Experimental results and modeling of the osmotic dehydration kinetics of chestnut with glucose solutions Original Research Article

Osmotic dehydration of chestnut (Castanea sativa Mill.) was carried out using aqueous solutions of glucose of different concentrations (40.0, 50.0 and 56.5% w/w) as osmotic media, and working at three temperatures (25, 35 and 45 °C). At different time intervals (up to 8 h) of contact with the osmotic media, total mass, solids gain, water loss and moisture content were determined for each sample. The experimental data modelling was successfully achieved employing an empirical model based on logistic dose response (LDR) curves considering constant dimensions. A model based on Fickian diffusion was also employed with satisfactory results considering the effective coefficient of diffusion constant. Additionally, at the same operating conditions, glucose and moisture contents were obtained for different depths of the samples to determine composition profiles during osmotic dehydration.