Mathematical models for moisture sortion isotherms of barley and wheat

Abstract

Moisture sorption isotherms play an essential role in preservation and storage of dehydrated foods. To study the behavior of different cereals (wheat, barley), in a certain equilibrium static environment, gravimetric methods were applied for temperatures ranging between 16 and 25°C and water activities from 0.533 to 0.909. The moisture isotherms were sigmoid shaped and showed a clear temperature dependence of water activity (aw). GAB and a second order polynomial equation were used to model the experimental data.