DIELECTRIC PROPERTIES of STARCH SOLUTIONS AS INFLUENCED BY TEMPERATURE, CONCENTRATION, FREQUENCY and SALT

Abstract

ABSTRACTDielectric properties of starch solutions (1 to 4% w/w) were evaluated at temperatures ranging from 20 to 80C at 10, 20 and 30 MHz. the effect of added salt (0.2 and 0.5% w/w) was investigated in relation to changes in trends exhibited by the relative permittivity, loss factor and penetration depth. the relative permittivity ranged from 46 to 308 and 65 to 92 for solutions with and without salt, respectively. the corresponding loss factor ranged 266 to 4133 and 9 to 266, respectively. Temperature, frequency, concentration and their interactions had different levels of significance on the dielectric properties of starch solutions. Salt enhanced the relative permittivity, and its effect conformed to the anomalous dispersion phenomenon. the loss factor increased with increasing temperature and salt content, and penetration depths associated with salt‐enriched samples were low compared to samples without salt. Generally, the effects of temperature, frequency, concentration and salt on the dielectric properties of starch solutions were attributed to the complex interaction between conductivity, density, moisture content, loss angle and starch rheological properties. Excellent correlations were developed that could be used for estimating the dielectric properties of starch solutions with and without salt.