Equilibrium moisture content and heat of desorption of some vegetables

Hydrothermal carbonization improves the quality of biochar derived from livestock manure by removing inorganic matter

The application of hydrothermal carbonization to improve biomass-derived energy sources is crucial because of insufficient supplies of fossil fuels and concerns associated with the impact of fossil fuels on the environment. Hydrothermal carbonization technology has been developed to circumvent the energy-intensive drying step required for the thermal conversion of high-moisture organic feedstocks into fuel. In this study, the quality of livestock manure was upgraded, and its energy density was increased through hydrothermal carbonization at various temperatures. The evolution of waste biomass under hydrothermal carbonization was chemically analyzed. The increased carbon content of the resulting biochar upgraded its fuel properties, leading to energy savings in the treatment process. After hydrothermal carbonization, the H/C and O/C ratios were lower owing to chemical conversion. The optimal temperature for hydrothermal carbonization was approximately 220 °C. The inorganic content resulted in a lowered degree of agglomeration and reduced the likelihood of fouling during combustion. The thermogravimatric analysis also provided the changing combustion characteristics due to the increased fixed carbon content. Fourier transform infrared spectra revealed that hydrothermal carbonization reaction reduced the numbers of C-O and C-H functional groups and increased the number of aromatic C-H functional groups. The equilibrium moisture content decreased rapidly when hydrothermal carbonization was conducted at temperatures higher than 200 °C, and the initial moisture content was reduced by 75% after hydrothermal carbonization at 300 °C.

Thermal and mass transfer properties of a shrinkable industrial sludge: experimental determination and modeling approach

In this study the thermo-physical and mechanical properties of an industrial sludge like shrinkage coefficient, density, water activity, apparent moisture diffusivity, effective thermal conductivity and heat capacity are determined experimentally. These properties constitute a major part of the required input data to model the sludge drying. The sludge shrinks linearly until reaching a critical water content X_cr = 23% and then maintains a constant volume until the end of drying. Therefore, the density increases with decreasing the water content until the critical value (X_cr = 23%) then it decreases until the end of drying. The Henderson equation seems to be the most appropriate statistical model to describe the water sorption isotherm of the sludge. The apparent moisture diffusivity is determined from the numerical solution of Richard's law of diffusion with shrinkage. The results show that the effective thermal conductivity and the heat capacity decrease with the reduction of the water content from 2.60 W m^-1 K^-1 and 2.52 J g^-1 K^-1 for a wet sludge to 1.71 W m^-1 K^-1 and 0.78 J g^-1 K^-1 for a dry sludge respectively. The relationships between thermo-physical / mechanical properties and the water content / temperature of the sludge are established to be introduced in the created numerical drying model.

Sustainable Drying and Green Deep Eutectic Extraction of Carotenoids from Tomato Pomace

The extraction of molecules with high added value plays an important role in the recovery of food waste. This work aimed to valorize tomato pomace, a by-product composed of skin and seeds, through extraction of carotenoids, especially lycopene and β-carotene. The tomato pomace was dried using three different methods (freeze-drying, heat drying, and non-thermal air-drying) to reduce its weight, volume, and water activity and to concentrate the carotenoid fraction. These drying approaches were compared considering the extractive potential. Three solvent mixtures were compared, a traditional one (n-hexane:acetone) and two green deep eutectic solvent mixtures (ethyl acetate:ethyl lactate and menthol:lactic acid) in combination with different drying procedures. The extract obtained using ethyl acetate:ethyl lactate with non-thermal air-drying showed the highest contents of lycopene and β-carotene (75.86 and 3950.08 µg/g of dried sample, respectively) compared with the other procedures.

Design of Chitosan and Alginate Emulsion-Based Formulations for the Production of Monolayer Crosslinked Edible Films and Coatings

This study aimed to develop edible monolayer emulsion-based barriers with polysaccharides as film-forming components (chitosan and sodium alginate), soy lecithin as a surfactant and olive oil as a hydrophobic barrier. Monolayer barriers in the form of films were prepared by casting filmogenic emulsions composed of 2% w/v chitosan (dissolved in lactic acid 1% v/v) or 1% w/v sodium alginate, with different lipid contents (25, 50 and 100% w/w biopolymer basis) and different surfactant concentrations (5, 10 and 25% w/w, lipid basis). Glycerol was used as a plasticizer (25 % w/w, biopolymer basis). After the emulsion drying process, the obtained stand-alone films were sprayed with a crosslinking solution, achieving an optimized crosslinker content of 3.2 mgCa²⁺/cm² alginate film and 4 mg tripolyphosphate/cm² chitosan film. The effect of oil and lecithin contents, as well the presence of crosslinking agents, on the film’s water vapour permeability (WVP), water vapour sorption capacity, mechanical properties and colour parameters, was evaluated. The results have shown that the lowest WVP values were obtained with formulations containing 25% lipid and 25% surfactant for chitosan films, and 100% lipid and 25% surfactant for alginate films. The application of the crosslinking agents decreased even further the WVP, especially for chitosan films (by 30%). Crosslinking also increased films’ resistance to deformation under tensile tests. Overall, the films developed present a good potential as polysaccharide-based barriers with increased resistance to water, which envisages the use of the designed formulations to produce either edible/biodegradable films or edible coatings.

The Effect of Freeze-Drying on the Properties of Polish Vegetable Soups

The aim of this study was to investigate selected physical and biochemical properties of four vegetable freeze-dried soups. The water content, water activity, pH, color parameters, antioxidant activity (EC50), total polyphenolic content of fresh tomato, pumpkin, beetroot, and cucumber, and freeze-dried soups were measured. Sensory analysis was applied to compare sensory attributes of fresh and rehydrated soups. The sorption isotherms of freeze-dried soups were obtained with the application of the static and dynamic vapor sorption (DVS) method. The application of the freeze-drying method enabled the obtaining of dry soups with a low water content of 2–3%. The drying caused a significant change of color of all soups. The redness of soups decreased after drying for the beetroot soups from +39.64 to +21.91. The lower chroma value of 25.98 and the highest total color change ΔE*ab = 36.74 were noted for freeze-dried beetroot soup. The antioxidation activity and total polyphenolic content were reduced after drying, especially for the cucumber and tomato soups. The Peleg model was selected to describe the sorption isotherms of dried soups. The sorption isotherm of freeze-dried cucumber and beetroot soups had a sigmoidal shape of type II. The shape of the moisture sorption isotherm for freeze-dried tomato and pumpkin soups corresponded more with type III isotherms. The DVS method can be used to characterize the moisture sorption isotherms of freeze-dried products.

Microencapsulation of Pineapple Peel Extract by Spray Drying Using Maltodextrin, Inulin, and Arabic Gum as Wall Matrices

A pineapple peel hydroalcoholic extract rich in phenolic compounds, was stabilized by microencapsulation using spray drying technology, with maltodextrin, inulin, and arabic gum as wall materials. The influence of the type of wall material and drying temperature (150 and 190 °C) on the particles properties was studied. The particles presented a spherical shape with a diameter ranging from approximately 1.3 to 18.2 µm, the exception being the ones with inulin that showed a large degree of agglomeration. All powders produced presented an intermediate cohesiveness and a fair to good flowability according to Carr index and Hausner ratio, which envisages suitable handling properties at an industrial scale. The microencapsulation processes using maltodextrin and arabic gum at 150 °C were the ones that showed higher maintenance of the antioxidant activity of compounds present in the extract before encapsulation during spray drying. In addition, the microparticles obtained were quite efficient in stabilizing the encapsulated phenolic compounds, as their antioxidant activity did not change significantly during six months of storage at 5 °C.

Moisture adsorption properties and shelf-life estimation of dried and pulverised edible house cricket Acheta domesticus (L.) and black soldier fly larvae Hermetia illucens (L.)

Edible insects are part of the diets of a significant proportion of rural populations in the tropics especially Africa and Asia, and their use as source of key nutrients for better nutrition is re-emerging. Indigenously, elemental methods are used to process the insects before they are consumed or sold in retail outlets. In recent years, better knowledge of processing, packaging and storage has become necessary because of commercialisation needs. A common processing approach involves drying after a brief heat-treatment step, and then milling into a powdered product which is sold to manufacturers or consumers as ingredient for processing final products. The hydration properties of dried powders of edible house cricket and black soldier fly larvae (BSFL) were studied with the aim of predicting shelf-life stability under typical packaging and storage temperatures experienced in the tropics. Moisture adsorption isotherms were determined gravimetrically at 25, 30 and 35 °C, over 0.11-0.97 water activity (a_W) range, and the data fitted to various models. Sorption isotherms were of type II according to Brunauer classification indicating monolayer-multilayer sorption behaviour. Cricket powder exhibited higher hydration capacity, and a_W of this product was less sensitive to temperature variation as compared to BSFL powder. In the two products, water exhibited transitions from bound- to free- state at ~5 g/100 g moisture content. Based on Heiss-Eichner model, a shelf-life of 7 months at 25 °C can be achieved if the cricket and BSFL powders are dried to ca. 5 g/100 g moisture content and packaged in 80 μm thick polyethylene films. At 35 °C the shelf-life of the cricket product is shortened three- to four-fold whereas the BSFL powder is unable to store.

Note: Moisture Sorption Isotherms and Isosteric Heat of Red Bell Pepper (var. Lamuyo)

Sorption isotherms of red pepper (var. Lamuyo) were determined at three temperatures (10, 20 and 30°C) in a range of water activity from 0.10 to 0.96. BET, GAB, Halsey, Herderson, Caurie, Smith, Oswin and Iglesias—Chirife equations were tested for modelling the sorption isotherms. The statistical evaluation of fit quality of the preceding models showed good results using the BET, GAB, Halsey and Iglesias—Chirife models on experimental sorption data. The BET and GAB models showed monolayer moisture contents from 0.07 to 0.10 g water/g (d.b.); however, they did not show direct dependence on temperature. The Clausius—Clapeyron equation satisfactorily determined the sorption isosteric heats, which were found to increase as the moisture content decreased; the desorption heat (74.2kJ/mol) was higher than that of adsorption heat (36.9kJ/mol). The preceding experimental data showed a good quality fit when evaluated with the Tsami equation.

Technological Application of Maltodextrins According to the Degree of Polymerization

Maltodextrin (MX) is an ingredient in high demand in the food industry, mainly for its useful physical properties which depend on the dextrose equivalent (DE). The DE has however been shown to be an inaccurate parameter for predicting the performance of the MXs in technological applications, hence commercial MXs were characterized by mass spectrometry (MS) to determine their molecular weight distribution (MWD) and degree of polymerization (DP). Samples were subjected to different water activities (a_w). Water adsorption was similar at low a_w, but radically increased with the DP at higher a_w. The decomposition temperature (T_d) showed some variations attributed to the thermal hydrolysis induced by the large amount of adsorbed water and the supplied heat. The glass transition temperature (T_g) linearly decreased with both, a_w and DP. The microstructural analysis by X-ray diffraction showed that MXs did not crystallize with the adsorption of water, preserving their amorphous structure. The optical micrographs showed radical changes in the overall appearance of the MXs, indicating a transition from a glassy to a rubbery state. Based on these characterizations, different technological applications for the MXs were suggested.

Physical and sensory properties of ready to eat apple chips produced by osmo-convective drying

The low cost raw material, apple variety Idared, was turned into value-added product, apple chips. The apple chips were produced in a two-step process consisting of osmotic treatment and conventional drying. Osmotic treatment was carried out in 40 % glucose solution at room temperature, followed by convective drying at 105 °C, till reaching water activity of 0.3. Mechanical properties of the apple chips measured by compression and penetration tests were correlated with the sorption properties. The low browning index, 25.5 and high whitening index, 63.7, proved the good retention of the color of the apple chips. The instrumental characteristics of the apple chips were correlated with the sensory characteristics of the product. The new product was accepted by the 95 % of the panelists. The stored apple chips under modified atmosphere showed no significant changes in the quality parameters over 6 month period.

Moisture Sorption Isotherms, Isosteric Heat of Sorption and Glass Transition Temperature of Murtilla (Ugni molinae T.) Berry

Adsorption and desorption isotherms of fresh and dried murtilla (Ugni molinae Turcz) berries were determined at 20, 40 and 60°C using a gravimetric technique. The experimental data obtained were fitted to eight models, namely GAB, BET, Henderson, Caurie, Smith, Oswin, Halsey and Iglesias–Chirife. A non-linear least square regression analysis was used to evaluate the models. The GAB model best fitted the experimental data. Isosteric heat of sorption was determined from the equilibrium sorption data using the Clausius–Clapeyron equation and was found to decrease exponentially with increasing moisture content. The enthalpy–entropy compensation theory applied to the sorption isotherms indicated an enthalpy controlled sorption process. Glass transition temperature of murtilla was determined by differential scanning calorimetry and modelled as a function of moisture content by the Gordon–Taylor equation and as function of water activity by Roos and Khalloufi models, which proved to be excellent tools for predicting glass transition of murtilla.

Thermodynamic analysis of sorption isotherms of cassava (Manihot esculenta)

Sorption isotherms of cassava were determined experimentally using a static gravimetric method at 30, 45 and 60 °C and within the range of 0.10-0.90 water activity. At a constant water activity, equilibrium moisture content decreased with increasing temperature. The equilibrium moisture content increased with increasing water activity at a given temperature. The experimental results were modelled using seven sorption models using non-linear regression technique. Results demonstrated that the GAB model adequately predicted equilibrium moisture content of cassava for the range of temperatures and water activities studied. The thermodynamic functions such as net isosteric heat of sorption, differential entropy of sorption, net integral enthalpy and entropy were evaluated to provide an understanding of the properties of water and energy requirements associated with the sorption behaviour. Net isosteric heat and differential entropy decreased with increasing equilibrium moisture content. The net integral enthalpy decreased while net integral entropy increased with increasing equilibrium moisture content. Net integral entropy was negative in value. All thermodynamic functions were adequately characterised by a power law model. The point of maximum stability was found between 0.053 and 0.154 kg water/kg db for cassava.

Physical properties of inulin and inulin-orange juice: physical characterization and technological application

In this work two systems based on a carbohydrate polymer were studied: inulin as model system and inulin-orange juice as complex system. Both system were stored at different water activity conditions and subsequently characterized. Water adsorption isotherms type II were fitted by the GAB model and the water monolayer content was determined for each system. From thermal analyzes it was found that at low water activities (aw) systems were fully amorphous. As aw increased, crystallinity was developed. This behavior was corroborated by X-ray diffraction. In the inulin-orange juice system, crystallization appears at lower water activity caused by the intensification of the chemical interaction of the low molecular weight species contained in orange juice. Glass transition temperature (Tg), determined by modulated differential scanning calorimeter, decreased with aw. As water is adsorbed, the physical appearance of samples changed which could be observed by optical microscopy and effectively related with the microstructure found by scanning electron microscopy.

Onion dehydration: a review

Onion (Allium cepa), a very commonly used vegetable, ranks third in the world production of major vegetables. Apart from imparting a delicious taste and flavour due to its pungency in many culinary preparations, it serves several medicinal purposes also. Processing and preservation of onion by suitable means is a major thrust area since a long time. The various kinds of treatments followed for dehydration of onion such as convective air drying, solar drying, fluidized bed drying, vacuum microwave drying, infrared drying and osmotic drying are reviewed here. These techniques are mainly used for preservation and value addition of onion. Several researchers have tried for decades to model the drying kinetics and quality parameters, which are also compiled here briefly.

Analysis of moisture desorption isotherms of eggplant (Solanum melongena)

Sorption isotherms of eggplant were determined employing, as experimental technique, a static gravimetric method, using saturated salt solutions to achieve the equilibrium. The experiments were carried out at different temperatures (20, 35, 50 and 65 °C). The sorption isotherms can be classified, according to Brunauer's classification, as type II or III depending on temperature. Equilibrium moisture content data were correlated by two models usually applied to foodstuffs (Brunauer--Emmet--Teller (BET) and Halsey). BET model was employed to determine monolayer moisture content (0.121 kg/kg d.b.). Halsey model was selected by the goodness of fitting. Experimental data were analyzed by a thermodynamic approach to obtain some properties as net isosteric heat, equilibrium heat and differential and net integral entropy. The differential enthalpy and entropy decreased with increasing moisture content and satisfied the compensation theory. The net integral enthalpy and entropy showed maximum values (≈31 kJ/mol and ≈88 J/mol.K) at 0.093 (kg/kg d.b.) of moisture content.