VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HCMC

INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY

FOOD UNIT OPERATION 1 (BTFT301IU)

LABORATORY REPORT 3
DETERMINNATION OF SPECIFIC HEAT OF FOOD
PRODUCT
Instructor: Dr. Le Ngoc Lieu
Teaching assistant: Mai Nguyen Tram Anh
Date of experiment:
Date of submission:
Group 1
Nguyễn Đoàn Xuân An BTFTIU17035
Trần Kim Ngân BTFTIU17036
Trần Phương Thảo BTFTIU17050
Nguyễn Ngọc Quỳnh BTFTIU17020
Lê Hoàng Phương Như BTFTIU17072
Đỗ Trần Thanh Thảo BTFTIU17054
Phạm Thị Bảo Thư BTFTIU17019
Trần Hoàng Vỹ BTFTIU17031

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 CONTENTS

I. INTRODUCTION…………………………………….…………………3

II. OBJECTIVE……………………………………………………….…….3

III. MATERIAL & METHOD………………………………...……….........3

IV. RESULTS & DISCUSSION……..………………..………….…………4

V. CONCLUSION………………………………………………………….13

VI. REFERENCES……………………………………………………...…..13

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I. Introduction:
The specific heat is the amount of heat per unit mass required to raise the temperature by one
degree Celsius. It is the important property for the design of food storage, refrigeration equipment
and the estimation of process times for refrigerating, freezing, heating, or drying of foods. The
specific heat depends mainly on temperature and moisture content.

In this experiment, student uses the method of mixtures to measure the specific heat. Firstly,
determine the temperature of the thermal bottle at different temperature to calculate the average
specific heat of the container. Next, use the specific heat of the container and amount of water
contacted to calculate the specific heat of different food materials at different temperature (in
chilled temperature: 5oC, in warm temperature: 50oC).

II. Objective:
 Use potato, cucumber, carrot, mango to determine the specific of different foods at
different temperature (in warm temperature: 500C, in chilled temperature: 50C)
 Compare and explain why has the difference of specific heat at different temperature.
 Learn how to measure the moisture content by using the Infrared moisture meter and show
the relationship between the moisture content and specific heat of food materials.

III. Materials & Methods:

3.1. Apparatus and Materials
Equipments Materials
1. Beakers 1. Potato
2. thermal bottle 2. Mango
3. Thermometers 3. Cucumber
4. Refrigerator/Chiller 4. Carrot
5. Digital balance
6. Infrared moisture analyzer

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 7. Water at room temperature
(2L), # 50°C (3L) and # 5°C
(3L)

3.2. Methods
a. Container
First, the thermal bottle was weighed and recorded. Approximate 265g water was then poured into
the thermal bottle. The system was left about 5 minutes with a well shake provided each minute for
it to reach the equilibrium temperature. This temperature was recorded. The process was
performed with 2 temperatures, one was warm (around 50°C), another was chilled (around 5°C).
Each temperature was repeated 3 times and the results were recorded. The results were then used
to calculate cc and its average.
b. Samples
For the procedure of the samples, the samples, including potato, mango, cucumber and carrot, were
first peeled and sliced into uniform pieces, each was about 2-3mm thin. The moisture content of
these samples was measured with an infrared moisture analyzer. They were then weighed around
30g each, each type was made into 3. All of them was well labelled.
The thermal bottle was rinsed with water at room temperature. Each type of sample was in turn
transfer to the thermal bottle. Around 265g distilled water at different temperatures (~50°C and
~5°C) was discretely pour into the system. The thermal bottle was well covered and shaken each 1
minute until it had reached the equilibrium temperature (around 5 minutes). The temperatures were
then recorded and combined with the average cc found to calculate cs and its average.

IV.Results & Discussion

Equation

1. To determine the specific heat of container:

The specific heat of the container in the thermal bottle can be determined by pouring water of
different temperatures (Tw) into the container at room temperature (Tr).

a) After pouring warm water into container, waiting some time and using heat balance equation to
determine specific heat container with Tw >Tr

mc cc (Te - Tr ) = mw cw (Tw– Te)

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Where,

Te : equilibrium temperature (oC)

mc: mass of container (g)

cc: specific heat (J/goC) of container

mw , cw: mass (g) and specific heat (J/goC) of water, respectively.

(cw can be found in Table A.4.1, Paul Singh's Text book)

b) After pouring chilled water into container, waiting some time and using heat balance equation to
determine specific heat container with Tw <Tr

mc cc (Tr - Te ) = mw cw (Te - Tw )

Where,

Te : equilibrium temperature (oC)

mc: mass of container (g)

cc: specific heat (J/goC) of container

mw , cw: mass (g) and specific heat (J/goC) of water, respectively.

(cw can be found in Table A.4.1, Paul Singh's Text book)

2. To determine the specific heat of sample, follow the equation:

When knowing mass (ms) at room temperature, putting samples into thermal bottle. Specific heat of
samples with a known mass can be determined by immersing them in water at different temperatures
(Tw) which has the same amount as in step (a) into the thermal bottle.

a) After pouring the sample amount of warm water into sample, waiting some time and using heat
balance equation to determine specific heat container with Tw > Tr

mccc (Te - Tr ) + ms cs(Te - Tr ) = mw cw (Tw– Te)

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Where,
Te : equilibrium temperature (oC)
mc: mass of container (g)
cc: specific heat (J/goC) of container
mw , cw: mass (g) and specific heat (J/goC) of water, respectively.
(cw can be found in Table A.4.1, Paul Singh's Text book)

b) After pouring the sample amount of chilled water into sample, waiting some time and using heat
balance equation to determine specific heat container with Tw < Tr

mc cc (Tr - Te ) +ms cs (Tr – Te ) = mw cw (Te - Tw )

Where,

Te : equilibrium temperature (oC)

mc: mass of container (g)

cc: specific heat (J/goC) of container

mw , cw: mass (g) and specific heat (J/goC) of water, respectively.

(cw can be found in Table A.4.1, Paul Singh's Text book)

1. Determining the moisture content of food materials

Results
Table 1: Moisture content of food material measured by infrared moisture meter
Sample Moisture content (%)
Potato 75.45%
Mango 75.94%
Cucumber 95.01%
Carrot 82.25%

Discussion
According to the table, the moisture content in cucumber is highest (95.01%), following by carrot
containing 82.25% moisture, mango contains 75.94% moisture and potato has the lowest moisture
content which is 75.45%.

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2. Determining the specific heat of thermal bottles
Results
Following to the Table A.4.1, Paul Singh’s Textbook:
Cw at 50oC: 4.178 (kJ/kg0C)
Cw at 5oC: 4.206 (kJ/kg0C)
Standard Specific Heat for steel: C = 0.465 kJ/kg0C
Table 2: The data for determining the specific heat of the thermal bottle
Warm water Chilled water
R1 R2 R3 R1 R2 R3
Room temp ( C) 0
29.1 30.3 30.2 30.1 29.6 30.1
Mass of water (g) 265.75 265.48 265.63 265.1 265.47 265.56
Water temp (( C) 0
51.3 50.7 50.1 6.4 6.5 6.3
Equilibrium temperature
48.5 48.2 47.6 8.7 8.8 8.7
(0C)
Specific heat of container
0.448 0.434 0.446 0.456 0.47 0.47
(kJ/kg0C)
Average 0.443 0.468
Standard deviation 0.007 0.011

Discussion
Table 2 showed the specific heat of stainless steels container between warm and chilled water. We
can see the higher specific heat value of container in chilled water than the warm water which are
0.468 (kJ/kg0C) and 0.443 (kJ/kg0C). Comparing to standard specific heat (0.465 kJ/kg0C), the
average specific for warm water calculated by our group is nearly similar. However, for chilled
water, there is a slight difference between the experimental result and the standard specific heat.

3. Determining the specific heat of potato

Results
Table 3: The data for determining the specific heat of the potato
Warm water Chilled water
R1 R2 R3 R1 R2 R3
Room temp ( C) 0
29.5 28.9 29.1 29.7 28.8 29.9
Mass of sample (g) 29.89 30.03 30.01 29.98 29.6 29.4
Mass of water (g) 265.77 265.87 265.24 265.87 265.54 265.1
Water temp ( C)0
53.1 52.8 51.8 5.2 5.3 5.4
Equilibrium temp (0C) 48.8 48.5 47.6 9.3 9.2 9.5
Specific heat of potato
3.59 3.58 3.73 3.49 3.33 3.36
(kJ/kg0C)

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 Average 3.63 3.39
SD 0.085 0.087
Standard Specific Heat Potato: Cp = 3.670 kJ/kg C 0

Discussion
According to table 3, the specific heat of potato in warm water (3.63 kJ/kg0C) is higher than specific
heat value in chilled water (3.39 kJ/kg0C).
For warm water, the average specific of potato is quite close to the standard specific heat of potato,
with the difference about 0.04 kJ/kg0C, so the result can be accepted.
For chilled water, the values of specific in the measurement is slight lower compared to the standard
specific heat of potato, with the difference about 0.28 kJ/kg0C.

4. Determining the specific heat of mango

Results
Table 4: The data for determining the specific heat of the mango
Warm water Chilled water
R1 R2 R3 R1 R2 R3
Room temp ( C)0
30.1 30.1 29.8 29.2 29.4 29.1
Mass of sample (g) 29.01 30.34 30.43 30.2 30.3 30.24
Mass of water (g) 265.34 265.6 265.34 265.5 265.45 265.45
Water temp ( C)0
52.6 52.5 51.3 5.3 5.1 5.2
Equilibrium temp ( C)
0
48.5 48.3 47.3 9.4 9.3 9.3
Specific heat of mango
3.704 3.976 3.761 3.689 3.625 3.503
(kJ/kg0C)
Average 3.814 3.605
SD 0.144 0.094
Standard Specific Heat for Green mango: Cp = 3.740 kJ/kg0C

Discussion
According to the table 4: the average specific heat of mango in warm water (3.814 kJ/kg0C) is higher
than average specific heat value in chilled water (3.605 kJ/kg0C). The standard specific heat for
green mango is 3.740 kJ/kg0C. Two average results are quite close to the standard specific heat, so
our result can be accepted.
In warm water condition, via three times of measurement, the difference between them was small
except R2 which was different about 0.236 kJ/kg0C since there were some mistakes when measuring
the room temperature of this sample.
In chilled water condition, via three times of measurement, the specific heat values are unequal but
not too much different and all of them are smaller than the standard specific heat with the largest
difference is about 0.237 kJ/kg0C.

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5. Determining the specific heat of cucumber
Results
Table 5: The data for determining the specific heat of the cucumber
Warm water Chilled water
R1 R2 R3 R1 R2 R3
Room temp ( C) 0
29.5 28.7 29.1 27.2 27.9 28.1
Mass of sample (g) 30.1 30.56 30.9 30.36 30.45 30.12
Mass of water (g) 265.52 265.82 265.2 265.5 265.63 265.56
Water temp ( C)0
52.4 53.4 52.3 5.2 5.2 5.4
Equilibrium temp ( C)
0
48 48.6 47.8 9.2 9.4 9.6
Specific heat of cucumber
4.113 4.318 4.117 4.226 4.275 4.26
(kJ/kg0C)
Average 4.183 4.254
SD 0.117 0.025
Standard Specific Heat for Cucumber: Cp = 4.090 kJ/kg0C
Discussion
Based on table 5, the average specific heat of cucumber in warm water (4.183 kJ/kg0C) was almost
lower than the average specific heat value in chilled water (4.254 kJ/kg0C).
For two the average data were obtained by warm water and chilled water, measuring aspect were
pretty good as the difference in the average specific were just higher 0.093 kJ/kg0C and 0.164
kJ/kg0C than the standard’s one (4.090 kJ/kg0C), respectively.

6. Determining the specific heat of carrot

Results
Table 6: The data for determining the specific heat of the carrot
Warm water Chilled water
R1 R2 R3 R1 R2 R3
Room temp ( C) 0
29.6 29.8 30.2 28.3 28.5 28.7
Mass of sample (g) 30.12 30.06 30.1 30.01 29.8 30.3
Mass of water (g) 265.3 265.78 265.78 265.16 265.34 265.2
Water temp ( C)0
52.4 53.2 52.3 5.3 5.1 5.2
Equilibrium temp ( C) 48.1
0
48.9 48.2 9.3 9.2 9.4
Specific heat of carrot
3.904 3.795 3.771 3.831 3.813 3.877
(kJ/kg0C)
Average 3.823 3.84
SD 0.071 0.033
Standard Specific Heat for Carrot: Cp = 3.920 kJ/kg 0C

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Discussion
According to table 6, the specific heat of carrot in warm water (3.82 kJ/kg 0C) is lower than the
specific heat in chilled water (3.84 kJ/kg0C).
The specific heat of carrot in warm water and chilled water do not have too big gap and the
difference between them and specific heat of standard carrot are 1 kJ/kg 0C and 0.8 kJ/kg0C,
respectively.
The specific heat of standard carrot is higher than specific heat in both warm and chilled water.

7. Determining relationship between moisture content and the specific heat of

food materials
Results
Table 7: Relationship between moisture content and specific heat of food materials
Sample Moisture Average specific Average specific Standard
content heat in warm heat in chilled specific heat
(%) water (kJ/kg C)
0
water (kJ/kg C)
0
(kJ/kgoC)
Potato 75.45% 3.63 3.39 3.67
Mango 75.94% 3.81 3.6 3.74
Cucumbe 95.01% 4.18 4.25 4.09
r
Carrot 82.25% 3.82 3.84 3.92

Discussion
Observing the specific heat in our group’s experiment (both in warm water and chilled water) and the
standard specific heat, the value of specific heat also increases in the order of moisture content of
four samples. Cucumber has highest specific heat, following with carrot and mango, and the lowest
value of potato.
According to the table 7, relationship between moisture content and specific heat of food materials,
the difference between specific heat in warm and chilled water of food materials depend on the
moisture content. We can conclude that sample with a higher moisture content has higher specific
heat. Moreover, we can see that the vegetables having moisture content lower than 80% will have the
specific heat in warm water that higher than the specific heat in in chilled water and vice versa.

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8. Determining the specific heat of food materials by Various equations,
Experiments and Standard data
Results
Combination with Table 1, the equations that is used for calculation specific heat are predictive.
These two equations below based on the existence of water in every food component. Both are
expressed as a function of water content.
a. Siebel’s equation above freezing point:
Cp (J/goC) = 0.837 + 3.349Xw
Where:
Xw: The moisture content of the material in wet basis (%)
Specific heat of potato = 0.837 + 3.349 x 0.7545 = 3.364 (J/g0C)
Specific heat of mango = 0.837 + 3.349 x 0.7594 = 3.38 (J/g0C)
Specific heat of cucumber = 0.837 + 3.349 x 0.9501 = 4.019 (J/g0C)
Specific heat of carrot = 0.837 + 3.349 x 0.8225 = 3.592 (J/g0C)
b. Dominguez’s equation:
Cp (J/goC) = 2.805Xw + 1.382
Where:
Xw: The moisture content of the material in wet basis (%)
Specific heat of potato = 2.805 x 0.7545 + 1.382 = 3.498 (J/g0C)
Specific heat of mango = 2.805 x 0.7594 + 1.382 = 3.512 (J/g0C)
Specific heat of cucumber = 2.805 x 0.9501 + 1.382 = 4.047 (J/g0C)
Specific heat of carrot = 2.805 x 0.8225 + 1.382 = 3.689 (J/g0C)

Table 8: The data of specific heat of samples from Experiments, Various equations and Standard
data according to ASHRAE. 2006. Handbook of Refrigeration (SI)
Sample Siebel’s Dominguez’s Standard Average Average
equatio equation specific specific heat in specific heat in
n (J/g C)
0
heat warm water chilled water
(J/g C)
0
(J/g C)
0
(J/g C)
0
(J/g0C)
Potato 3.364 3.498 3.67 3.63 3.39
Mango 3.38 3.512 3.74 3.81 3.6
Cucumbe 4.019 4.047 4.09 4.18 4.25
r
Carrot 3.592 3.689 3.92 3.82 3.84

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Discussion
According to table 8, The data is clearly seen that the specific heat of chilled water is almost always
higher than warm water (except cucumber) and nearly the standard specific heat. In comparison of 4
samples, cucumber takes the highest value of specific, next is carrot, the third is mango and the last
is potato.
In both equation, Siebel’s and Dominguez’s equation, the specific heat depended on the moisture
content of each sample. The sample with the higher moisture content will have higher specific heat.
For example, cucumber with the highest moisture content (95.01%) has the highest heat specific,
while potato with the lowest moisture content (75.45%) also results in the lowest specific heat value.
Besides, the specific heat of food materials from Dominguez’s equation is nearly accurate to the
standard values compared to other equations from this table 8. For instance, with carrot, the standard
specific heat is 3.92 (kJ/kg0C), from Siebel’s equation, the specific heat of carrot that was calculated
equals 3.364 (kJ/kg0C) whereas the Dominguez’s equation gives the results is 3.689 (kJ/kg0C) and
from our experiment, the result for carrot in warm water is 3.82 (kJ/kg0C) and in chilled water is
3.84 (kJ/kg0C).
Specific heat could be affected by the desired temperature change, the mass of the sample, the
composition and the state of substances. For the mass of samples: the higher mass of samples, the
lower specific heat of samples. For the temperature, the change in temperature can affect the final
result and this is showed in the group’s results, the small change in temperature also cause the
difference in the result. For the state of substance, the specific heat of liquid is highest, next is solid
and the slowest is gas.

Errors
Our results were not very desirable due to our lack of skills during the experiment:
o For water temperature, which was the caused by the unexpected mistakes in measuring. For
instance, the changing of water temperature was the factor affecting the difference between
three records at the same sample, while weighing water or pouring water into a bottle, it was
too difficult to keep the water temperature constant. On the other hand, the air-conditioner
does not work well enough and results in the change in temperature, which cannot be
measured correctly.
o For the room temperatures change at different times, which was not stable and might cause
the errors for specific heat determination.
o For the uniformity of samples, that is also another factor needed to be considered. The water
mass in three measurements are different, which is believed as a factor affecting specific
heat. There are differences in type, maturity stage and the freshness between our samples and
the standard experiment leading to the differences in comparison. The errors in the
preparation of raw materials, cutting time, preparation operations also have a small effect on
the result.

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 o Moreover, the quality of a stainless steel of container was another factor affects the result
since it may cause some loss of heat during the experiment. The cleanness of the container,
which was not dry enough to weigh and distribute to the effect of the mass Also errors also
come from the thermometer.

Improvements
To get better results, the experimental skills in the laboratory need to be improved:
o Controlling the temperature and weight of warm water and chill water more accurately,
reducing the heat loss from the bottle thermal as much as possible.
o We should do the steps quickly especially pouring sample and water into bottle to minimize
the heat loss and prepare samples in short time before moisture measurement is applied to
prevent the water loss.
o In addition, prevent the fall of water on the balance and pay more attention to record correct
temperature per measuring time.
o Keep the container dry and clean to avoid unwanted moisture or water stagnant and prevent
the falling of water from the bottle, causing errors in weight measurement.
o The moisture content can be affected by the easy absorptivity, therefore we should prepare
samples in short time before the moisture content measurement is applied.

v. Conclusion:
Base on the experiment, we can understand and observe how to examine the specific heat of four
differences samples: potato, mango, cucumber and carrot by using several methods at both warm
(50°C) and cool (5°C) conditions. From this experiment, we recognize that the temperature and
moisture contend are affected to difference of specific heat of different samples. For each type of
food material, we can reach different moisture content, so we also have distinctive specific heat,
because heat transfer conditions are presented by time and equilibrium temperature. For limiting
the errors, we need to clearly and deeply understand the lab manual and perform each step
carefully. Furthermore, proceeding faster can prevent more effects on results.

VI. References:
A laboratory manual – Food Unit Operation 1 – Le Ngoc Lieu

Heldman, DR; and Paul Singh, R (1981) Food Process Engineering. Second edition, AVI Pub

Briggs, L. J. (1908). An electrical resistance method for the rapid determination of the moisture
content of grain (No. 20). US Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Plant Industry.

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