University of Tabriz Journal of Agricultural Mechanization 2383-126X 9 2 2024 06 21 Evaluation of Kiwi Quality Indicators in the Drying Process by a Fixed Bed Dryer Equipped with Phase Change Materials Evaluation of Kiwi Quality Indicators in the Drying Process by a Fixed Bed Dryer Equipped with Phase Change Materials 17 28 18438 10.22034/jam.2024.57314.1243 FA Zahra Sheykhani Nejad Fallah Department of Biosystems Engineering. Faculty of Agricultural Sciences. University of Guilan. Rasht. Morteza Zangeneh Department of Biosystems Engineering, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, University of Guilan, Rasht, Iran Narges Banaeian Department of Biosystems Engineering, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, University of Guilan, Rasht, Iran Journal Article 2023 06 29 Kiwi fruit is one of the most important export products of the country and Gilan province. The export of this product is often for fresh consumption, while dried kiwi can bring a lot of added value in addition to significantly reducing the cost of storage and transportation. One of the requirements for success in the field of dry kiwi production and export is to pay attention to the quality indicators of the product after drying, which is considered in this research. Aim of this research is the investigation of temperature (55, 65 and 75 ℃) and Phase Change Material (PCM) effect on four quality indicators of thin slices of kiwifruit including color changes, pH level, shrinkage percentage, marketability and consumer desirability. A total of six treatments were obtained by combining the independent variables. The drying process was carried out under the pretreatment of infrared power of 250 W, infrared time of 10 minutes, microwave power of 400 W, microwave time of 4 minutes and enzyme removal in a layered fixed bed dryer. This study was conducted as a randomized complete block design with four replications. Data analysis was done in IBM SPSS Statistics 26 software. In the end, in order to find the best treatment, Copeland integration technique was used. The results showed that the best treatment in terms of color changes is 75 ℃ - PCM, in terms of pH level is 65 ℃ - PCM, 65 ℃ - no PCM and 75 ℃ - no PCM and in terms of shrinkage percentage is 75 ℃ -no PCM, 55 ℃-no PCM and 75 ℃ - PCM. The superior treatment in the marketability section is 75℃- no PCM. The overall best treatment in terms of four quality indicators is 75℃- no PCM. Kiwi fruit is one of the most important export products of the country and Gilan province. The export of this product is often for fresh consumption, while dried kiwi can bring a lot of added value in addition to significantly reducing the cost of storage and transportation. One of the requirements for success in the field of dry kiwi production and export is to pay attention to the quality indicators of the product after drying, which is considered in this research. Aim of this research is the investigation of temperature (55, 65 and 75 ℃) and Phase Change Material (PCM) effect on four quality indicators of thin slices of kiwifruit including color changes, pH level, shrinkage percentage, marketability and consumer desirability. A total of six treatments were obtained by combining the independent variables. The drying process was carried out under the pretreatment of infrared power of 250 W, infrared time of 10 minutes, microwave power of 400 W, microwave time of 4 minutes and enzyme removal in a layered fixed bed dryer. This study was conducted as a randomized complete block design with four replications. Data analysis was done in IBM SPSS Statistics 26 software. In the end, in order to find the best treatment, Copeland integration technique was used. The results showed that the best treatment in terms of color changes is 75 ℃ - PCM, in terms of pH level is 65 ℃ - PCM, 65 ℃ - no PCM and 75 ℃ - no PCM and in terms of shrinkage percentage is 75 ℃ -no PCM, 55 ℃-no PCM and 75 ℃ - PCM. The superior treatment in the marketability section is 75℃- no PCM. The overall best treatment in terms of four quality indicators is 75℃- no PCM. https://jam.tabrizu.ac.ir/article_18438_a8c4688130b66c0b5831a1755228542d.pdf