Abstract
Tamarind is used in the food and pharmaceutical industry, and its seed is the main means for the reproduction of this species, thus justifying studies that ensure its post-harvest viability. This research aimed to study the thermodynamic properties of tamarind seeds as a function of the equilibrium moisture content. The experimental data of the water activities were obtained by the indirect static method. The Cavalcanti Mata model was used to determine the thermodynamic properties of tamarind seeds, as it was the model that best fitted the experimental data of the desorption isotherms. The results showed that the thermodynamic properties are influenced by the moisture content and temperature, with an increase in the energy required to remove water from the product with a decrease in moisture content. The net isosteric heat of desorption increases with a reduction of moisture content ranging from 2,618.85 to 2,510.25 kJ kg−1 for the moisture content range of 10.52 to 21.10% db. The latent heat of vaporization, the differential enthalpy, and the Gibbs free energy increase with a reduction of the moisture content of tamarind seeds.
Highlights
Tamarind seeds have a well-defined coat region, being irregular, rectangular, and rough, with a bright dark brown color and about 1.5 cm long and 1.2 cm wide (Sousa et al, 2010)
Due to the importance of the post-harvest processes of plant products for their preservation during storage, this work aimed to study the thermodynamic properties of tamarind seeds as a function of the equilibrium moisture content and temperature
The water activity increases in response to an increase in temperature and moisture content
Summary
Tamarind seeds have a well-defined coat region, being irregular, rectangular, and rough, with a bright dark brown color and about 1.5 cm long and 1.2 cm wide (Sousa et al, 2010). Drying stands out among the most used processes for maintaining the quality of plant products after harvest, as it is an indispensable technique for the quality control of plant products (Oliveira et al, 2011). The knowledge of this moisture content reduction process, which simultaneously involves the transfer of heat and mass, is essential for an efficient drying at technical and economic levels (Resende et al, 2011). The study of these properties is essential in the analysis of projection and the dimensioning of equipment in various processes of product preservation and calculate the energy required in these processes (Corrêa et al, 2010)
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