SECAGEM DA AMÊNDOA DE CACAU (CRIOLLO) EM DIFERENTESTEMPERATURAS CULTIVADO NA AMAZÔNIA

Abstract

Cocoa (Theobroma cacao L.) belongs to the Malvaceae family and represents global importance for the commercialization and production of chocolate (APROTOSOAIE et al., 2016), being generally cultivated in West Africa, Latin America and Southeast Asia (ABT et al. , 2018).According to Landau (2020), the plant can be used for human consumption, with its fruit being consumed fresh. However, the species is cultivated mainly for the use of its seeds or almonds, to produce various cocoa derivatives. The objective of the study in question is to determine the drying kinetics of cocoa beans of the variety (Criollo), at two different temperatures (50 °C, 60 °C), with an increasing time interval. The present work was developed during the first semester of 2024, in the agricultural engineering laboratory on the campus of the Federal Rural University of Amazonia (UFRA), in the municipality of Tomé-Açu/PA, with geographic coordinates of 02° 24’ 15’’S and 48° 09’ 51’’W. The results showed that despite the difference in temperature and the time spent drying the samples, both had a very similar water content. However, it was concluded that to achieve hygroscopic balance in less time, it is necessary to increase the temperature to which the samples will be subjected. The higher temperature significantly decreased the drying time, however, both temperatures achieved similar results in terms of water content in the samples. With the similarity highlighted in the results, it was found that temperature is an important factor in accelerating the drying process. drying, however it is possible that other factors influence the result.