COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF THE PHYSICOCHEMICAL PROPERTIES OF WATERMELON (Citrullus lanatus) DEHYDRATED USING DIFFERENT DRYING METHODS
Abstract
Watermelon (Citrullus lanatus) is a highly perishable fruit due to its high-water content, which limits its shelf life and promotes post-harvest losses. In this context, drying emerges as an efficient preservation method. This study aimed to compare different drying methods: forced convection oven, natural convection oven, and Refractance Window (RW) applied to watermelon, evaluating their physicochemical properties. The samples were dried until constant mass and analyzed for water activity, moisture content, total soluble solids (°Brix), pH, shrinkage rate, and drying kinetics. Statistical analysis was performed using Tukey’s test (p ≤ 0.05). The results showed that the RW method was more efficient in reducing water activity and presented higher diffusion coefficients, while the natural convection oven at 55°C resulted in the lowest moisture content. An increase in total soluble solids was observed in all treatments due to sugar concentration. It is concluded that all methods were effective in producing dehydrated watermelon with adequate characteristics in a suited environment for storage, with RW standing out as the most efficient technique.
Author Biography
Undergraduate student in Gastronomy at Universidade Federal da Paraíba.
References
ADAMS, M. R.; MOSS, M. O. Food microbiology. 3. ed. Cambridge: Royal Society of Chemistry, 2008.
ALI, S.; HAMEED, O. Quality evaluation by using laser of red grapes during microwave drying. Journal of Soil Sciences and Agricultural Engineering, v. 14, n. 4, p. 125–132, 2023. DOI: https://doi.org/10.21608/jssae.2023.194058.1148
ALVES, J. Cinética de secagem da beterraba (Beta vulgaris L.) obtida por Refractance Window e caracterização físico-química. João Pessoa: Universidade Federal da Paraíba, 2024. Trabalho de Conclusão de Curso.
BORGES, S. V. et al. Secagem de fatias de abóbora (Cucurbita moschata L.) por convecção natural e forçada. Ciência e Tecnologia de Alimentos, Campinas, v. 28, n. 2, p. 245–251, 2008. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1590/S0101-20612008000500037
CRANK, J. The Mathematics of Diffusion. 2nd Edition. Oxford University Press, London. 1975.
DOYMAZ, İ. Evaluation of mathematical models for prediction of thin-layer drying of banana slices. International Journal of Food Properties, v. 13, n. 3, p. 486–497, 2010. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/10942910802650424
DOYMAZ, İ. Evaluation of some thin-layer drying models of persimmon slices (Diospyros kaki L.). Energy Conversion and Management, v. 56, p. 199–205, 2012. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enconman.2011.11.027
FELLOWS, P. J. Food processing technology: principles and practice. 3. ed. Cambridge: Woodhead Publishing, 2009. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1533/9781845696344
GOMES, F. P.; RESENDE, O.; SOUSA, E. P. Secagem de alimentos: uma revisão sobre aplicações. Brazilian Journal of Development, v. 8, n. 2, p. 12759–12777, 2022. DOI: https://doi.org/10.34117/bjdv8n2-285
GONÇALVES, O. Estudo comparativo de processos de desidratação por liofilização e secagem convencional. 2015. IPT - Instituto Politécnico de Tomar. Dissertação de Mestrado.
HERRERA, P.; SANTAGAPITA, P.; MORENO, F. Refractance window drying: a new approach for producing high-quality powdered dairy products. Journal of Dairy Science, v. 108, n. 3, p. 2324–2339, 2025. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3168/jds.2024-25508
INTERNATIONAL COMMISSION ON MICROBIOLOGICAL SPECIFICATIONS FOR FOODS (ICMSF). Microorganisms in foods 6: microbial ecology of food commodities. 2. ed. New York: Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers, 1998.
KOHMANN, L. Atividade de água em alimentos. Porto Alegre: SENAI-RS, 2013.
KRAGH, H. S. P. L. Sørensen, the pH concept and its early history. Foundations of Chemistry, 2025. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10698-025-09532-6
LEWICKI, P. P. Some remarks on rehydration of dried foods. Journal of Food Engineering, v. 36, p. 81–87, 1998. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0260-8774(98)00022-3
LEWICKI, P. P. Design of hot air drying for better foods. Trends in Food Science & Technology, v. 17, p. 153–163, 2006. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tifs.2005.10.012
MAHIUDDIN, M. et al. Shrinkage of food materials during drying: current status and challenges. Drying Technology, v. 36, n. 6, p. 1–15, 2018.
MAHJOORIAN, A. et al. Modeling of drying kiwi slices and its sensory evaluation. Food Science & Nutrition, v. 4, n. 3, p. 1–9, 2016. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/fsn3.414
MAOTO, M. M.; BESWA, D.; JIDEANI, A. I. O. Watermelon as a potential fruit snack. International Journal of Food Properties, v. 22, n. 1, p. 355–370, 2019. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/10942912.2019.1584212
MAYOR, L.; SERENO, A. M. Modelling shrinkage during convective drying of food materials: a review. Journal of Food Engineering, v. 61, n. 3, p. 373–386, 2004. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0260-8774(03)00144-4
McCABE, W et al. Operations of Chemical Engineering. McGraw-Hill, New York. Ed. 5 1993.
MICROSOFT CORPORATION. Microsoft Excel. Redmond, WA, 2023.
MUHAMAD, N.; REDZUAN, N. Effects of drying methods on the quality parameters of dried melon (Cucumis melo). Journal of Agrobiotechnology, v. 10, p. 46–58, 2019.
NINDO, C. I.; TANG, J. Refractance Window dehydration technology: a novel contact drying method. Drying Technology, v. 25, n. 1, p. 37–48, 2007. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/07373930601152673
ORIGINLAB CORPORATION. OriginPro 2018. Northampton, MA, 2018.
PORTELA, J. V. Estudo dos aspectos tecnológicos e de qualidade envolvidos no aproveitamento da casca e da polpa da melancia (Citrullus lanatus). Dissertação (Mestrado) – Universidade Federal da Paraíba, João Pessoa, 2009.
RAGHAVI, L. M. et al. Refractance window drying of foods: a review. Journal of Food Engineering, v. 222, p. 267–275, 2018. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jfoodeng.2017.11.032
RAZAVI, S. M. A.; MILANI, E. Some physical properties of watermelon seeds. African Journal of Agricultural Research, v. 1, n. 3, p. 65–69, 2006.
SANTOS, V. C. et al. A review on refractance window drying process of fruits and vegetables: its integration with renewable energies. Brazilian Journal of Food Technology, v. 25, 2022. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1590/1981-6723.15321
SENA, E.; BRITO, S.; MONTEIRO, H. Panorama da produção de melancias no Brasil. Revista Campos & Negócios, Uberlândia, 2023.
SHAHAR, A. et al. Effect of different drying processing method on the physicochemical properties of watermelon powder. Advances in Agricultural and Food Research Journal, v. 3, n. 2, 2022. DOI: https://doi.org/10.36877/aafrj.a0000305
SILVA, J. B. et al. Evaluation of growth potential of Listeria monocytogenes on ready-to-eat fresh fruit. Research, Society and Development, v. 10, n. 5, e12310512345, 2021.
SILVA, R. Morfoanatomia dos nectários extraflorais. 2024. Dissertação (Mestrado) – Universidade Federal de São João del-Rei.
VILHENA, N. Q. et al. Physico-chemical and microstructural changes during drying of persimmon. Foods, v. 9, n. 7, p. 870, 2020. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/foods9070870
YAN, Z.; SOUSA-GALLAGHER, M. J.; OLIVEIRA, F. A. R. Shrinkage and porosity of banana, pineapple and mango slices during air-drying. Journal of Food Engineering, v. 84, n. 3, p. 430–440, 2008. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jfoodeng.2007.06.004
ZAMUS, D. et al. Citrullus lanatus as source of bioactive components: an up-to-date review. Trends in Food Science & Technology, v. 111, p. 208–222, 2021. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tifs.2021.03.002
ZAMBRA, C. et al. Experimental and numerical study of a turbulent air-drying process for an ellipsoidal fruit with volume changes. Foods, v. 11, n. 4, 2022. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/foods11131880
ZAREIN, M.; SAMADI, S.; GHOBADIAN, B. Investigation of microwave dryer effect on energy efficiency during drying of apple slices. Journal of the Saudi Society of Agricultural Sciences, v. 14, n. 1, p. 41–47, 2015. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jssas.2013.06.002
License
Copyright (c) 2026 RECIMA21 - Revista Científica Multidisciplinar - ISSN 2675-6218
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Os direitos autorais dos artigos/resenhas/TCCs publicados pertecem à revista RECIMA21, e seguem o padrão Creative Commons (CC BY 4.0), permitindo a cópia ou reprodução, desde que cite a fonte e respeite os direitos dos autores e contenham menção aos mesmos nos créditos. Toda e qualquer obra publicada na revista, seu conteúdo é de responsabilidade dos autores, cabendo a RECIMA21 apenas ser o veículo de divulgação, seguindo os padrões nacionais e internacionais de publicação.