Evaluation of the Free Volume Theory to Predict Moisture Transport and Quality Changes During Broccoli Drying

摘要

Moisture diffusion in porous broccoli florets and stalks is modeled using the free volume and Maxwell-Eucken theories. These theories are based on the mobility of water and concern the variation of the effective diffusion coefficient for a wide range of temperature and moisture content during product drying. Mass and heat transport, shrinkage, and vitamin C degradation during drying of broccoli are simulated by a spatial model. The effective diffusion coefficient varies strongly with product moisture content and temperature. Vitamin C degradation is high at moisture contents around 2Â kg water/kg dry matter. The influence of the size of broccoli on the drying rate is evaluated for several types of broccoli florets and stalks.View full textDownload full textKeywordsBroccoli drying, Free volume theory, Moisture transport, Quality changes, Spatial modelRelated var addthis_config = { ui_cobrand: "Taylor & Francis Online", services_compact: "citeulike,netvibes,twitter,technorati,delicious,linkedin,facebook,stumbleupon,digg,google,more", pubid: "ra-4dff56cd6bb1830b" }; Add to shortlist Link Permalink http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/07373937.2011.596298