Report of Group 1

Moisture Sorption Isotherm,

water
activity and Food preservation
Group members:
Pham Huynh Khanh Nam
Nguyen Khoi
Le Tran Quoc Thang

Contents:
Properties of Water
Moisture sorption Isotherm
Hysteresis
Water activity and Food preservation

1. Properties of water
Heat capacity of water
Water as high boiling point because of Hydrogen bonds between
water molecules
Dipole and hydrogen bonds
Oxygen has high electronegativity so it will pull electrons towards
it and become more negatively charged, while Hydrogen is
positively charged, also the angles formed by oxygen and
hydrogen is 104.5

Water can be a solvent

Many substances can dissolve in water, these are hydrophilic
substance, this is because water has dipole effect, substances
that cannot mix well with water are hydrophobic.

2. Solvation and dispersing action of water

Positively charged Ions such as Na interact with slight negatively charged

Oxygen atoms in water molecule, water is the solvent and NaCl is the
solute, the process of mixing a hydrophilic substance and water is called
solvation
Mixing can occur without solvation and this is called dispersion.
Eg of dispersion:
Water interact with amphiphilic molecule and the mixture contains micelles
Eg of micelles:
Vitamin A, D
Milk
3. Micelle
Water interact with the hydrophilic heads while the hydrophobic tail is
hidden away from water in the center of micelle, also micelle can be in the
form of bilayer

4. Moisture sorption isotherms

It shows the relationship between water activity and moisture at a given
Temperature and represent moisture content at equilibrium for each water
activity, it allows for predictions in changes of moisture content and its
potential
effect on water activity
If the temperature is altered, then the relationships can not be compared
equivalently
Water activity is very temperature dependent. Temperature
changes water activity due to changes in water binding,
dissociation of water, solubility of solutes in water, or the state of
the matrix.
The temperature dependence of water activity varies between
substances. Some substances have increased water activity with
increasing temperature, while others show a decrease with
increasing temperature. Most high moisture foods have negligible
change with temperature. One can therefore not predict even the
direction of the change of water activity with temperature, since it
depends on how temperature affects the factors that control
water activity in the substance

5. Hysteresis
Traditionally based on capillary condensation theory
The pore is allowed to be adsorbed by vapor (water) molecule, till
complete filling of the pore volume and then the vapor (water) is taken out
from the pore. The difference between adsorption and desorption is
hysteresis
Effects of temperature on Hysteresis:
Hysteresis size (loop difference), decreases as temperature increases
because increased temperature will increase the ability of molecules (vapor
water) to diffuse in and out of the pores, therefore will help the system
move toward the equilibrium
Effects of water removed and Hysteresis:
When too much water is desorbed, the water is taken out from the Bound
water and hence the food structure changes

6. Summary of water activity, controling water activity

and growth of micro organism
Water activity is a ratio of the vapor pressure of the water in the
substrate (p) to that of pure water at the same temperature (p
0

A water activity of 0.80 means the vapor pressure is 80 percent of that of

pure water. The water activity increases with temperature.
Most foods have a water activity above 0.95 and that will provide sufficient
moisture to support the growth of bacteria, yeasts, and mold. The amount

of available moisture can be reduced to a point which will inhibit the growth
of the organisms.
Quality and food security depends on pH and water activity (aw)
in food environment. Foods with water activity can be detroyed.
Water activity, pH, temperature, and other parameters, have a
direct impact on the growth of micro-organisms.
Free water that is available to molds, yeasts, and bacteria is
responsible for their growth and even toxin production.
Water activity (aw) has its most useful application in predicting
the growth of bacteria, yeasts and moulds.
It is necessary to control either its acidity level (pH) or the level of
water activity (aw) or a suitable combination of the two. This can
effectively increase the product's stability and make it possible to
predict its shelf life under known ambient storage conditions.

References:
http://www.fda.gov/iceci/inspections/inspectionguides/inspectiontechnicalgui
des/ucm072916.htm
http://www.utm.md/meridian/2012/MI_4_2012/8.%20Art.%20Sandulachi
%20E.%20Water.pdf
http://watereducation.utah.gov/waterscience/Properties/default.asp
http://quizlet.com/27833620/introduction-to-food-science-the-nature-ofmatter-lect-3-flash-cards/
http://www.science.uwaterloo.ca/~cchieh/cact/applychem/hydration.html
http://jun.bol.ucla.edu/illam/FOA7paper.pdf