Increase in Convective Intensity Drying of Sweet Root Fruits

Drying crops is a necessary condition for better storage of the crop and the nutrients contained in it. At the same time, the drying process is energy-intensive and up to $25 \%$ of energy is spent on it. This work is devoted to starch-containing raw materials, in particular, sweet potato roots. The goal is to study the convective dehydration of root crops and find ways to intensify the process, reducing drying time, heat consumption and ensuring maximum preservation of the natural properties of raw materials. The object of the study is the root crops of orange sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas L.). On the basis of the conducted research, rational conditions for thermo-moisture processing of sweet potato roots were determined, in particular, the modes of preliminary processing of sweet potato roots were defined and new staged drying modes were developed, which significantly reduces the duration of drying. The paper examines the moisture exchange during dehydration of sweet potato root crops, summarizes the research results, calculates the total duration of the root crop drying process, and provides the formula for the duration of the process. The result of the work is a reduction in the duration of drying, a reduction in heat consumption by $15 \%$, and obtaining high-quality dried products that are close to the natural properties of the material.