Electroosmosis dewatering of tomato paste: Experimental data and neural network modeling

Author: S. Al-Asheh ^1*, F. Mjalli ¹, R. Jumah ², F. Banat ², W. Joudeh ² and F. Misleh ²

Received 8 September 2005, accepted 19 November 2005.

Abstract

An electroosmotic device was designed to remove water from tomato paste suspensions. The suspension was held in vertical column of 9.1 cm height and between two stainless steel electrodes, an upper serves as anode while the lower serves as a cathode. Direct current electroosmosis dewatering was achieved by the application of an electrical field which allows water to pass through the filter paper held in the lower section. The effects of voltage, current and initial solid concentration on the amount of water removal were examined. The energy of dewatering can be calculated from the measured experimental data. The experimental data were represented by neural network modeling scheme which describes the data accurately and adequately.