Agriculturae Conspectus Scientificus, Vol 74, No 3 (2009)

Osmotic Drying of Apricot (Prunus armeniaca) in Sucrose Solution

Ivan PAVKOV, Ljiljana BABIĆ, Mirko BABIĆ, Milivoj RADOJČIN

Pages: 253-257

Summary


Osmotic drying is a process of partial removal of water by submersing fruits in sucrose solution. The goal of this paper is to examine kinetic features of osmotic drying of apricot halves in sucrose solution. For osmotic drying of apricot halves in a thick immovable layer, a planned experiment was conducted. Experimental results were used to create an empirical model of osmotic drying kinetics which expresses the influence of analyzed experiment factors on water loss (WL). The experiment factors were temperature of osmotic solution, varied at two levels, 35 °C and 60 °C, and sucrose concentration varied at two levels, 50 °Bx and 65 °Bx. Using regression analysis of experimental data for water loss (WL) at statistical probability of 99 %, parameters of empirical model and correlation coefficient were calculated for the proposed mathematical model. Experimental results were approximated using the derived equation. Conformance of experimental results with the empirical model was evaluated using correlation coefficient (R). Correlation coefficient calculated for the proposed model was high, R = 0.976. It indicates fi ne agreement between experimental and model values for water loss.

Keywords


osmotic drying; kinetics; mathematical model; apricot

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