LWT - Food Science and Technology 119 (2020) 108859

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LWT - Food Science and Technology

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Moisture sorption isotherm, isosteric heat and adsorption surface area of T

whole chia seeds
Sultan Arslan-Tontul
Selçuk University, Agricultural Faculty, Department of Food Engineering, 42130, Konya, Turkey

A R T I C LE I N FO A B S T R A C T

Keywords: This study aimed to evaluate moisture sorption isotherm of whole chia seed. The equilibrium moisture content
Water activity (EMC) of seeds were detected by saturated salt solutions which have the water activity (aw) range of 0.2–0.9. The
Moisture content isosteric sorption heat was calculated by the Clausius-Clapeyron equation using three different sorption tem-
Sorption isotherm peratures (15 °C, 25 °C and 35 °C). The adsorption surface area of seeds was also calculated by monolayer
Isosteric heat
moisture content obtained from BET and GAB equation. The EMC content of seeds had an increasing trend and
Oilseed
determined as 18–20 g H2O/100 g solid at the highest aw level. The whole chia seeds became less hygroscopic
with the rising sorption temperatures at constant aw. The moisture sorption isotherm was determined as Type II.
The monolayer moisture content was determined as 2.39–2.91 g H2O/100 g solid. BET and Peleg were the best-
fitted models. The isosteric and net isosteric heat were 77.74 and 34.74 kJ/mol at lowest moisture content,
respectively. Additionally, the adsorption surface area changed between 95.31 and 102.72 m2/g.

1. Introduction
Chia (Salvia hispanica L.) is an annual summer herbaceous plant that
classified in the family Lamiaceae, subfamily Nepetoideae, and genus
Salvia. The native land of chia is Guatemala and Mexico, but today, it is
cultivated in Australia, Bolivia, Colombia, Guatemala, Peru and
Argentina (Grancieri, Martino, & de Mejia, 2019; Moreira, Chenlo,
Prieto, & Torres, 2012). Nowadays, the demand for chia seeds is in-
creasing in the food industry due to its high nutritional quality. It is
reported that whole chia seed contains high amounts of fatty acids,
dietary fibres, proteins, antioxidants, vitamins and minerals (Ayerza &
Coates, 2011; Grancieri et al., 2019; Muñoz, Cobos, Diaz, & Aguilera,
2012; Valdivia-López & Tecante, 2015). It is known as one of the most
important sources of omega-3, classified as polyunsaturated fatty acids
(PUFA) (Ayerza & Coates, 2009, 2011; Moreira et al., 2012). It is re-
commended for the preventing of various chronic diseases such as
obesity, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, and cancer (Grancieri et al.,
2019).
In the last decade, chia seeds have been added in the formulation of
various foods such as bakery products (Brites et al., 2019; Zhu & Chan,
2018), yoghurt (Kwon, Bae, Seo, & Han, 2019), cheese (Munoz-Tebar
et al., 2019), cereal bar (Iuliano, Gonzalez, Casas, Moncayo, & Cote,
2019), ice-cream (Campos, Ruivo, Scapim, Madrona, & Bergamasco,
2016) and frankfurter (Fernandez-Lopez et al., 2019) to improve nu-
tritional quality and gain the functionality to the end product. This
popularity makes important transportation of chia to all over the world
since it is harvested mostly in tropical and subtropical regions. When
the storage conditions are not optimised, seeds can quickly deteriorate
as oxidatively because of high PUFA content (Bodoira, Penci, Ribotta, &
Martínez, 2017; Bordón, Meriles, Ribotta, & Martinez, 2019). Ad-
ditionally, high relative humidity of environment and water activity of
food lead to the microbial spoilage (Abdullah, Nawawi, & Othman,
2000). Sorption isotherms can control unstable storage conditions such
as relative humidity, temperature and water activity and moisture
content of the product.
A sorption isotherm is a relationship between equilibrium moisture
content (EMC) and water activity (aw) at constant temperature and
pressure. Sorption isotherms are crucial to know the water sorption
mechanism and interactions between food components and water.
Therefore, it gives useful information in modelling of the drying process
and equipment, optimisation, predicting the shelf life of product, de-
termining critical moisture level, mixing products with various aw and
the selection of packaging material (Koua, Koffi, Gbaha, & Toure, 2014;
Panjagari, Singh, Ganguly, & Indumati, 2015; Shanker, Kumar, Juvvi, &
Debnath, 2019; Soleimanifard & Hamdami, 2018). Besides these prac-
tical applications, the isotherm is also important for evaluating the
thermodynamic functions of the water, which is adsorbed in foods
(Chirife & Iglesias, 1978).
The isosteric heat of sorption is a thermodynamic parameter cal-
culated from sorption isotherm, carried at least two temperature. It

E-mail addresses: sultan.arslan@selcuk.edu.tr, sltnarslan07@gmail.com.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lwt.2019.108859
Received 2 October 2019; Received in revised form 15 November 2019; Accepted 18 November 2019
Available online 29 November 2019
0023-6438/ © 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
S. Arslan-Tontul LWT - Food Science and Technology 119 (2020) 108859

implies the amount of energy required to change unit mass of a product
from liquid to vapour at a certain temperature and aw. From the point of
view, the energy requirement for drying of a material can be evaluated
by isosteric heat. The moisture content at which the net isosteric
sorption heat is approximately equal to the latent evaporation tem-
perature of pure water is indicator of bound water. As food is dried to
the lower moisture levels, the heat of adsorbed water increase above
the vaporisation of pure water (Khawas & Deka, 2017; Koua et al.,
2014).
In literature, there is only one study investigating the sorption iso-
therms of whole chia seeds. Moreira et al. (2012) used the GAB equa-
tion (Guggenheim–Andersen–de Boer equation) to determine moisture
sorption properties of whole chia seeds. On the other hand, to reveal the
moisture sorption characteristics of chia and control storage conditions
have great importance due to its quick oxidative deterioration with
high oil and PUFA content. For this purpose in the designed study, it is
aimed to determine the safe storage conditions (humidity and water
activity) by evaluating different sorption models and calculate the
isosteric heat and water adsorption surface area of chia seeds.
2. Materials and methods
2.1. Material
Black chia seeds, which were harvested from Argentina, were ob-
tained by a commercial importer (Yayla Agro Food, Mersin) in Turkey.
The seeds removed from broken parts and foreign materials. The di-
mensions of 20 random seeds were determined as follow; 1.97 mm
length, 1.13 width, and 0.89 mm thickness. The proximate analysis of
seeds was determined by the procedure of AACC (1999). The total
protein, fat, fibre, ash and moisture content of seeds were detected as
20.36, 38.12, 18.28, 4.54 and 7.47 g/100 g, respectively. Prior to
sorption experiments, seeds were pre-dried in a vacuum oven at 50 °C
for five days (Moreira et al., 2012). After the drying, the moisture
content and aw were decreased to 1.76 g/100 g and 0.19, respectively.
The seeds were kept in the refrigerator, untill the sorption experiment.
Saturated salts solutions of CH3CO2K (CAS No: 127-08-2, Merck,
Darmstadt, Germany) MgCl2 (CAS No: 7786-30-3, Sigma, Taufkirchen,
Germany), K2CO3 (CAS No: 584-08-7, Merck, Darmstadt, Germany),
NaBr (CAS No: 7647-15-6, Carlo Erba, Val de Reuil, France), KI (CAS
No: 761-11-0, Merck, Darmstadt, Germany), NaCl (CAS No: 7647-14-5,
Sigma, Taufkirchen, Germany), BaCl2 (CAS No: 1026-27-9, Carlo Erba,
Val de Reuil, France) and K2SO4 (CAS No: 7778-80-5, Sigma,
Taufkirchen, Germany) were used for the obtaining various aw range.
2.2. Sorption procedure
gravimetric method was applied for the determination of adsorption
isotherms of seeds (Bell & Labuza, 2000). The saturated salt solutions
were prepared at boiling water by dissolving the salts until saturation
and left them to cool to the room temperature. The saturated salt so-
lutions were placed in desiccators and conditioned for 7 days prior to
sorption experiment. The aw of the saturated salt solutions at different
holding temperatures were measured by using the aw meter (Aqualab,
Washington, USA). Triplicate samples each of 0.45 g ( ± 0.01 g) were
weighed in the beaker and placed in desiccators containing saturated
salt solutions. At high aw above 0.6, 2 mL toluene was added in a beaker
and it was placed in the desiccators in order to prevent the fungal
spoilage of seeds. The sample weighing was performed daily, and EMC
was detected when the samples reached constant weight ( ± 0.001) at
15 °C, 25 °C and 35 °C. The moisture content of samples was determined
by drying in a drying chamber at 105 °C to a constant weight.
2.3. Analysis of experimental data
The moisture sorption isotherms of whole chia seeds were de-
termined by plotting of EMC values obtained from each temperature
against the corresponding aw. The description of relationship between
EMC, equilibrium relative humidity and temperature were verified ac-
cording to BET (Brunauer–Emmett–Teller) (Aguerre, Suarez, & Viollaz,
1989), GAB (Van den, 1981), Halsey (Halsey, 1948), Henderson
(Iglesias & Chirife, 1982), Iglesias & Chirife (Chirife & Iglesias, 1978),
Caurie (Chirife & Iglesias, 1978), Oswin (Oswin, 1946), Peleg (Peleg,
1993), Smith (Smith & Smith, 1947) and White & Eiring (Sormoli &
Langrish, 2015) (Table 2). The curve fitting and regression analysis
were performed using a mathematical software program (Origin Lab
Corp, Massachusetts, USA). The fittest sorption model was selected by
the regarding of minimum root of mean square error (RMSE), minimum
means absolute percentage error (P %), and the maximum degrees of
freedom adjusted R-square (Radj2) of the fit (Sormoli & Langrish, 2015).
RMSE and Radj2 were obtained from mathematical software program,
and P was calculated from Equation (1) by experimental (YE) and
predicted data (YP) obtained from the fit.
N
100 YE − YP
P=
N
∑ YE
i=1 Eq. 1
2.4. Determination of isosteric heat of sorption
The net isosteric sorption heat is defined by the difference between
total isosteric sorption heat and condensation heat. It was calculated by
equations (2) and (3);

The EMC of chia seeds was determined at 15 °C, 25 °C and 35 °C Table 2

The model equations for fitting the sorption isotherms of chia seed.
using eight saturated salt solutions with the aw range of 0.19–0.94
(Table 1). The aw values of each saturated salt solutions were equal to Model type Equation Reference
the relative humidity divided by 100 (aw = RH/100). The static
BET X=
Xm × C × aw Aguerre et al. (1989)
[(1 − aw ) + (C − 1)((1 − aw ) × aw )]
Table 1 GAB X=
Xm × C × k × aw Van den (1981)
[(1 − k × aw )(1 − k × aw + C × k × aw )]
Water activity (aw) of different saturated solutions of salt at different tem-
Caurie X = exp(A + B × aw ) Chirife and Iglesias
peratures. (1978)
Salt aw Halsey 1 Halsey (1948)
X= − ( A
lnaw ) B

15 °C 25 °C 35 °C Henderson aw = 1 − exp(−(B × X A)) Iglesias and Chirife

(1982)
Potassium acetate 0.22 ± 0.001 0.20 ± 0.001 0.20 ± 0.003 Iglesias & X=A+B×
aw Chirife and Iglesias
1 − aw
Magnesium chloride 0.34 ± 0.001 0.33 ± 0.001 0.31 ± 0.001 Chirife (1978)
Potassium carbonate 0.44 ± 0.003 0.43 ± 0.001 0.42 ± 0.001 Oswin X=A×
aw Oswin (1946)
1 − aw
Sodium bromide 0.60 ± 0.003 0.58 ± 0.001 0.58 ± 0.001
Potassium iodide 0.70 ± 0.001 0.69 ± 0.001 0.69 ± 0.001 Peleg X=A× B
C × a wD
aw + Peleg (1993)
Sodium chloride 0.76 ± 0.001 0.76 ± 0.001 0.76 ± 0.001 Smith X = A − B × (ln(1 − aw )) Smith and Smith (1947)
Barium chloride 0.89 ± 0.001 0.89 ± 0.001 0.88 ± 0.006 White & Eiring X=
1 Sormoli and Langrish
A + B × aw
Potassium sulphate 0.94 ± 0.001 0.94 ± 0.002 0.94 ± 0.001 (2015)

2
S. Arslan-Tontul
d (Lnaw ) qSt
=−
d ()
1
T
R
qSt = QSt − ΔHVap
aw = Water activity
T = Selected temperature (15 °C, 25 °C or 35 °C)
QSt = Isosteric heat of sorption
qSt = Net isosteric heat of sorption
R = 8.314 kJ/molK
ΔHVap = 43 kJ/mol
The heat of sorption was determined from the slopes of ln aw against
1/T plots by linear regression analysis, with the assumption that they
are constant over the temperature range studied. QSt is a measure of
interaction between water vapour and the adsorbent food material
(Ayranci & Duman, 2005).
2.5. Determination adsorption surface area
Adsorption surface area of seeds was calculated from equation (4)
using monolayer moisture content obtained from BET and GAB as fol-
lows (Koua et al., 2014);
1 wheat and rice flours (Abebe & Ronda, 2015), banana flour (Khawas &
SA = XM × × (1.06 × 10−19m2) × (6 × 1023molecules / mol)
18g / mol
3. Results and discussion
3.1. Adsorption isotherm of whole chia seeds
The moisture sorption isotherm of whole chia seeds is given in
Fig. 1. The EMC content of seeds had an increasing trend by the rising of
aw value. It was an expected result caused by increasing of surrounding
vapour pressure of food led increasing of the vapour pressure within.
This effect was also reported by Moreira et al. (2012) and Shanker et al.
(2019). The sorption capacity of material is highly related to chemical
composition and structure. Materials with hydrophilic structures such
as sugar have more water adsorption ability. Lazouk et al. (2015) no-
tified that the composition of oilseed fractions and total moisture con-
tent designed the distribution of water in the seed.
At the highest aw, the seeds were adsorbed 18–20 g H2O/100 g
solid. This value was lower than that of reported most of the grains, but
it showed similarity with oilseeds. The oil content of chia, nearly
30–38 g/100 g. It might show hygroscopic effect and limit adsorption of
water from the surface. Giner and Gely (2005) found that the EMC
Fig. 1. Moisture sorption isotherms of chia seeds.
LWT - Food Science and Technology 119 (2020) 108859
content of sunflower was less than wheat, and the researchers explained
Eq. 2
this result by steric difficulties for water adsorption in the presence of
oil. Moreira et al. (2012) determined EMC of chia as 16.6 g H2O/100 g
Eq. 3 solid. The EMC of rapeseed was found to be 15 g/100 g solid (Lazouk
et al., 2015).
In the study, chia seeds became less hygroscopic with the increasing
sorption temperatures at constant aw. It could be a result of that when
temperature increases, the water molecules gain more activity which
leads to an increase in the intermolecular distance due to the rise in
their energy level. Thus, they become less stable and break away easily
from the water binding sites of the food. This phenomenon has been
reported from previous studies (Bup et al., 2013; Koua et al., 2014;
Mbarga, Nde, Mohagir, Kapseu, & Nkenge, 2017; Singh, Mishra, &
Saha, 2011; Soleimanifard & Hamdami, 2018; Taitano, Singh, Lee, &
Kong, 2012).
As can be seen in Fig. 1, the isotherm has sigmoidal shape due to the
two bending zone at 0.2–0.4 and 0.6–0.8 aw. Therefore, the moisture
sorption isotherm of whole chia seeds was determined as Type II ac-
cording to Brunauer classification. Additionally, C value is an isotherm
constant that is calculated from BET equation. C constant higher than
one means that the moisture sorption isotherm must be classified in
type II (Sormoli & Langrish, 2015). This type has been reported for the
various kind of foods such as juice powder (Sormoli & Langrish, 2015),
millet grain (Singh et al., 2011), almond (Taitano et al., 2012), whole
Deka, 2017) and neem kernel (Mbarga et al., 2017) and chia (Moreira
Eq. 4 et al., 2012). Additionally, type II isotherms are generally described for
oilseeds (Al-Muhtaseb, McMinn, & Magee, 2002; Lazouk et al., 2015).
3.2. Monolayer moisture content
The monolayer moisture content is critical moisture content to
control and extend quality shelf life of products. At this moisture level,
most of the degradation and food spoilage reactions such as en-
zymatical browning and oxidation, physical changes in food products
such as loss of crispiness, caking and stickiness are slow down.
Additionally, it helps determination of the surface potential of moisture
sorbed in food (Singh et al., 2011; Sormoli & Langrish, 2015).
The monolayer moisture content (XM) of whole chia seeds were
determined to be 2.39–2.91 g H2O/100 g solid according to BET and
GAB models. The results were in agreement with Moreira et al. (2012)
who calculated the XM of chia seed by the GAB model as 1.5–2.2 g H2O/
100 g at tested temperatures. Similar results were also reported by
containing high oil seeds and nuts. XM content of various nuts (almond,
Brazilian nut, cashew, hazelnut, macadamia nut, pecan, pine nut, pis-
tachio, walnut) was determined as 1.1–2.9 H2O/100 g for BET and
1.5–3.3 H2O/100 g for GAB (Venkatachalam & Sathe, 2006). The
3
S. Arslan-Tontul LWT - Food Science and Technology 119 (2020) 108859

reported XM for hazelnut kernel was 2.17–2.52 (Jung, Wang, McGorrin
& Zhao, 2018). Taitano et al. (2012) determined XM between 2.38 and
2.48 g H2O/100 g in glanced almonds. Lazouk et al. (2015) calculated
the XM value of whole rapeseed, sunflower and linseed were 3, 4.9 and
6 g/100 g respectively.
The general opinion is that the XM value decreases with increasing
sorption temperatures due to breaking away of water molecules from
their sorption sites easily at high energy levels (Samapundo et al.,
2007). However, in this study, XM calculated by GAB decreased with
increasing sorption temperatures, whereas XM obtained BET was not
affected by temperature. This result might be due to the fact that the
BET model can only be applied in the aw range of 0.1–0.5; therefore, did
not represent all experimental data points. Similar results were also
reported by Sormoli and Langrish (2015) and Mbarga et al. (2017).
Additionally, XM obtained by BET was lower than GAB parameters.
According to Taitano et al. (2012), XM is critical data for designing
storage conditions with minimum changes in the food. Consequently,
the obtained data from this study imply that the aw and relative hu-
midity should be lower 0.25 and 25 g/100 g, respectively, for a long
and quality storage of whole chia seeds.
3.3. Model equations
The results obtained from the regression analysis are presented in
Table 3. Some statistical parameters are considered for interpreting the
fittest equations. Radj2 is one of these statistical parameters and
generally the values are higher than ≥0.98 is acceptable. The studies
model except GAB and Iglesias and Chirife (1982) ensured good fitness
in expressing sorption isotherm of chia seeds. Interestingly, GAB model
has been used for explanation sorption properties most of foods. For
example, Moreira et al. (2012) recommended the GAB equation for
fitting the experimental data of chia seed. Koua et al., 2014 announced
the GAB model as adequately predicted EMC of cassava for the range of
temperatures and aw. However, in this study, the fitness of GAB model
was low.
The mean absolute percentage of error (P%) is another statistical
fitness parameter. The limit level of P% is controversial. According to
Lomauro, Bakshi, and Labuza (1985), it should be lower than 5% for
good fitness, but in the most of the previous studies it has been reported
as 10% (Kaymak-Ertekin & Sultanoglu, 2001; Koua et al., 2014; Sormoli
& Langrish, 2015). From Table 3, when all working temperatures were
considered, the fitness of model according to P% can be ordered as
BET > GAB > Peleg > Oswin > Halsey > Henderson. The
goodness to the fit of some models such as Smith and White & Eiring get
worse with the increasing sorption temperatures. It can be concluded
from the results that these equations can be used only lower sorption
temperatures to state moisture properties of chia seeds.
In most of the literature, the RMSE value of the fittest model was
lower than 1. Therefore the nearest RMSE value below 0 to 1 is ac-
ceptable for a good model fit. From the results, it can be said that the
RMSE value of models was in acceptable range except Iglesias and
Chirife (1982). In addition, it can be noted that the lowest values were

Table 3
Predicted parameters of the fitted models to the experimental data for moisture sorption isotherm of chia seed.
Model type Temp. (°C) Model fit parameters Model coefficients

RAdj2 P% RSME A B C D

BET 15 0.990 0.179 0.001 – 2.41; XM 8.03 –

25 0.998 0.559 0.001 – 2.39; XM 8.47 –
35 0.996 1.113 0.003 – 2.57; XM 8.80 –

GAB 15 0.975 2.413 0.004 0.90; k 2.91; XM 5.13 –

25 0.977 2.351 0.004 0.92; k 2.76; XM 6.42 –
35 0.978 2.669 0.004 0.91; k 2.70; XM 4.25 –

Caurie 15 0.985 11.789 0.603 −0.425 3.493 – –

25 0.985 14.160 0.730 −0.751 3.864 – –
35 0.978 17.672 1.024 −1.410 4.152 – –

Halsey 15 0.995 1.666 0.068 20.78 1.878 – –

25 0.985 4.875 0.095 5.224 1.419 – –
35 0.986 8.288 0.108 3.094 1.230 – –

Henderson 15 0.990 3.226 0.044 0.269 2.228 – –

25 0.995 2.947 0.056 0.347 1.876 – –
35 0.984 8.682 0.109 0.474 1.604 – –

Iglesias & Chirife 15 0.952 13.798 1.227 5.283 1.088 – –

25 0.944 26.332 1.450 3.089 1.178 – –
35 0.981 21.039 1.060 2.378 0.468 – –

Oswin 15 0.993 6.156 0.339 5.313 0.487 – –

25 0.994 6.183 0.415 4.319 0.551 – –
35 0.991 4.543 0.551 3.539 0.584 – –

Peleg 15 0.997 3.857 0.284 9.146 1.254 15.990 8.172

25 0.998 3.523 0.233 8.434 0.939 19.489 8.248
35 0.995 5.321 0.392 18.090 11.077 9.459 1.409

Smith 15 0.993 7.430 0.466 −0.295 6.468 – –

25 0.989 10.227 0.621 −0.252 6.528 – –
35 0.986 14.948 0.724 −0.768 6.358 – –

White & Eiring 15 0.999 2.321 0.232 0.308 −0.277 – –

25 0.991 11.203 0.562 0.420 −0.394 – –
15 0.990 13.088 0.588 0.515 −0.495 – –

4
S. Arslan-Tontul
determined in BET and GAB equations.
As a conclusion when all statistical parameters were considered, the
BET equation gave the best fit to sorption data with the minimum P%
and RMSE and maximum Radj2 at 15 °C, 25 °C and 35 °C in aw range
between 0.2 and 0.5. On the other hand, the experimental data were
satisfactorily fitted using the Peleg model in the whole studied a range
of aw and temperatures with the values of P < 5.32, RMSE < 0.392
and Radj2 > 0.99. Therefore, BET and Peleg model can be applied for
adequately predicted EMC of whole chia seeds for the range of tem-
peratures and aw studied. There have been previous studies found the
Peleg model as suitable to explain the sorption activities of foods
(Khawas & Deka, 2017; Shanker et al., 2019).
3.4. Net isosteric heat of sorption
The isosteric heat of sorption is a useful method for determining the
effect of temperature to the foods. It defines as the amount of energy
required to change unit mass of a product from liquid to vapour at a
particular temperature and aw. The isosteric heat is generally modelled
by Clasius-Clapeyron equation. The application of this method requires
data at least at two or more experimental temperatures. The net isos-
teric heat of sorption can be used to estimate the energy requirements
of drying and provides important information on the state of water in
foodstuffs (Koua et al., 2014).
Fig. 2 shows the isosteric heat and net isosteric heat of sorption. At
the lowest moisture content, QSt and qSt were calculated to be 77.74
and 34.74 kJ/mol and tended to decrease with increasing the moisture
content. Moreira et al. (2012) found that a 10 times increase of
moisture content caused to 7.2 times reduces in isosteric heat. Singh
et al. (2011) reported that the isosteric heat, calculated using Clausiu-
s–Clapeyron equation, varied between 46.76 and 61.71 kJ/mol at
moisture levels 7–21 g/100 g for barnyard millet grain. The net isosteric
heat of sorption decreased from 28 to 5 kJ/kg by the increase of
moisture content 2–7 g/100 g in hazelnut kernels (Jung et al., 2018).
Tarigan, Prateepchaikul, Yamsaengsung, Sirichote, and Tekasakul
(2006) noted that net isosteric heat decreased until 0 kJ/mol with
raising of moisture content.
Fig. 2 clearly illustrated that the decrease of isosteric heat occurred
more sharply in the moisture content range of 2–10 g/100 g and after
that no more change was observed. The similar result was also obtained
by Panjagari et al. (2015) who found that the maximum heat of ad-
sorption (93.79 kJ/mol) was obtained between the moisture content of
1–2 g/100 g on dry basis. However, between 2 and 5 g/100 g moisture,
the isosteric heat of sorption decreased sharply, and after that, it was in
line. At the high level of moisture content of food, the energy necessary
for vaporisation is low due to weak hydrophilic bounds of
90
80
70
Sorption Heat (kJ/mol)
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
0 2 4 6
Moisture Content g H2O /100g solids
Fig. 2. Net isosteric sorption heat (kJ/mol) of chia seed.
LWT - Food Science and Technology 119 (2020) 108859
macromolecules and free water. On the contrary, during drying,
moisture content decreases continuously since only the monolayer
moisture is left. As a result of this process, the water molecules become
tightly bound to the surface of food and the sorption sites. At the same
time, the heat of sorption increases above the heat of vaporisation of
pure water, making it difficult to remove water from the surface
(Iglesias & Chirife, 1982; Kaya & Kahyaoglu, 2006; Panjagari et al.,
2015; Sormoli & Langrish, 2015). Moreover, Khawas and Deka (2017)
attributed the decrease of qSt with the increase in EMC values to strong
water-solid interaction and sorption occurred on the less active sites
giving lower qSt.
3.5. Adsorption surface area
The specific surface area plays an essential role in determining the
water-binding capacity of a material (Hidar et al., 2018). Adsorption
surface area of chia seeds was calculated by monolayer moisture con-
tent obtained from GAB. SA was determined to be 102.72, 97.43 and
95.31 m2/g at 15 °C, 25 °C and 35 °C, respectively. From the results, it
can be concluded that making hydrogen bound capacity of seeds de-
creased with increasing temperature. This behaviour has been de-
scribed as a reduction in the number of active sites because of physical
and chemical changes induced by temperature (Hidar et al., 2018). The
surface interaction, structure and chemical composition affected the
water sorption capacity of seeds. Koua et al. (2014) indicated micro-
porous structure of food lead to increase adsorption surface area. Bup
et al. (2013) determined for shea nut as 72.32–175.65 m2/g and re-
ported a significant reduction of the surface area of both raw and
cooked kernels with increasing temperature.
4. Conclusion
According to the results, the moisture content of seeds had an in-
creasing trend by the rising of aw value, and the seeds adsorbed 18–20 g
H2O/100 g solid. Chia seeds became less hygroscopic with the in-
creasing sorption temperatures at constant aw. The adsorption isotherm
of seeds detected as Type II according to Branuer classification. The XM
of whole chia seeds were determined as 2.39–2.91 g H2O/100 g solid
according to BET and GAB equations. Additionally, the experimental
data were satisfactorily fitted using the Peleg model in the whole stu-
died range of water activities. The isosteric heat decreased more sharply
at lower moisture contents, and after that no more change was ob-
served. According to SA calculations, it can be concluded that making
hydrogen bound capacity of chia seed surface decreased with increasing
temperature. Consequently, the obtained data from this study imply
that aw and relative humidity should be lower 0.25 and 25 g/100 g,
qst Net
Qst
8 10 12 14 16 18
5
S. Arslan-Tontul LWT - Food Science and Technology 119 (2020) 108859

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