Journal of Food Engineering 91 (2009) 72–77

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Journal of Food Engineering

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Modified classification of sorption isotherms

Jiří Blahovec a,*, Stavros Yanniotis b
a
Department of Physics, Czech University of Life Sciences, 16521 Praha 6-Suchdol, Kamycka Street, Czech Republic
b
Department of Food Science and Technology, Agricultural University of Athens, Iera Odos 75, 11855 Athens, Greece

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: A new equation is developed in this paper which is further used to divide sorption isotherms into classes
Received 20 December 2007 which are connected to surface water effects and/or solution water effects and their combinations. It is
Received in revised form 11 August 2008 shown that sorption isotherms can be successfully classified using the new equation into three basic clas-
Accepted 11 August 2008
ses I, II (most frequent) and III which roughly correspond to the original Brunauer’s classes. The equation
Available online 19 August 2008
is also used for further division of class II into three subclasses. Criteria for these classifications are
presented.
Keywords:
Ó 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Sorption
Isotherm
GAB
HH equation
Food
Polynomial
Water
Activity
Classification

1. Introduction
Sorption isotherms represent the relation between water con-
tent and water activity of any material at a given temperature.
The water activity is then defined as the ratio of the water vapour
pressure above the material to the vapour pressure of pure water
at the same temperature. The sorption isotherms provide impor-
tant information on the product stability in relation to microbial
and enzyme activity (Karel, 1975). This is why the sorption iso-
therms of foods and agricultural products have been extensively
studied; the list of the measured isotherms even at the beginning
of 1980s numbered more than a thousand (Iglesias and Chirife,
1982).
A large number of theoretical and empirical models have been
used to describe sorption isotherms. Van den Berg and Bruin
(1981) classified the 77 most important models into three groups:
theoretical (48), partially theoretical (15), and fully empirical (14).
The crucial equation among the theoretical models is the Lang-
muir’s isotherm which is based on the forces acting between the
product surface and the water condensed from the vapour as a
monomolecular layer. The extensions of the Langmuir’s underpin-
ning idea to multi molecular layers result in the BET and GAB iso-
therms which are able to describe sigmoidal shape isotherms
commonly observed in the case of food and other materials of bio-
* Corresponding author. Fax: +420 234381828.
E-mail address: blahovec@tf.czu.cz (J. Blahovec).
logical origin. The GAB isotherm has been particularly successful
for water activities up to 0.9 (van den Berg, 1984).
Brunauer classified sorption isotherms according to their
shape and processes which controlled the shape (Brunauer,
1943). Brunauer’s classification (I) represents Langmuir and/or
similar isotherms which show a characteristic increase in water
activity with increasing moisture content, and the first derivative
of this plot increases with the moisture water content. This type
of sorption isotherm is typically applicable for filling the water
monomolecular layer at the internal surface of a material. The
sigmoidal sorption isotherms, like BET and/or GAB equations,
represent the type II of the Brunauer’s classification. This type
takes into account the existence of multilayers at the internal
surface of a material. The isotherms of type III (Brunauer’s clas-
sification) are relatively rare (Adamson, 1976). They are charac-
terised by the moisture content increasing with water activity
in such a manner that the first derivative of moisture content
also increasing with increasing water activity. This type of sorp-
tion isotherm is observed frequently in the case of solids soluble
in water e.g., sugars and it is described by formulae similar to
Raoult’s Law. The more complicated sorption isotherms of IVth
and Vth classes of the Brunauer’s classification are frequently ob-
served in the case of capillary condensation (Adamson, 1976)
where sorption depends sensitively on the distribution of pore
dimensions.
The class II isotherms in the GAB form can be interpreted as
a superposition of the localised monolayer adsorption on the

0260-8774/$ - see front matter Ó 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.jfoodeng.2008.08.007
 J. Blahovec, S. Yanniotis / Journal of Food Engineering 91 (2009) 72–77 73

 
internal material surface and the dilution of some part of the solids aw A aw AE
¼ þ B
in solution (van den Berg, 1984). The mathematical expressions for w D D D w
!" !#
this theory were developed originally for polymer hydration by
a2 EB AE2 X1  Eaw i
Hailwood and Horobin (1946). þ w C1 þ  2   ð2dÞ
In this paper, we develop a new equation which not only suc-
D D D i¼0 D
cessfully describes experimental sorption data but can also be used
as a basis for the classification of the sorption isotherms observed The quadratic term in Eq. (2d) is modified in the infinite sum that
in foods. can be summed as two infinite geometric series, obtaining the fol-
lowing equation
  !
aw A aw AE a2 EB AE2 1
2. The proposed equation ¼ þ B  w C1 þ  2 ð2eÞ
w D D D D D D 1 þ DE aw
The Langmuir isotherm is one of the best known adsorption
Eq. (2e) shows that the proposed Eq. (2) gives for aw/w a polynomial
models which apply up to monolayer coverage. It can be expressed
expression similar to the basic HH model does but with modified
in the following form (van den Berg and Bruin, 1981)
parameters. For the special case where E = 0, Eq. (2e) corresponds
wL C L aw to the ‘G.A.B.’ equation
¼ ð1Þ
wm 1 þ C L aw aw A B C1
¼ þ aw  a2w ð2fÞ
where wL is the moisture content (d.b.); wm is the monolayer value; w D D D
aw is the water activity and; CL is a fitted parameter. where
Eq. (1) can be rewritten into the alternative form
A 1
aw ¼ ð3aÞ
wL ¼ ð1aÞ D wm KC
a1 þ b1 aw
where a1 ¼ ðC L wm Þ1 and b1 ¼ ðwm Þ1 . B 1
¼ ðC  2Þ ð3bÞ
For real solutions, water activity is given by D Cwm
wSR
aw ¼ cX w ¼ c ð1bÞ C1 K
wSR þ ns ¼ ðC  1Þ ð3cÞ
D Cwm
where c activity coefficient; wS = 18.02  wSR, the water content of
the solution; ns is the moles of the adsorbing solute in the solu- are related to the usual C, wm, and K, the ‘G.A.B.’ parameters used in
tion.Rearrangement of Eq. (1b) gives Eq. (2c).
Eq. (2e) can be simplified when new parameters X1, X2, X3, and
aw
wS ¼ ð1cÞ X4 are defined
a2  b2 aw
aw a2w
where a2 = c/(18.02  ns) and b2 = (18.02  ns)1. ¼ X 1 þ ðX 2  X 1 X 4 Þaw  ðX 3 þ X 2 X 4  X 1 X 24 Þ ð4Þ
If we consider that the water in foods adsorbs in the form of a w 1 þ X 4 aw
localized monolayer on the internal material surface and dilutes where
some part of solids in a complex solution of salts, sugars and pro-
teins, the superposition of Eqs. (1a) and (1c) will give the total A a1 a2
X1 ¼ ¼ ð4aÞ
amount of water adsorbed in a food. Thus D a1 þ a2
aw aw
w¼ þ : ð2Þ B a2 b1  a1 b2
a1 þ b1 aw a2  b2 aw X2 ¼ ¼ ð4bÞ
D a1 þ a2
The first term in Eq. (2) represents the amount of water bonded to
the sorption sites of the solid and the second one represents water C1 b1 b2
X3 ¼ ¼ ð4cÞ
present in the complex aqueous solution of the food. When D a1 þ a2
b1 = b2 = b, Eq. (2) takes the form of the Hailwood and Horobin’s
(‘HH.’) sorption equation (Hailwood and Horobin, 1946) E b1  b2
X4 ¼ ¼ ð4dÞ
aw aw D a1 þ a2
w¼ þ : ð2aÞ
a1 þ baw a2  baw where ai and bi are parameters in Eq. (2).
Eq. (2a) can be rewritten into the ‘G.A.B.’ equation, in which a1 = Eq. (4) can be simplified now into the final form
1/[wm(C1)K], a2 = 1/[wmK], and b = 1/wm are related to the stan- aw a2w
dard ‘G.A.B’ variables wm, K and C (van den Berg, 1981) ¼ X 1 þ X 02 aw  X 03 ð4eÞ
w 1 þ X 4 aw
wm CKaw using new parameters X 02 and X 03
w¼ : ð2bÞ
ð1  Kaw Þð1  Kaw þ CKaw Þ
X 02 ¼ X 2  X 1 X 4 ð4fÞ
For Eq. (2), the ratio aw/w is expressed as follows
aw A þ Baw  C 1 a2w X 03 ¼ X 3 þ X 2 X 4  X 1 X 24 ¼ X 3 þ X 4 X 02 ð4gÞ
¼ ð2cÞ
w D þ Eaw
where A = a1a2, B = a2b1a1b2, C1 = b1b2, D = a1 + a2, E = b1b2. When 3. Properties of the proposed equation
E = 0, i.e., b1 = b2, Eq. (2c) gives the regular formula (van den Berg,
1981) that is used for approximation of sorption data by the Eq. (2d) has interesting properties predetermined by the
‘G.A.B.’ equation. Eq. (2c) can be expressed by a Taylor series around parameters a1, b1, a2, and b2. The crucial role is played by its prop-
aw = 0 as erties at zero water activity. The value of aw/w at this point is equal
74 J. Blahovec, S. Yanniotis / Journal of Food Engineering 91 (2009) 72–77

to A/D = a1a2/(a1 + a2). The first derivative at the same point is Comparing the inequality (6a) with inequality (5b) it is clear that
given then as the turning point can be formed only with an initially increasing
 aw  function for aw/w, and this turning point is maximum when it is ob-
d w B AE a2 b1  a21 b2
¼  ¼ X 02 ¼ 2 ¼ D10 ð5aÞ served (Blahovec and Yanniotis, 2007).
daw 0 D D2 ða1 þ a2 Þ2 In the general case (b1 – b2), the maximum is given by the
This value is positive, i.e., the function aw/w is an increasing one, if following formula
2 sffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi3 " sffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi#
a22 b1  a21 b2 ð5bÞ 1 4 X 4 X 02 5 1 X 4 D10
awm ¼ 1 1 ¼ 1 1 ð6cÞ
X4 X3 X4 X3
or alternatively if
X2  X1X4 ð5cÞ where D10 is first derivative of aw/w at aw = 0 given by Eq. (5a).
There exists a simple relation between the first derivatives of w
The function is decreasing when the opposite inequalities to Eqs.
and aw/w vs. aw
(5b) and (5c) are fulfilled. When b1 = b2, the function at the zero
  
point is increasing if a2 > a1 and vice versa. dw w d aww
The first derivative of Eq. (2f) is given by ¼ 1w ð7Þ
daw aw daw
 
d aww X 0  2X 3 aw  X 3 X 4 a2w
¼ 2 ð6Þ which indicates that for positive w and aw, the negative (aw/w)
daw ð1 þ X 4 aw Þ2 derivative is followed by increase in w vs. aw. For positive values
which for E = 0 (i.e., b1 = b2 = b) is of the derivative of (aw/w), the w derivative is less than the ratio
  w/aw. When the (aw/w) derivative is zero, the w derivative is
d aww b w/aw, so that the tangent to the usual sorption isotherm at this
¼ X 2  2X 3 aw ¼ ða2  a1  2baw Þ ð6aÞ
daw a1 þ a2 point is the line going through the initial values (w = aw = 0).
The plot aw/waw has a mathematical extreme (or a turning point) The shapes of the plots of aw/w vs. aw are given in Fig. 1. Fig. 1a
at water activity awm if Eq. (6a) is equal to zero for awm in the usual shows the influence of the parameters a1 and a2. For lower param-
range h0,1i, i.e., when the following inequalities are fulfilled eters a2 the lower initial slopes of aw/waw plots are observed in
agreement with Eq. (5a). The greater the value of b1 the greater
B a2  a1 is the slope of the plot.
0  a2  a1  2b; awm ¼ ¼ ð6bÞ
2C 1 2b
4. Classification of the sorption isotherms

Classification of the sorption isotherms is based on non-linear

a 10-20- 5-10 regression analysis of the data: (a) using the plot of w vs. aw and
10 20-10- 5-10 determining the four parameters a1, a2, b1, and b2 from Eq. (2) –
10-20-10- 5 the parameters A, B, C1, D and E are then calculated using equations
20-10-10- 5
8
given close to Eq. (2c); (b) using the plot of aw/w vs. aw and deter-
mining the four parameters X1, X 02 , X 03 , and X4 from Eq. (4e). The
parameters A/D, B/D, C1/D, and E/D are then calculated using the
(-)

6 formulae given by Eqs. (4a)–(4d), (4f) and (4g). The initial deriva-
aw/w

tive of aw/w vs. aw is calculated from Eq. (5a). When this value is
less than or equal to zero, the sorption isotherm can be classified
4 as solution-like (III class of the Brunauer’s classification). For high-
er values of water activity, the slope of the ratio aw/w vs. aw dec-
reases in its negative values, so that, in agreement with
2 discussion following Eq. (7), the slope of moisture content (w) vs.
0 0.2 0. 4 0.6 0. 8 1
water activity (aw) will increase with increasing water activity
Water Activity (-) which is typical for solution behaviour described by the Raoult’s
law.
1-1-1-2
b 0.6 When the initial aw/w derivative is positive, we can have two
1-1-5-1 important classes of isotherms: the Langmuir-like isotherms (I
0.5 1-1-1-1 class of the Brunauer’s classification) and GAB-like isotherms (II
0.4
1-1-5-5 class of Brunauer’s classification). In the case of Langmuir’s-like
aw /w (-)

isotherm, the maximum is missing on the aw/waw plot so that

0.3 no solution of awm in the interval h0, 1i can be found (see Eqs.
(6b) and (6c)). In the opposite case, the isotherm may be classified
0.2 as GAB-like.
The sorption isotherms can be characterised in greater detail by
0.1
additional parameters. A key parameter is the initial value of aw/w:
0 (aw/w)0 = X1. This value expresses the reciprocal value of the first
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 derivative of the regular sorption isotherm at the initial point
Water Activity (-) aw = 0. It is clear from Eq. (7) that the first derivative of the stan-
dard sorption isotherm is positive and much lower for the solution
Fig. 1. The ratio aw/w plotted vs. water activity for different parameters a1, a2, b1, like sorption isotherms than for the other two types of isotherms.
and b2 (numerical data given in this sequence) in the legends of the figure. The Another important quantity that characterizes the isotherms is the
values of the parameters were selected so that the initial value (A/D = a1a2/(a1 + a2))
in one figure was the same (a) two values of ai and bi in combination, (b) the same
initial derivative of the aw/waw plot. This parameter is not only
values of ai and different values of bi. the key parameter for separation of the solution-like isotherms
 J. Blahovec, S. Yanniotis / Journal of Food Engineering 91 (2009) 72–77 75

from the other two types, but its numerical value can be under-
stood as a measure of the special character (consisted in solution
a 0.050
and/or surface forces). This quantity is denoted as D10 and it is
given by Eq. (5a). The last important parameter is the ratio of the 0.040
first derivative of the aw/waw plot at the final value (i.e., at
aw = 1) to the first derivative at the initial value (at aw = 0), denoted 0.030

aw/w
as Rfi that is given by Eqs. (5a) and (6) Type I
0.020
1 X 3 2þX
X 02
4
Type III
Rfi ¼ 2
: ð8Þ
ð1 þ X 4 Þ 0.010

This parameter should be positive for both the solution-like and

0.000
Langmuir-like sorption isotherms. In case of solution-like isotherms 0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0
Rfi, is greater than 1 which indicates the increase in the isotherm Water Activity
curvature. In case of Langmuir-like isotherms, the Rfi is less than 1
but greater than 0 and similarly, as in the previous case, the devia- b 180
tion from 1 is a measure of the isotherm curvature. The deviation Rfi

Moisture Content (% db)

from zero is also a measure of deviation from the GAB-like iso-
therms for which Rfi should be negative. Absolute value of the Rfi
parameter could be understood in this case as an indication of par-
ticipation of solution-like effect in the sorption at the end of the
sorption isotherm. A similar role to Rfi is played at GAB-like iso-
therms by awm, the water activity corresponding to the maximum
of aw/waw plot. The awm is given by Eqs. (6b) and (6c).
Brunauer’s original classification (Brunauer, 1943) includes two
more classes IV and V that cannot be included in our system that is
based on combination of solution and surface forces. The sorption
isotherms of these two classes are very rare in foods and they are
usually connected either with complicated structures or with cap-
illary sorption (Adamson, 1976). When the curvilinear character is
really marked, the attempts to approximate such isotherms by the
proposed model are unsuccessful.
5. New classification applied to selected sorption isotherms
The new classification system proposed in this work was
applied to 115 sorption isotherms given in the literature mainly
for different agricultural products and/or foods. They were the data
given by Abramovic and Klofutar (2006); Aviara et al. (2004);
Ayranci and Dalgis (1992); Brunauer et al. (1940); Ditmar
(1935); Geurts et al. (1974); Iglesias and Chirife (1982); Iglesias
et al. (1997); Iguaz and Virseda (2007); Kargin (1957); Kaymak-
Ertekin and Gedik (2004); Kiranoudis et al. (1993); Kumar and
Balasubrahmanyam (1986); Labuza et al. (1985); Lazarides
(1991); Loncin et al. (1968); Maroulis et al. (1988); Peng et al.
(2007); Sitaula and Bhowmick (2006); Schär and Rüegg (1985);
Timmermann and Chirife (1991); Trujillo et al. (2003); Turhan
and Gunasekaran (2002); van den Berg (1981); van den Berg
(1984); van den Berg and Bruin (1981); Wolf et al. (1972); Wolf
et al. (1984); Yamanaka et al. (1989); Yanniotis and Zarmboutis
(1996). The sorption isotherms were analysed on the basis of aw/
waw plots, using statgraphics applied to Eq. (4e) for nonlinear
regression analysis. It was found that only three sorption isotherms
could be classified as Langmuir-like (type I) and only one directly
as solution-like (type III). Representative sorption isotherms of
these types (types I and III) are given in Fig. 2. From the other
111 isotherms 93 were classified easily to be GAB-like isotherms;
the coefficient of determination was high: greater than 0.9 in 83
cases and greater than 0.999 in 8 cases. Typical sorption isotherms
of this type are plotted in Fig. 3.
In 14 cases, the nonlinear regression led to values which cannot
be interpreted physically – either X1 was negative or the sum
X 1 þ X 02  X 03 =ð1 þ X 4 Þ was negative – consequently giving negative
moisture content values for some water activities in the range <0,
1>. Even though the predicted values were outside the interval of
the approximated experimental data in all the observed cases, it
160
140
120
Type I
100
80 Type III
60
40
20
0
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 1.2
Water Activity
Fig. 2. The characteristic sorption isotherms: Langmuir-like (type I – carbon
disulfide on charcoal at 59.5 °C – Brunauer et al. (1940), R2 = 1, D10 = 0.0,077,
Rfi = 0.748, X1 = 5.99  105, X4 = 2.534) and solution-like (type III – sucrose
amorphous, adsorption at 35 °C – Iglesias and Chirife (1982) R2 = 0.998,
D10 = 0.013, Rfi = 4.936, X1 = 0.0457, X4 = 0.0234). (a) aw/w plotted against water
activity, (b) the standard plot of the sorption isotherm (moisture content d.b. vs.
water activity).
is necessary to conclude that the proposed equation is not suitable
for approximating the data in these 14 cases. These cases can be
divided into two subclasses. The first one is represented by data
that are approximated by Eq. (4e) relatively well but the approxi-
mation obtained is not able to describe the main trends of the sorp-
tion isotherm in some critical parts. An example of this case is
plotted in Fig. 4: Eq. (4e) is not able to follow the curved character
of the data and thus negative values are predicted for aw/w at aw
close to 1. The sorption isotherm in Fig. 4 was well classified as
the isotherm of type II but the prediction at high water activities
is wrong. The second subclass of these 14 cases is given by some
less precise isotherm data that, after transformation into Eq. (4e),
lead to worse approximations with lower values of coefficient of
determination. In some cases, the less exact sorption data, even
in part of the sorption isotherm (frequently at the low water activ-
ity values), lead to the above mentioned strange effects. Among the
14 sorption isotherms with the strange approximations, the first
subclass was most frequent; in 12 cases their coefficient of deter-
mination was higher than 0.9. Most sorption isotherms of this class
were determined as isotherms of the II type (GAB-like: 10 items)
and the others as isotherms of the III type (solution-like: 4 items).
GAB-like isotherms are the most frequent: 93 items well de-
scribed by Eq. (4e) and further 10 items with some strange behav-
iour. Fig. 3 shows that this class of isotherms contains isotherms of
variable shape, where the parameter X4 plays an important role.
Fig. 5 contains the plot of Rfi given by Eq. (8) vs. X4 for 75 GAB-like
isotherms that was approximated with coefficient of determina-
tion greater than 95%. It is clear from the figure that the plot can
be approximated by a power function with X4 + B in argument
and B approximately 1. The exponent of the function is little less
76 J. Blahovec, S. Yanniotis / Journal of Food Engineering 91 (2009) 72–77

0.150 X4

Ratio of Final to Initional Derivative (R fi)

0
Type IIa
-2 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16
Type IIb -1
0.100 Type IIc
aw /w

-2
99.9
0.050 -3 99
95
-4 Approximation
0.000
0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 -5
Water Activity
-6
30
-7
Moisture Content (% db)

25
Type IIa Fig. 5. Ratio of the final to the initial slope of aw/waw plot – Rfi from Eq. (8) plotted
against parameter X4 for 75 sorption isotherms from literature (see text). The
20 Type IIb numbers in the legend denote minimal coefficients of determination in the sets
Type IIc expressed in percent. The plot is approximated by the following expression
15 Rfi = A(X4 + B)n, where A = 1.1462 ± 0.1891, B = 1.1589 ± 0.1199, n = 1.3719 ±
0.3203 are parameters (R2 = 0.851).

10
value at which a similar maximum is observed for the case X4 = 0.
5 The experimental data in Fig. 6 are plotted using a similar power
formula with the argument approximately equal to 1 + X4. We can
0 then divide the sorption isotherms into three classes: class IIa rep-
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 resented by nearly classical GAB sorption isotherms; they are iso-
Water Activity therms with X4 close to zero: 0.1 < X4 < 0.1, the type IIb with
X4 < 0.1; and the type IIc with X4 > 0.1 (see also Fig. 3). Type IIb
Fig. 3. The characteristic GAB-like isotherms. Type IIa is close to the standard GAB
isotherm: 0.1 6 X4 6 0.1 – the sorption isotherm for adsorption of chicken at
is closer to the Langmuir-like isotherms at lower water activities
60 °C – Wolf et al. (1972), R2 = 0.999, D10 = 0.245, Rfi = 1.177, X1 = 0.0181, and type IIc is closer to the solution-like isotherms at higher water
X4 = 0.0738, awm = 0.433; type IIb is typical by X4 < 0.1 – desorption of soya bean activities. The subtype IIc is sometimes observed in the case of fruits
at 70 °C – Aviara et al. (2004), R2 = 0.997, D10 = 0.122, Rfi = 5.494, X1 = 0.0037, and vegetables (e.g., pineapple in Fig. 4). X4 expresses the combined
X4 = 0.8228, awm = 0.709; type IIc is typical when X4 > 0.1 – adsorption of Pecan
effect of parameters a1, a2, b1 and b2 and its sign depends on the rel-
nut at 25 °C – Wolf et al. (1972), R2 = 0.998, D10 = 0.596, Rfi = 0.247, X1 = 0.0289,
X4 = 1.4009, awm = 0.516. (a) aw/w plotted against water activity, (b) the standard ative magnitude of b1 and b2. High monolayer values correspond to
plot of the sorption isotherm (moisture content d.b. vs. water activity). low values of b1 and negative X4 (Langmuir-like isotherms). Low
monolayer values correspond to high b1 and positive X4 (solution-
like isotherms). The basic characteristics of sorption isotherms
0.10 according to the criteria developed in this paper are summarised
in Table 1. In summary, the proposed equation describes sorption
0.08 isotherms in the whole range of water activity (0–1) successfully
Experiment
(Fig. 7) and can be used for quantitative classification of sorption
0.06 Approximation
isotherms. More detailed analysis of experimental isotherms will
be published separately (Yanniotis and Blahovec, submitted for
aw/w

0.04 publication).

0.02
3.5
0.00
3.0
Relative awmax

0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1

99.9
-0.02 2.5
Water Activity 99
2.0 95
Fig. 4. aw/w plotted against water activity obtained during adsorption (25 °C) of
1.5 Approximation
pineapple fruit tissue Wolf et al. (1972). Approximation using Eq. (4e) gave:
X1 = 0.0581, X2 = 2.3163, X3 = 2.3824, X4 = 29.2463 (R2 = 0.892).
1.0
0.5
than 1. Similar dependence was obtained for the so called relative
maximum water activity awmax calculated with the following 0.0
formula -2 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16
awm X4
awmax ¼ X2
ð9Þ
2X 3 Fig. 6. Relative awmax calculated by Eq. (9) plotted against parameter X4 for 75
sorption isotherms from literature (see also Fig. 5). The plot is approximated by the
expressed as the ratio of the awm, the value of water activity at following expression awmax = A(X4 + B)n, where A = 1.1226 ± 0.1516, B = 1.2038 ±
which a maximum aw/w vs. aw is observed and the water activity 0.1969, n = 0.5619 ± 0.1482 are parameters (R2 = 0.680).
 J. Blahovec, S. Yanniotis / Journal of Food Engineering 91 (2009) 72–77 77

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