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ARS Home » Pacific West Area » Albany, California » Western Regional Research Center » Healthy Processed Foods Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #190414
Title: MOISTURE TRANSFER IN SOLID FOOD MATERIALS: A REVIEW OF MECHANISMS, MODELS, AND MEASUREMENTS

Author
item SRIKIATDEN, JARUK - CORNELL UNIV., ITHACA, NY
item Roberts, John

Submitted to: International Journal of Food Properties
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 6/18/2006
Publication Date: 10/1/2007
Citation: Srikiatden, J., Roberts, J.S. 2007. Moisture Transfer in Solid Food Materials: A Review of Mechanisms, Models, and Measurements. International Journal of Food Properties. 10:4, 739-777

Interpretive Summary: Drying is one of the most important processes in the food industry as well as one of the most frequently studied topics in food engineering. Drying extends the shelf-life of perishable products and reduces the weight of products resulting in reduced transportation costs. Optimizing this process will result in lower production costs and increased product quality. This paper is a critical review on moisture transfer mechanisms, models developed to predict moisture transfer, and measurement of effective moisture diffusivity, the most common parameter used in models to predict moisture transfer.

Technical Abstract: Drying is one of the most important processes in the food industry as well as one of the most frequently studied topics in food engineering. Optimizing this process will result in lower production costs and increased product quality. Moisture transfer in heterogeneous materials, such as foods, is a complex process where more than one mechanism may occur. After over eighty years of applying Fick’s Second Law diffusion equation to drying of foods, there is still wide variability in reported diffusion coefficients. This paper is a critical review on moisture transfer mechanisms, models developed to predict moisture transfer, and measurement of effective moisture diffusivity, the most common parameter used in predicting moisture transfer.