Mass Transfer Modeling and Shrinkage Consideration during Osmotic Dehydration of Fruits and Vegetables

Abstract

During osmotic dehydration of fruits and vegetables, as water and/or other substances are removed from the material, shrinkage follows depending on the extent of net mass loss. Mass transfer is usually predicted through modeling. However, common models developed for osmotic dehydration of fruits and vegetables make assumptions that often deviate far from reality, including large heterogeneity, variability and complexity in properties of fruits and vegetables. This generates some skepticism about such models and minimizes their potential industrial reliability. This paper reviews osmotic dehydration of fruits and vegetables through a basic approach, provides a critical view on modeling and points out the factors that affect shrinkage and mass transfer based on an extensive evaluation of pertinent literature.

Keywords:

• Osmotic dehydration
• Modeling
• Mass transfer
• Diffusion coefficient
• Shrinkage

Acknowledgments

The authors thank China High-Tech (863) Plan under contract No 2007AA100406 and China National Natural Science Foundation under contract No.20776062.