ARTICLE IN PRESS

Journal of Food Engineering xxx (2006) xxxxxx

www.elsevier.com/locate/jfoodeng

Determination of heat and mass transfer parameters

during frying of potato slices
Aygun Yldz, T. Koray Palazoglu *, Ferruh Erdogdu
Department of Food Engineering, University of Mersin, Ciftlikkoy 33342, Mersin, Turkey
Received 21 August 2005; accepted 7 January 2006

Abstract
In this study, eective heat (heat transfer coecient) and mass transfer (mass transfer coecient and moisture diusivity) parameters
were determined during frying of potato slices (8.5 8.5 70 mm) in sunower oil at 150, 170 and 190
C. These parameters were evaluated from the plots of dimensionless temperature and concentration ratios against time. Heat transfer coecient was found to decrease
with increasing oil temperature. Mass transfer coecient increased linearly, whereas moisture diusivity increased exponentially with an
increase in frying temperature. An Arrhenius type of relationship was found between the frying temperature and the eective moisture
diusivity.
 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Frying; Heat transfer coecient; Mass transfer coecient; Moisture diusivity

1. Introduction
Knowledge of accurate heat and mass transfer parameters is important for modeling processes during which
simultaneous heat and mass transfer take place. Deep-fat
frying of potatoes is one such process which is performed
by immersing the food material in hot (generally between
150200
C) edible oil until it is cooked (Farkas, Singh,
& Rumsey, 1996).
During the frying process, heat is transferred from the
hot oil to the surface of the food material, while moisture
is transferred from the interior to the surface. As a result,
high temperature and low moisture conditions develop as
frying proceeds, and bring about the desirable characteristics (color, texture, and avor) of French fries. Recent
research, however, shows that high temperature and low
moisture conditions also gives rise to the formation of
acrylamide, a potentially carcinogen substance. Acrylam-

Corresponding author.
E-mail address: koray_palazoglu@mersin.edu.tr (T. Koray Palazoglu).

0260-8774/$ - see front matter  2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.jfoodeng.2006.01.021

ide has been shown to form during heating of certain foods

due to the interaction between asparagine and reducing
sugars (i.e. glucose, fructose) at high temperatures and
low moisture conditions associated with frying, baking,
and roasting (Gokmen, Palazoglu, & S
enyuva, 2005).
Therefore, knowledge of critical processing variables is
needed for improved product safety and quality.
Designing of frying processes is possible through the use
of mathematical models. Banga, Alonso, Gallardo, and
Perez-Martin (1993) stated that a reliable simulation of
the process using a mathematical model is essential for process optimization and control. The success of a model, however, depends on the accuracy of the knowledge of critical
processing variables, namely heat transfer coecient and
mass transfer parameters (mass transfer coecient and
moisture diusivity) in the case of frying. Since heat
and mass transfer during frying are inter-related, they both
need to be taken into account during investigation of a frying process.
There is not enough research on the heat and mass
transfer parameters during frying of potato slices. The
few investigations have been limited to the determination

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A. Yldz et al. / Journal of Food Engineering xxx (2006) xxxxxx

Nomenclature
heat transfer Biot number, hL
k
mass transfer Biot number, kDc L
equilibrium moisture content of potato slice or
moisture content of frying medium (0 kg/kg solids)
Ci
initial uniform moisture content of potato slice
(kg/kg solids)
C(x, t) moisture content at any point any time (kg/kg
solids)
Ct
average moisture content at time t (kg/kg solids)
D
eective moisture diusivity (m2/s)
D0
Arrhenius constant (m2/s)
Ea
activation energy (kJ/mol)
Bih
Bim
C1

of heat transfer coecient, which generally involved the

use of the lumped system approach or a simplied geometry (innite plate or innite cylinder). Several researchers
(Budzaki & Seruga, 2004; Costa, Oliveira, Delaney,
& Gekas, 1999; Farkas & Hubbard, 2000; Hubbard &
Farkas, 1999; Sahin, Sastry, & Bayindirli, 1999a, Sahin,
Sastry, & Bayindirli, 1999b) determined the heat transfer
coecient by various methods during frying of potato
dough and potatoes of dierent geometries.
Sahin et al. (1999a) determined heat transfer coecient
during frying at temperatures between 150 and 190
C.
They found the heat transfer coecient during frying of
the one-dimensional potato slice (50 50 3 mm) to be
between 90 and 200 W/m2 K within the temperature range
studied. They also reported that heat transfer coecient
increased, while moisture content and thermal conductivity
decreased with the increasing oil temperature.
Costa et al. (1999) investigated the eect of water loss
rate on heat transfer coecient during frying at 140 and
180
C using the lumped system approach and the surface
temperature data. They found that heat transfer coecient
reached a maximum value of 443 W/m2 K at 140
C and
650 W/m2 K at 180
C for French fries. They reported that
although the bubble movement during frying increase the
rate of heat transfer, maximum levels of water loss rates
may hinder the heat transfer.
Hubbard and Farkas (1999) determined the heat transfer coecient during frying of innite potato cylinders at
180
C from the timetemperature data acquired at the
product surface and reported that heat transfer coecient
increased from its initial value of 300 W/m2 K to
1100 W/m2 K during the frying process.
This study was undertaken to develop a more realistic
approach for determining heat and mass transfer parameters during frying of potato slices. The timetemperature
and timemoisture content data experimentally obtained
with the potato slices having a two-dimensional geometry

h
k
kc
L
R
t
T1
Ti
T(x, t)
x
y

eective heat transfer coecient (W/m2 K)

thermal conductivity of potato (W/m K)
eective mass transfer coecient (m/s)
half thickness (m)
universal gas constant (8.314 10
3 kJ/mol K)
time (s)
temperature of frying medium (
C)
initial uniform temperature of potato slice (
C)
temperature at any point any time (
C)
location where temperature is measured in innite plate (0 6 x 6 L)
location where temperature is measured in innite plate (0 6 y 6 L)

were utilized to determine the heat and mass transfer

parameters during frying from the dimensionless temperature and concentration ratio plots, respectively.
2. Materials and methods
2.1. Frying of potato slices
Potato was cut into slices (8.5 mm 8.5 mm) using a
French fry cutter, and the length was adjusted to 70 mm.
Potato slices were fried at 150, 170, and 190
C in a 5 L
oil bath (Precisterm, J.P. Selecta, Spain) using sunower
oil by immersing only one strip at a time. Frying experiments were conducted in triplicate.
2.2. Temperature measurement
Temperature was acquired, with an accuracy of 0.2
C,
every 1 s using a digital multimeter (Model 2700, Keithley,
Cleveland, OH) coupled with a 20-channel multiplexer
(Model 7700, Keithley, Cleveland, OH) and a personal
computer. Two thermocouples (36-gauge type-T, Omega
Engineering, Inc., Stamford, CT) were inserted into the
slice from both ends until the tip of the thermocouples were
near the geometric center and far enough from the ends.
This was done to eliminate the end eects since a two
dimensional solution was adopted for the evaluation of
heat transfer coecient (Fig. 1). Oil temperature was also
monitored and recorded using another thermocouple.
2.3. Determination of heat transfer coecient
Heat transfer coecient was determined by starting
from the solution of the dierential equation for one
dimensional heat conduction in Cartesian coordinates
(Eq. (1)) employing the boundary conditions presented in
Eq. (2).

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Fig. 1. Schematic of the experimental setup.

o2 T 1 oT
; 0 6 x 6 L for t > 0

ox2 a ot




oT


oT

0


k
hT jxL
T 1
ox
x0
ox
xL

1
T jt0 T i

The following innite series solution gives the temperature

at any location within the innite plate as a function of
time:

 X
1
T x; t
T 1
2 sin ln

Ti
T1
l

sin ln cos ln
n
n1


 x
at
 cos ln
exp
l2n 2
3
L
L
For the Fourier numbers Lat2 greater than 0.1, using only
the rst term of Eq. (3) provides suciently accurate results
(Crank, 1975). The reduced form of Eq. (3) can be used to
obtain the solution for the French fry geometry (nite in
two dimensions) by making use of the superimposition rule
(Eq. (4)). French fry geometry is, in fact, the intersection
volume of two innite plates with the same thickness intersecting each other perpendicularly (Fig. 2).




T x; y; t
T 1
T x; t
T 1

Ti
T1
Ti
T1
finite plate
infinite plate


T y; t
T 1

Ti
T1
infinite plate
4
The rst-term solutions for the two innite plates with
the same half thickness are given in Eqs. (5) and (6). The

Fig. 2. French fry geometry obtained by applying the superimposition

rule.

product of these two equations (Eq. (7)) gives the solution

for the French fry geometry.


T x; t
T 1
2 sin l1

Ti
T1
l1 sin l1 cos l1


 x
at
 cos l1
exp
l21 2
5
L
L


T y; t
T 1
2 sin l1

Ti
T1
l1 sin l1 cos l1


 y
2 at
 cos l1
exp
l1 2
6
L
L





T x; t
T 1
T y; t
T 1
at
A exp
2l21 2
7
Ti
T1
Ti
T1
L

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A. Yldz et al. / Journal of Food Engineering xxx (2006) xxxxxx

oC


0
ox
x0

Table 1
Thermophysical properties of potato
Property

Value

Thermal conductivity,
k (W/m K)
Density, q (kg/m3)
Specic heat, cp (J/kg K)

0.554
1090
3517

Source

Palaniappan and Sizer (1997)

Singh and Heldman (2001)

After taking the natural logarithm of both sides, Eq. (7)

takes the following form:


T x; y; t
T 1
at
ln
9
ln A
2l21 2
Ti
T1
L
1
is plotted against time, slope of the linWhen lnT x;y;t
T
T i
T 1
ear section of this graph is equated to
2l21 La2 . Since the
thermal diusivity (a) and half thickness (L) are known,
l1 can be determined. After this, the heat transfer Biot
number (Bih) and the heat transfer coecient are determined by using Eqs. (10) (the characteristic equation for
innite plate) and (11), respectively. Thermophysical properties of potato presented in Table 1 were assumed
constant.

Bih l1 tan l1
hL
Bih
k

10
11

2.4. Determination of mass transfer parameters

Potato slice (8.5 8.5 70 mm) was mounted on a stainless steel wire and immersed into the frying medium and
fried for dierent time intervals at 150, 170, and 190
C.
Fried potato samples were sampled at 10, 20, 30, 45, 60,
75, 90, 105, 120 s and every following 30 up to 480, 360,
and 240 s of the frying process for 150, 170, and 190
C,
respectively. Surface oil was removed with a paper towel
immediately after the removal of the samples from the oil
bath and the moisture content of samples was determined
by drying the samples to constant weight at 105 1
C
(AOAC, 1975). Four replicates were conducted for each
frying temperature. Timemoisture content data of the
potato samples of dierent time intervals were used in the
mathematical method for the determination of the mass
transfer parameters.
The equation that gives the concentration as a function
of time and location for an innite plate (Eq. (14)) was
obtained by solving the dierential equation (Eq. (12)) with
the given boundary conditions (Eq. (13)).
o2 C 1 oC
;

ox2
D ot

0 6 x 6 L for t > 0

oC


k c CjxL
C 1 Cjt0 C i
ox
xL
13

Singh and Heldman (2001)

where A is dened by the following equation:


2
 x
 y
2 sin l1
A
cos l1
cos l1
L
L
l1 sin l1 cos l1

D

12

Cx; t
C 1
2 sin ln

Ci
C1
ln sin ln cos ln


 x
2 Dt
 cos ln
exp
ln 2
L
L

14

By taking only the rst term of the innite series solution

given in Eq. (14) (for long processing
R Vtimes) and integrating
it throughout the whole volume V1 0 Cx; tdV , the equation for average moisture concentration in an innite plate
(Eq. (15)) was obtained.


Ct
C 1
2 sin2 l1
2 Dt
exp
l1 2

15
Ci
C1
l1 l1 sin l1 cos l1 
L
where Ct is the average concentration at a certain time in
kg/kg solids.
By using the superimposition rule, Eq. (16) for the twodimensional French fry geometry is obtained.


Ct
C 1
Dt
16
ln
2 ln E
2l21 2
Ci
C1
L
where E is dened as follows:
E

2 sin2 l1
l1 l1 sin l1 cos l1 

17

1
From the intercept of lnCt
C
t plot, the rst root of the
C i
C 1
characteristic equation (l1) was calculated. After determining moisture diusivity, D, from the slope of the same plot,
mass transfer Biot number (Bim) and mass transfer coecient (kc) were obtained by using the relation given in Eq.
(18).

Bim l1 tan l1

kcL
D

18

The temperature dependence of moisture diusivity was

determined using an Arrhenius type equation (Eq. (19)).


Ea
D D0 exp

19
RT
3. Results and discussion
Temperature inside the potato slices remained around
103104
C throughout the whole frying process in all
experiments. This observation was attributed to the interior not being dry enough to allow for internal energy
increase. When the temperature reaches the boiling point
of water, use of energy to vaporize the water keeps temperature from increasing until there is almost no water to
vaporize. According to Claeys, De Vleeschouwer, and
Henrickx (2005), temperatures above the boiling point of
water are reached only when the food is almost completely
dry. The boiling point of water within potato is reported to

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A. Yldz et al. / Journal of Food Engineering xxx (2006) xxxxxx

be slightly higher than that of pure water due to the presence of dissolved solutes (Budzaki & Seruga, 2004).
The plots of dimensionless temperature ratio against
time obtained for dierent frying temperatures are presented in Fig. 3. As one can see from the gure, heating
rate of the potato slice decreased with increasing frying
temperature. The slopes of the linear sections of these plots
(Fig. 4) were obtained through linear regression analysis
and used to determine the eective heat transfer coecient
as explained above. A higher rate of heating is indicated by
a larger slope. Eective heat transfer coecient values for
dierent frying temperatures, with their standard deviations, are presented in Table 2. These values are within
the range of heat transfer coecient values determined by
dierent methods using various geometries by other
researchers (901100 W/m2 K). According to the table,
heat transfer Biot number (Bih), and hence h value
decreased with increasing oil temperature. This may be
attributed to the frying medium that is at a higher temperature resulting in water loss from the product at a greater
rate. The greater the water loss rate, the larger the amount
extracted from the incoming energy. This will reduce the

20

40

Table 2
Heat transfer Biot number and heat transfer coecient values with their
standard deviations for dierent frying oil temperatures
Oil temperature
(
C)

Biot number
(Bih)

Heat transfer
coecient (W/m2 K)

150
170
190

2.20 0.12
1.74 0.06
1.39 0.05

286.7 15.4
227.3 8.0
181.3 6.5

amount of energy available for internal energy increase

and as a result the eective heat transfer coecient will
decrease. This nding contradicts those of Costa et al.
(1999), Sahin et al. (1999a), and Budzaki and Seruga
(2004), who reported an increase in convective heat transfer
coecient with an increase in frying oil temperature.
Eective mass transfer coecient and moisture diusivity values were determined from the slopes of the dimensionless concentration ratio vs time plots (Fig. 5). The
slope, and hence the water loss rate was greater for higher
oil temperature. The even greater slopes observed at the
beginning of the frying processes are a result of the sudden
Time (s)
60
80

100

120

-0.2

150 C

-0.4

190 C

140

170 C

-0.6

In

-0.8
-1
-1.2
Fig. 3. Dimensionless temperature ratio vs time plots obtained during the frying experiments.

Time (s)
0

10

20

30

40

50

0
-0.1

170 C
190 C

-0.3

In

-0.2

150 C

-0.4
-0.5
-0.6
-0.7

Fig. 4. Slopes of the linear sections of dimensionless temperature ratio vs time plots used in the heat transfer coecient determinations.

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A. Yldz et al. / Journal of Food Engineering xxx (2006) xxxxxx

Time (s)
0

100

200

300

400

500

600

0
150 C

-0.2

170 C
190 C

C C
In C C

-0.4
-0.6
-0.8
-1
-1.2

Fig. 5. Dimensionless concentration ratio vs time plots obtained during the frying experiments.

loss of free surface moisture. The linear sections of the

plots attained as the frying proceeded were used in determining the mass transfer parameters. The values of these
parameters, with their standard deviations, are given in
Table 3. As one can see from the table, both parameters
increased with increasing oil temperature. However, the
increase in eective mass transfer coecient was linear
while that in eective moisture diusivity was exponential.
Activation energy (Ea) from the Arrhenius plot (Fig. 6) was
found to be 27.6 kJ/mol (R2 = 0.931), which falls within
the range of activation energies reported by McMinn and
Table 3
Mass transfer Biot number and mass transfer parameter values with their
standard deviations for dierent frying oil temperatures
Oil temperature
(
C)

Biot number
(Bim)

Mass transfer
coecient
kc 105 (m/s)

Moisture
diusivity
D 109 (m2/s)

150
170
190

5.32 1.54
6.28 1.21
4.84 0.63

1.12 0.22
1.58 0.23
2.07 0.24

9.2 1.1
11.0 1.0
18.2 0.7

Magee (1996) for drying of potato cylinders (25.2

36.2 kJ/mol).
4. Conclusion
In this study, a methodology for determination of heat
and mass transfer parameters during frying of potato slices
was proposed. The method is based on the measurement of
time-dependent temperature and moisture content of the
potato slice. Previous methods for determining heat transfer coecient rely on measuring surface temperature of the
potato slice during frying. However, obtaining reliable surface temperature data using thermocouples involves diculties. Furthermore, the fact that surface temperature
will vary depending on the location where the measurement
is taken (unless heat transfer takes place only in one dimension) only adds up to the diculty of the task. The
approach proposed for heat transfer coecient determination in the present study does not require the knowledge of
thermocouple location, thereby eliminating the potential
errors associated with the methods that use surface temperature data.
Acknowledgement

-1

0.0021
-17.7
-17.9

0.00215

0.0022

1/T (K )
0.00225

0.0023

0.00235

0.0024

y = -3316.8x - 10.714

This research was supported by the Scientic and Technical Research Council of Turkey, TUBITAK (Project no.:
MAG-103M061).
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ln D

-18.1

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Fig. 6. Temperature dependence of the eective moisture diusivity.

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