savings are theoretically very Aleksandra Sander (2006) [34] studied the experimental 153
101 large. For this purpose, researchers and industrialists are inter- study of the kinetics of drying of various types of materials 154
102 ested in this issue since the energy crisis. They conducted made in laboratory scale under different conditions of temper- 155

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103 experimental studies in laboratory scale which have replaced ature and pressure, he took samples of wet blue leather bull 156
104 tests on an industrial scale. The drying process is one of the and dried in a dryer at the microwave. 157

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105 widely used methods of products preservation. Thin-layer Benmakhlouf Naima (2016) [47] studied the experimental 158

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106 drying equations are used to evaluate drying duration of var- study of the sorption moisture isotherm of leather under dif- 159
107 ious products and also to generalize drying plots [6, 7]. ferent conditions of temperature; he took samples of wet blue 160

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108 Several different results proposed numerous mathematical leather bull and dried in a dryer at the convective. Determining 161
109 models for thin layer drying of many l products [8–19]. The of sorption moisture isotherm is needed for drying kinetics of 162
110 leather drying trial was dealt previously [20–30]. The drying
D leather to determine the equilibrium moisture content. 163
111 process is a critical leather-making step to reach the required BENMAKHLOUF Naima et al., 2016 [48] determined the 164
112 165
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physical characterization of leather. It is well known that dry- mass diffusion coefficient using the equation solving Fick.
113 ing procedure carried out in various conditions purposes a These characteristics are essential parameters in managing 166
114 variation in leather characteristics, which are the most crucial simulation models on the thermo hydric mechanical behavior 167
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115 point of leather manufacturing. and then to determine the appropriate process and drying time 168
116 There are several drying techniques currently tested in to avoid unnecessary energy consumption, which will develop 169
117 leather making [4]. Existing investigations about chrome- in this paper. 170
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118 tanned leather are exploiting the dependency between drying The objectives of this study are two-fold. Firstly, to inves- 171
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119 variables and water content, as well as drying rate. It was also tigate the effects of drying air temperature, velocity and air 172
120 found that drying variables have a noticeable effect on the humidity on the coefficients of the investigated model describ- 173
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121 dimensional stability of leather and its mechanical properties ing drying characteristics of leather. Secondly, to optimize the 174
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122 such as stiffness [5]. In literature, the impact of convective drying process and thus to save energy. In order to achieve 175
123 176
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drying variables on this operation of leather, in particular, these two targets, we will assess the ability of mathematical
124 velocity and air humidity, along with the mathematical model- equations in describing and predicting the drying behavior of 177
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125 ing of drying kinetics within the range of the use in actual leather over the range of air velocity and the temperature, 178
126 industrial air drying applications, has not been studied yet. regularly faced in factory dryers. 179
127 In literature, there is a little researcher who treated the topic
128 of leather drying, among the most important authors include
129 K.Haghi Akbar (2001) [21–23], made drying experiments on
130 wet leather bull selected from typical pieces. His study de- 2 Material and experimental methods 180
131 scribes the heat and mass transferred during drying by forced
132 convection, it is possible to reduce energy consumption by 2.1 Samples preparation 181
133 optimizing the drying conditions in a dryer, but he is not
134 interested in his study of the influence of the drying tempera- The seeds used in the experimental study were taken from a 182
135 ture and the relative humidity of the drying kinetics, also in local factory‘Tannerie Mégisserie de Maghreb’ of the ‘bovine’ 183
136 (2004) Akbar [26], described in his analytical document the variety, settled in the region of Grombalia, governorate of 184
137 characteristics of drying the leather. He applied a model based Nabeul, Tunisia, manufacturing of finished leather, this is 185
138 on the fundamental equations of heat and mass transfer, in his the crust leather and black color, taken just prior to the 186
139 study, the distribution of temperature and humidity are solved finishing, the thickness of all samples was 1.6 × 10−3m, leath- 187
140 numerically using the finite difference method, but he did not er was cut into rectangles (with a surface of 0.16 × 0.14 m2). 188
141 validate it experimentally. The starting moisture content of different samples (varying 189
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Heat Mass Transfer

190 between 1 and 1.2 kg per kg dry matter) were determined by each test. The limits of such a method has been good detailed 217
191 means of the vacuum oven at 105 °C during 24 h. in our paper [51]. 218
Measuring the weight loss of the product versus time is 219
conducted on the entire product-support plate continuously 220
192 2.2 Drying unit using a high precision balance connected to a input acquisition 221
and information processing. 222
193 At the laboratory scale drying unit used is a climatic wind
194 tunnel, horizontal grate, closed-loop, which has been prepared
2.3 Experimental drying procedure 223
195 and constructed in laboratory Energy Transfer and Thermal
196 Mass Flow Fig. 1. It covers the range of temperature; relative
During convective dryer by the hot air, the weight losses of the 224
197 humidity and velocity are commonly used in the processes of
samples of leather were measured at 2 min intervals. The 225
198 drying medium and low temperature. The flow of air produced
drying tests were terminated when the mass of the samples 226
199 by a centrifugal fan power 2.4 kW and frequency adjustable
reached a desirable value with humidity around 12% required 227
200 with a speed passes through the heating coils to raise its tem-
by the industry. The air-drying conditions tested are: the tem- 228
201

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perature, followed by a plenum. Before reaching the test sec-
perature, relative humidity and air velocity range from 40 to 229
202 tion, the air passes through a filter honeycomb for homogeni-

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60 °C, 1 to 2 m/s and 15 to 45% respectively. Around 50 g of 230
203 zation. The airflow in the test section is perpendicular to the
cutting leather were used for each drying experiment. Each 231

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204 surface of the sample of the product to be dried. This type of
trial has been done twice in order to check the reproductively 232
205 flow has the advantage of providing optimal air-product con-

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of the drying curves. The dry mass of the specimen was de- 233
206 tact and the coefficient of heat transfer higher. The tempera-
termined after each trial using the vacuum oven at 105 °C 234
207 ture, velocity, and humidity are adjusted and controlled con-
during 24 h. Our experiments are undertaken at different air 235
208 tinuously by a PLC.
D conditions Table 1. 236
209 The test material is provided by the Tannery Maghreb
210 Grombalia (TMM). This is the crust leather or leather retained,
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211 taken just before the finishing operation. The samples are kept 2.4 Mathematical modeling 237
212 cold to prevent its degradation. The series of measurements to
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213 define the water content evolution and temperature of the The Van Meel transformation [31] is painstaking for qualify- 238
214 sample were carried out by a loop convection drying. We used ing drying kinetics and establishing the characteristic for dry- 239
215 samples of bovine leather, placed on a perforated grid. ing curves. [32, 33] used simply the initial moisture (M0) and 240
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216 Conditions of the drying air were kept constant throughout the equilibrium (Me) moisture contents to normalize the 241
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Fig. 1 Schematic diagram of the drying loop

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t1:1 Table 1 Drying air conditions products [34]. A nonlinear optimization system, employing 270
t1:2 Trial number Temperature (°C) Relative Humidity (%) Air velocity the data processor “CurveExpert” was used to find the param- 271
eters of the used equations. 272
t1:3 1 40 15 1 The quality of adjustment of the different models to exper- 273
t1:4 2 45 15 1 imental data has been evaluated using two statistical parame- 274
t1:5 3 50 15 1 ters, used as the criteria to select the best assimilation which 275
t1:6 4 55 15 1 depicts the drying kinetics, the correlation coefficients and the 276
t1:7 5 60 15 1 standard error. These parameters are defined using the follow- 277
t1:8 6 50 15 1.5 ing equations: 278
t1:9 7 50 15 2 sffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi

2
t1:10 8 50 30 1 ∑ni¼1 MRexp −MRpre
t1:11 9
s¼ ð3Þ 281
50 45 1 N −n
vffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
u  2
u 280
279
u ∑i¼1 MRpre −MRpre
n

r¼u

F
t1−  2 ð4Þ
242 moisture content obtained at any drying time. The moisture
∑ni¼1 MRexp −MRexp

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243 ratio MR* (MR∗) of leather during drying experiments is given
244 284

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by the following equation:
Where, MR: moisture ratio calculated by the following 285
283
282
M −M e

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MR* ¼ ð1Þ equation: 286
M cri − M e
247 M −M e
MR ¼ ð5Þ
248
246
245 M 0 −M e
−

dM 
D 289
288
287
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f ¼
dt t ð2Þ
− dM
dt i
251 3 Results and discussion 290
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252
250
249 where M is the time dependant moisture content (kg/kgdb);
253 Me is the equilibrium moisture content (kg/kgdb); Mcri is the 3.1 Kinetics curves drying 291
254 critical moisture content (transition between first and second
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255 drying periods) (kg/kgdb); − dMdt is the drying rate [(kg/kgdb)/ Figures 2 and 3 depicts, respectively, the variations of the 292
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256 m2 s]: loss of moisture from the wet solid per time unit when moisture ratios in terms of drying time (Fig. 2) of samples 293


operating at a constant air drying conditions; − dM dt i is the obtained at different conditions. The drying of the thin layer 294
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257
258 2
initial drying rate [(kg/kgdb)/m s]. showed two distinct periods: a constant rate and a falling rate. 295
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259 Drying runs of leather products were performed at three The presence of the two drying periods suggests that the 296
260 fermented product has both free superficial water and bond 297
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temperatures (40, 45, 50, 55 and 60 °C), two air velocities

261 (1, 1.5 and 2 m/s) and three values of relative humidity (45, internal water; the former is lost during the constant rate and 298
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262 30 and 15%). The experiments of drying were conducted to a the second in the reducing drying rate phase [41]. This figure 299
263 crucial moisture content of about 12% from starting moisture confirms also that the effect of the air-drying velocity on the 300
264 content average of about 50%. The average thickness of all acceleration of the drying operation is less important than that 301
265 samples of leather shapes was at around 0.0016 m.
266 The curves of convective drying of the product were fitted
267 with four models Table 2, chosen from the most widely used
268 ones in the drying process which are well-known and exten-
269 sively used to describe the water removal behavior in different

t2:1 Table 2 Mathematical models selected to the experimental curves

t2:2 Name of model Equation of model Reference

t2:3 Lewis MR = exp. (−k.t) W. K. Lewis (1921) [35]

t2:4 Wang and Singh MR = 1 + a.t + b.t2 Wang et Singh(1978) [36]
t2:5 Modified Page MR = exp.[−(k*t)^n] White et al. (1981) [37]
t2:6 Logarithmic MR = a*exp. (−k*t) + c Yaldiz et Erketin (2001) [38]
Fig. 2 Variation of moisture ratio with drying conditions
 JrnlID 231_ArtID 2392_Proof# 1 - 28/05/2018

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water is loosely available at the drying surface for evaporation 337

into the drying medium [27]. 338
Accordingly, an elevated temperature involves great train- 339
ing force for heat transfer. It equally accelerates the drying 340
operation, as the temperature furnish a wide water vapor pres- 341
sure gap [40]. The greater temperature rise is, the less is the 342
difference between the partial pressure and the saturated pres- 343
sure of the vapor of water in the air, which is one of the 344
conduct compel for drying; as there is a maximum amount 345
of water (saturation) that air can have at a specific temperature. 346
Furthermore, the quantity of released water introduced at the 347
first is very significant, since the rate of water eliminated is 348
important in the course of this phase. 349
Fig. 3 Evolution of the moisture ratios of leather over time
As the drying processes, the free water present is 350

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diminishing rapidly. Thus, at the last stages, water was barely 351
302 of temperature. Thus, the temperature is considered the main disposable and the drying becomes well tardy. Consequently, 352

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303 factor in controlling the drying rate as mentioned by many air temperature is recognized to be the principal parameters to 353

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304 studies [42]. Drying for the falling rate phase is so controlled have an influence on air drying of products, the same findings 354
305 by water diffusion in the solid. This is a complex mechanism were spotted by [26, 27]. 355

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306 implying water in both vapor and liquid states, which is very
307 frequently characterized by an alleged effective diffusivity.
308 These results indicate that diffusion is probably the most phys-
D 3.1.2 Influence of the velocity of air drying 356
309 ical mechanism governing moisture movement in the seed of
310 357Q3
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leather. The critical water content (Xcr = 0.7 kg/kg dM and Figures 4 and 5 shows the influence of the velocity of air
311 more detail in part 3.3) marks the starting of the second drying drying on the moisture ratio, which we note increasing the 358
312 period decreasing rate. It corresponds to the transition between velocity of air from 1 to 2 m/s and leading to a decrease in 359
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313 the liquid diffusion and vapor diffusion and depicts the re- drying duration of leather. This is seen by comparing trials 3 360
314 duced limit for the establishment of moisture diffusivity. and 7 at which the time difference between them is very im- 361
portant - around 40 min while the total duration in drying with 362
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a convective procedure of leather does not exceed 160 min. 363

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315 3.1.1 Influence of drying temperature We can conclude that the increment of flow favors the con- 364
vective exchanges. Though, this parameter has a less impor- 365
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316 The experimental device used to record the mass over time tant effect than air temperature and it loses its impact gradually 366
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317 and the temporal evolution of the sample temperature. In this as the temperature increases. In previous literature, this behav- 367
318 ior has been explained by the low external resistance to the 368
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work, we will use the results of tests 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 are

319 performed at the same speed and the same relative humidity movement of moisture from the area to the inside of the prod- 369
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320 for different temperatures. Figure 3 shows that growing the uct compared to the internal resistance which is the principal 370
321 temperature decrease the drying time. The temperature of the
322 air greatly influences the rate of drying so that the drying rates
323 increased with the growth of air temperature. This effect is
324 owing to the supply of heat to the product which increases
325 with the temperature of the air high. Therefore, the diffusion
326 rates of the product in water increase with temperature.
327 The drying rate is the topmost at the first step of drying for
328 40 to 60 °C, after it decreases in accordance with time. This is
329 a consequence of weak internal resistance of moisture at the
330 beginning of drying. These results are in accordance with the
331 comment of earlier investigator [39]. This finding is indicative
332 of a progressive increase of the internal resistance to the shift
333 of both heat and mass. Thereby, diffusion of water in the solid
334 is the most plausible physical mechanism dominating the
335 shifting of moisture in leather samples. On the other side, a
336 substance undergoes a constant drying rate as a movement of Fig. 4 Influence of the drying speed on the humidity ratios of leather
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Heat Mass Transfer

difference. The moisture ratio of the samples of leather de- 384

creases unendingly with drying time. As though wait, lower- 385
ing the relative humidity of air reduces the time required to 386
achieve any specific level of humidity ratio since the mass 387
transfer increases. Indeed, moisture increases the saturation 388
of the surface air exchange and therefore decreases the evap- 389
oration capacity of the latter and thus slowing the drying meth- 390
od. Otherwise, at a base humidity of air drying, the transfer of 391
heat and mass is greater and water loss is excessive. However, 392
in our case, an increase in this parameter positively affects the 393
quality of finished leather. 394

Fig. 5 Influence of the injected humidity on the moisture ratios 3.2 Smoothing drying curves by mathematical model 395

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371 factor governing the second phase as the humidity in the sur- To depict the curves drying kinetics of leather dried in con- 396

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372 face exists in a little quantity to be transferred out by air [43]. vection drying, to estimate the pertinence of the selected math- 397

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373 This result is in good accordance with theory, Daguenet [44] ematical equations and to establish the dependence of the 398
374 explains this phenomenon while bringing the drying rate as a estimate model parameters and the drying constant, four dry- 399

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375 function of coefficient transfer of moisture vapor in the air ing models have been used employing “Curve Expert 400
376 grow with the flow speed of the air. This parameter thus exerts Professional 1.5”. The correlation indexes for the applied 401
377 a significant influence on the velocity of drying. mathematical models are shown in Tables 3 and 4. It is obvi- 402
D ous that in the tables above all the values of Lewis, Wang and 403
Singh, Modified Page and Logarithmic models obtained are 404
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378 3.1.3 Influence of the injected humidity of drying greater than 0.98, and the standard mistake values are inferior 405
to 0.05 for both samples shapes. However, the Modified Page 406
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379 Curves for trials 3, 8 and 9 prove the effect of drying of model seemed the most appropriate to describe the experimen- 407
380 moisture humidity on the drying behavior of leather. It is clear tal data since it had the highest values of correlation coeffi- 408
381 from the displayed figures that injecting humidity, from 15 to cients (0.9992 < r < 0.9999) and the lowest values of standard 409
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382 45%, causes an important change in the drying technique and error (0.0035 < s < 0.0110). In addition, the modified Page 410
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383 has a significant influence on drying time -around 80 min time model correlates highly with the measured data, MR = f(t), 411
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t3:1
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Table 3 Estimated constants and

t3:2 fitting criteria of the models Air drying conditions
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applied to drying kinetics of the

t3:3 fermented product (Trials 1,2,3,4 Model name P*,C* Trial 1 Trial 2 Trial 3 Trial4 Trial 5
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t3:4 and 5) Lewis k 0.0118 0.0142 0.0167 0.0193 0.0225

t3:5 s 0.0236 0.0258 0.0287 0.0391 0.0551
t3:6 r 0.9958 0.9952 0.9943 0.9899 0.9806
t3:7 Wang and Singh a −0.0097 −0.0116 −0.0136 −0.0152 −0.0164
t3:8 b 0.0000 0.0000 0.0000 0.0000 0.0000
t3:9 s 0.0070 0.0058 0.0085 0.0124 0.0188
t3:10 r 0.9996 0.9976 0.9995 0.9990 0.9978
t3:11 Modified Page k 0.0119 0.0142 0.0167 0.0196 0.0233
t3:12 n 1.1548 1.1702 1.1884 1.2690 1.3993
t3:13 s 0.0044 0.0035 0.0048 0.0042 0.0110
t3:14 r 0.9998 0.9999 0.9998 0.9998 0.9992
t3:15 Logarithmique a 1.1640 1.1567 1.1610 1.2969 1.6954
t3:16 k 0.0097 0.0119 0.0141 0.0139 0.0115
t3:17 c −0.1405 −0.1282 −0.1249 −0.2595 −0.6505
t3:18 s 0.0068 0.0091 0.0110 0.0115 0.0125
t3:19 r 0.9996 0.9994 0.9992 0.9991 0.9990
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t4:1 Table 4 Estimated constants and fitting criteria of the models applied to
drying kinetics of the fermented product (Trials 6,7,8 and 9)

t4:2 Air drying conditions

t4:3 Model name P*,C* Trial 6 Trial 7 Trial 8 Trial 9

t4:4 Lewis k 0.0200 0.0225 0.0117 0.0086
t4:5 s 0.0481 0.0368 0.0324 0.0478
t4:6 r 0.9848 0.9905 0.9926 0.9840
t4:7 Wang and Singh a −0.0150 −0.0176 −0.0096 −0.0066
t4:8 b 0.0000 0.0000 0.0000 0.0000
t4:9 s 0.0140 0.0092 0.0146 0.0202
t4:10 r 0.9987 0.9994 0.9985 0.9972
t4:11 Modified Page k 0.0205 0.0229 0.0119 0.0089
Fig. 7 Experimental and calculated drying curves of leather at various air
t4:12 n 1.3429 1.2533 1.2144 1.3442 velocities

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t4:13 s 0.0076 0.0074 0.0071 0.0048
t4:14

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r 0.9996 0.9996 0.9996 0.9998 modified Page model. This can be demonstrated by the math- 426
t4:15 Logarithmic a 1.5329 1.3655 1.1823 1.4261 ematical shape of the drying equations (exponential), which 427

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t4:16 k 0.0114 0.0146 0.0101 0.0057 cannot wholly correlate the linear section of the drying data. 428
t4:17 −0. 4954 −0. 3412 −0.1336 −0.3721 429

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c Therefore, the Modified Page model can reach proposed to
t4:18 s 0.0096 0.0089 0.0122 0.0137 evaluate the moisture ratio of leather for the interval of the 430
t4:19 r 0.9994 0.9994 0.9989 0.9987 drying temperature and time in this research Fig. 7. A com- 431
D parison between the experimental and calculated (Modified 432
Page equation) variations of moisture ratios in term of time 433
412 and can be worn for simulation of the drying kinetics of the all
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and of leather occurred at various conditions is listed in Fig. 9. 434
413 drying conditions (air temperatures, velocities, and humidity) These curves demonstrate the adequacy between smooth and 435
414 of leather regardless of the way the heat is supplied to the wet experimental drying curves with a linear Regression for Data 436
EC

415 material. All the results are displayed in Figs. 6, 7 and 8 eq. (6): 437
416 Aleksandra Sander [34] has found similar results when fitting
417 the kinetics of drying of leather. Drying plots of almost all Mexp ¼ 2:47633 x 10−4 þ 0:9999 x Mpre ð6Þ
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418 preceding states indicate the existence of at least two distinct

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419 drying rate periods (constant rate time and one or more down- 438
439
420 fall rate periods). The most significant advantage of the mod- In order to take into consideration, the influence of the 440
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421 ified Page model is that it is suitable for a depiction of the all drying conditions on the Modified Page model, In order to 441
442
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422 drying duration (constant rate and falling rate periods). This is take into consideration the influence of the drying conditions
423 one of the reasons why Lewis’ equation, Wang and Singh’s on the Modified Page model, constants k and n were regressed 443
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424 and Logarithmique’s law cannot be used for the description of against air temperature, relative humidity and air velocity 444
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425 drying kinetics for leather with the same precision as the using multiple regression analysis. However, the n coeffi- 445
cients have an average value of the order of 1.23636588. In 446

Fig. 6 Experimental and calculated drying curves of leather at various Fig. 8 Experimental and calculated drying curves of leather at various
temperatures relative humidities
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Heat Mass Transfer

Fig. 11 Variation of k constant of Modified Page model in term of the

Fig. 9 Comparison of experimental data with values predicted by relative humidity
Modified Page model
period), the drying kinetics have been related to the (real) 466

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447 addition, it is noted that k increases with growing temperature outside surface of the sample, which decreases. During dry- 467

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448 and decreases with increasing relative humidity. Figures 10 ing. The drying kinetics of a leather sample, relative to the 468

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449 and 11 represent the variation of the k coefficients of actual (variable) surface of the sample, which is homogeneous 469
450 Modified Page model with the air temperature and with rela- at a mass flux density are shown in Figs. 12. Mass flow curves 470

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451 tive humidity respectively. The result of this procedure is pre- and drying rate curves (drying rate versus dry water content) 471
452 sented in Eqs. (7)-(8). were shown in Figs. 12). This curve shows that leather drying 472
has three distinct phases, an initial phase (warm-up period), a 473
kðT Þ ¼ 0:01117–3:39369 x 10−4 x T D constant-speed phase and a decreasing speed phase. The pres- 474
455 þ 8; 34916 x10−4 x T2 ð7Þ ence of the three drying phases suggests that the product has 475
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both the free surface water that will be lost during the constant 476
454
453 kðRH Þ ¼ 0:02345–5:0753 x 10−4 x RH speed phase and the internal binding water that will be elim- 477
EC

inated during the decreasing drying period [48]. 478

þ 4:11242x 10−6 xRH2 ð8Þ
The first phase is the period of the beginning of drying, 479
456
457 during which the drying rate depends on the parameters of 480
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458 These equations allow us to predict the drying curves and the external process. The slope of the drying rate curve in- 481
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459 especially the moisture ratio of leather while taking into ac- creased for a very short time and the drying rate quickly 482
460 count the employed drying conditions. reached its maximum value. During this period, evaporation 483
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461 When C*is the models constants (a,b,c,kand n);and P* is of the water occurred on the surface of the leather sample and 484
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462 the statistical parameters (s and r). since heat transfer promoted evaporation, the ratio of liquid/ 485
vapor to outer surface decreased continuously. This sustained 486
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period for a very short time, about 3–5 min depends on the 487
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463 3.3 Curves of drying speed drying temperature and the speed of the hot air. The second 488
period of constant drying rate was observed, after the initial 489
464 In order to highlight the different drying periods (heating pe- step, which indicated that the liquid was moving by 490
465 riod, constant speed drying period and decreasing drying

Fig. 10 Variation of k constant of Modified Page model in term of the

temperature Fig. 12 Mass flow during drying as a function of moisture content
 JrnlID 231_ArtID 2392_Proof# 1 - 28/05/2018

Heat Mass Transfer

491 capillarity; in this way, the drying fluid in contact with the humidity ratio and dimensionless drying rate, for the nine 527
492 leather surface is at the wet temperature. During this phase, various examined conditions, fall into a tight band, manifest- 528
493 the speed depends only on the external parameters. This phase ing that the influence of the change in different conditions is 529
494 is completed when the material reaches an average water con- little over the range tested. Smoothing the different experi- 530
495 tent called critical water content of Xcr, which in our case is mental points allowed to establish the properties drying curve 531
496 about 0.7 kg/kg.Ms. This value corresponds to the upper limit Eq. (9). A polynomial model of degree 2 was examined to fit 532
497 of the hygroscopic range for leather. This remarkable point best the dimensionless experimental data of leather: 533
498 was generally used to delimit the warm-up period and the
499 decreasing speed period. At the turn, there is no moisture on f ¼ −0:02701 þ 2:09961MR* − 0:90942MR*2 ð9Þ
500 the surface since the capacity of the capillaries to supply bulk
534
535
501 water has been diminished. The drying front moved into the
For this operation, the nonlinear optimization method of 536
502 pores just beyond the critical point, where the capillary water
Levenberg–Marquard has been worn via the Origin 6.1 soft- 537
503 in the pore channel was evaporated by molecular diffusion
ware. The criteria used to evaluate the goodness of fit were the 538
504 through capillarity. During this period, the evaporation rate
correlation coefficient (r = 0.998) and the standard error (s = 539

F
505 of the outside surface decreased rapidly due to the increasing
0.01135). Thus, this equation can be used to characterize the 540
506 resistance of the internal moisture migration and the decrease

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kinetics drying of the leather in temperature range of 40–60 °C 541
507 of the water content and the drying rate phase decreased sig-
and the velocity of air drying from 1 to 2 m/s. It predicts the 542

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508 nificantly. The drying rate of the leather layer increases with
time in demand for product drying and permits the sizing of 543
509 the drying temperature due to the increased water migration,

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dryers intended for it. 544
510 which resulted from the improvement of the conduction force
511 on the heat transfer in the leather samples.
D 3.5 Optimization the drying process 545
512 3.4 Characteristic drying curve of the leather
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Experimental studies, carried out during this work on the dry- 546
513 The aim of this section is to synthesize the results obtained by ing of leather in tanning procedures, allowed us to identify 547
514 different drying curves allowing to raise the influences of cer- 548
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determining, from the tests carried out, a so-called

515 Characteristic Drying Curve. the obtaining explanation of this tain parameters, such as the speed of drying air, temperature, 549
516 curve is detailed in part 2.4. The point of this curve is impor- thickness and relative humidity. Indeed, it has been found that 550
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517 tant. Indeed, you only to know the values of the initial water all curves have a common point that affects the pace. Such 551
518 content and the balance to be be qualified to depict the drying behavior is similar to that known for textiles and polymeric 552
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519 kinetics in any condition of air drying. Furthermore, the com- materials. The effect of temperature is to significantly increase 553
O

520 bination of drying curves adopted in this research has been the the drying rate, especially when we go from 40 to 60 °C. The 554
521 topic of several research studies [45, 46]. Experimental drying effect of the air temperature was greater than that of the drying 555
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522 input occurred after affecting Van Meel(1958) conversion are air speed. Relative humidity has a significant effect on the 556
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523 plotted in Fig. 13 to represent f = f(MR*). All curves fall into a quality of the leather and this will be proven in the third chap- 557
524 558
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tight band indicating that the effect of variation in different air ter. According to our results in the article [49], it can be noted
525 drying conditions is small over the range tested. This figure that the drying between 45 °C and 55 °C with an injected 559
526 proves that all convective drying curves occur with the humidity equal to 15% and a speed equal to 1 m/s (Table 5) 560
seems optimal in our case, on the basis of the quality of the 561
analysis results, it is therefore preferable to dry the leather at a 562
temperature of 50 °C of the drying air without taking into 563
account the injected humidity and the air velocity of the air. 564
Drying. The results of physico-mechanical tests favor the use 565
of cattle skins treated according to a specific protocol opti- 566
mized both in the manufacture of shoes and in the manufac- 567
ture of leather goods [49]. 568

Table 5 Optimized drying t5:1Q4

conditions for bovine leather Temperature (°C) 45–55 t5:2

Relative humidity% 15% t5:3

Dry air speed (m / s) 1 t5:4
Fig. 13 The leather Characteristic Drying Curve
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Heat Mass Transfer

569 4 Conclusion 5. Liu CK, Latona NP, Lee J (2004) Effects of drying methods on 618
chrome-tanned leather. Journal of American Leather Chemists 619
Association 99(5):205–210 620
570 The influence of drying parameters on the convective drying 6. Al Muhtaseb AH, Al-Harahsheh M, Hararah M, Magee TRA 621
571 behavior of leather along with the exchange surface with the (2010) Drying characteristics and quality change of 622
572 investment environment has been investigated in this study. unutilizedprotein rich tomato pomace with and without osmotic 623
pre-treatment. Ind Crop Prod 31:171–177 624
573 The main factor influencing the kinetics of drying was air
7. Whitaker S (1977) Simultaneous heat mass and momentum transfer 625
574 temperature and relative humidity. This influence is expressed in porous media: a theory of drying. Adv Heat Mass Transf 13:110– 626
575 by a notable reduction in drying time and an increase in slope 203 627
576 line due to a rise in both air temperature and surface exchange 8. Yald V, Ertekin OC, Uzun HI (2001) Mathematical modelling of 628
thin layer solar drying of sultana grapes. Energy 26(5):457–465 629
577 area. Drying rate curves showed the presence of drying period
9. Wang Z, Sun J, Liao X, Chen F, Zhao G, Wu J, Hu X (2006) 630
578 at constant rate which has been detected in these drying ex- Mathematical modeling on hot air drying of thin layer apple pom- 631
579 periments of leather. So, in order to analyze the drying behav- ace. Journal of Food Engineering 40:39–46 632
580 ior of leather, four different drying models are known in the 10. Togrul IT, Pehlivan D (2002) Mathematical modeling of solar dry- 633
581 literature, were compared with their regression coefficient and ing of apricots in thin layers. J Food Eng 55:209–216 634
11. Togrul IT, Pehlivan D (2003) Modeling of drying kinetics of single 635

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582 standard error values in this study. We have evaluated the apricot. J Food Eng 58(1):23–32 636
583 suitability of a set of mathematical equations describing the 637

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12. Ertekin C, Yaldiz O (2004) Drying of eggplant and selection of a
584 thin-layer drying behavior of leather and have found the suitable thin layer drying model. J Food Eng 63:349–359 638
639

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585 Modified Page model the best among the four investigated 13. Cihan A, Kahveci K, HacVhafVzoglu O (2007) Modelling of in-
termittent drying of thin layer rough rice. J Food Eng 79:293–298 640
586 models. The selected model provided satisfactory good accor-

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14. Kaleemullah S, Kailappan R (2005) Modelling of thin-layer drying 641
587 dance between experimental trials and predicted input. Two kinetics of red Chillies. Journal of Food Engineering 76:531–537 642
588 statistical parameters were employed to assess the model’s 15. Doymaz I (2004) Convective air drying characteristics of thin layer 643
589 suitability which is: the correlation coefficients (r) and the carrots. J Food Eng 61:359–364 644
D 16. Sacilik K, Elicin AK (2005) The thin layer drying characteristics of 645
590 standard errors (s). The Modified Page model presents the best organic apple slices. J Food Eng 73:281–289 646
591
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value of r and the nethermost value of s. In this research, the 17. Goyal RK, Kingsly ARP, Mannikantan MR, Ilyas SM (2007) 647
592 curve of characteristic drying (CDC) of leather has been ex- Mathematical modeling of thin layer drying kinetics of plum in a 648
593 perimentally determined and the rate of drying correlation is tunnel dryer. J Food Eng 79:176–180 649
650
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18. Corzo O, Bracho N, Pereira A, Vasquez A (2008) Weibull distribu-

594 established. As a perspective of the present experimental sur- tion for modeling air drying of coroba slices. J Food Sci Technol 41: 651
595 vey, this research can be prolonged to measure the mechanical 2023–2028 652
596 characterization of this sample of leather. With this in mind, 19. Lahsasni S, Kouhila M, Mahrouz M, Idlimam A, Jamali A (2004) 653
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597 the important mechanical behaviors of leather can be provided Thin layer convective solar drying and mathematical modeling of 654
655
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prickly pear peel (Opuntia .cus indica). Energy Research 29:211–

598 before its use. Furthermore, the results will be needed later in 224 656
599 the numerical modeling of coupled transfers of heat and mass 657
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20. Roosevelt DS, Sadulla S, Ramasami T (2000) Solar dryer for leath-
600 transfer phenomena during convective drying leather. er and study on the characteristics of open. Solar ant electrical-dried 658
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leathers Renewable Energy 19:123–134 659

601 Acknowledgements The authors would like to thank the ANPR 21. Haghi AK (2001) Simultaneous moisture and heat transfer in po- 660
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602 (National Agency for the Promotion of Scientific Research), thesis re- rous systems, Journal of computational and Applied Mechanics 661
603 195–204 662Q7
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605 Publisher’s Note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdic- Media Using Infrared Radiation Acta Polytechnica Vol 41 666
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