No abstract

Nephelium Lappaceum (Rambutan) is a local seasonal fruit that has a short storage life. In this study, the effects of temperature on the drying of Nephelium Lappaceum samples were investigated. The present investigation was conducted at drying temperatures of 40ºC, 50ºC, 60ºC, 70ºC and 80ºC for 24 hours, and the drying kinetics of Nephelium Lappaceum were evaluated. The experimental data were fitted to five thin layer mathematical models, including the Lewis, Page, Handerson and Pabis, logarithmic and two-term model. These models were evaluated by comparing the coefficient of determination (R 2 ), chi square 2 ), reduced sum square error (SSE) and root mean square error (RMSE). The logarithmic model best fit the experimental data. The effective diffusivity, D eff , was calculated using Fick's diffusion equation, and the value of D eff varied from 1.34 x 10 -10 to 4.36 x 10 -10 m 2 /s. The activation energy, E a , and diffusivity constant, D 0 , were 24.99 kJ/mol and 2.23 x 10 -6 m 2 /s, respectively.

Application of microwave absorber (MWA) does affect the yield of microwave pyrolysis process. In this study, activated carbon and graphite have been used as microwave absorbers and the results were then compared with the microwave pyrolysis process without microwave absorber. The yield of solid and liquid increased while the yield of gas decreased with the application of MWA. Chemical functional group inside MWA also affected by the microwave pyrolysis process and energy content of MWA slightly increased from 24.54 MJ/kg to 29.57 MJ/kg and 32.17 MJ/kg to 32.24 MJ/kg for activated carbon and graphite, respectively.

Over recent years, there has been an explosive growth of interest in the development of novel gel-phase materials based on small molecules. It has been recognised that an effective gelator should possess functional groups that interact with each other via temporal associative forces. This process leads to the formation of supramolecular polymer-like structures, which then aggregated further hence, gelating the solvent. Supramolecular interactions between building blocks that enable gel formation include hydrogen bonds, interactions, solvatophobic effects and van der Waals forces.