Mass transfer modeling during wet salting of caiman meat (Caiman crocodilus yacare) at different brine temperatures

Caiman meat is considered exotic and its consumption has significantly increased due to its nutritional quality. This study aimed to evaluate the kinetics of water content (WC) and salt content (SC) at different temperatures (1, 5, 10 and 15 degrees C) and to evaluate the use of mathematical models to predict the mass transfer kinetics until equilibrium conditions during the wet salting of caiman tail fillets. Moisture and chloride analyses were per-formed throughout the wet salting process. Four models (Peleg; Weibull; Zugarramurdi and Lupin; Diffusion) were tested to predict WC and SC kinetics in caiman tail fillets subjected to wet salting. The increase in the temperature resulted in a reduction (P < 0.05) in WC and an increase (P < 0.05) in SC. Nonlinear effects on WC and SC kinetics were observed between the different temperatures evaluated. Furthermore, the effective diffusion coefficients (Dw and Ds) increased (P < 0.05) with increasing temperature. Peleg, Weibull, Zugarramurdi and Lupin, and the Diffusion model satisfactorily represented WC and SC rates throughout the process. The kinetic behavior of the parameters of the models corroborated the effects of temperature on those parameters. Peleg was the best model for predicting WC and SC kinetics, and Zugarramurdi and Lupin was the best for predicting the equilibrium conditions of the process (WC infinity SC infinity), all parameters which can be used to describe the mass transfer kinetics during wet salting of caiman tail fillets.

Automated summary

This study aimed to evaluate the kinetics of water content and salt content in caiman tail fillets during wet salting at different temperatures. Four mathematical models were tested to predict the mass transfer kinetics. The results showed that temperature had significant effects on water content, salt content, and effective diffusion coefficients. The Peleg model was the best for predicting water and salt content kinetics, while the Zugarramurdi and Lupin model was the best for predicting equilibrium conditions.