The study aimed to develop a small-scale freeze drier machine for drying fruits and vegetables and retaining flavor, color, and nutrient content. The research was conducted at Nueva Vizcaya State University's College of Engineering in Bayombong, Nueva Vizcaya.

The findings revealed that the best freezing times for banana and mango were 5 hours and 6 hours, with the best heating times being 4 hours and 5 hours and 1 hour respectively. The freeze dryer's drying capacity was impressive, drying 84g of banana within an hour and 74g of mango within an hour. The moisture reduction rate was 24.6g/hr in bananas and 22.125g/hr in mango. The total product load of the freeze dryer was 40,343KJ. The initial investment in fabricating the machine was P23,417.00, with a projected annual cost of P40,280.26. The break-even point was 5,943,13 kg of fruits per year at a custom rate of P 0.2 per kilogram.

Keywords

Freeze Drying- a dehydration technique based on the sublimation of water in a product

Sublimation- conversion of a substance from the solid to the gaseous state without its becoming liquid

Moisture Content- the ratio of the mass of water contained in the pore spaces of soil to the solid mass of particles in that material, expressed as a percentage.

Thesis (Bachelor of Science in Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering - AB Process Engineering)

Includes bibliographical references and appendices