Study of moisture adsorption isotherms characteristics of banana and thermodynamic properties using statistical physics formalism

Modeling of food moisture content is of interest to correlate experimental data during the storage and packaging to predict the shelf life of the products. An advanced model using statistical physics formalism is used to interpret and discuss the sorption isotherm of water into banana. The desorption isotherms are obtained by the gravimetric static method at three temperatures (35 degrees C, 50 degrees C and 70 degrees C). The fitting allows interpreting the process at microscopic level. A steric interpretation by the mean of the number of molecules per site (n) allows describing the manner of desanchoring from the surface whereas the monolayer quantity Q(0) is in relationship with the density of receptor sites N-M represents an important parameter for industrial food. An energetic interpretation allows deducing the desorption energy of water during the desorption. By the mean of the statistical model, we calculated the pore size distribution (PSD) the surface of banana.

Automated summary

The modeling of food moisture content is important for predicting product shelf life during storage and packaging. By using a statistical physics formalism, an advanced model was applied to interpret and discuss the sorption isotherm of water into banana. The desorption isotherms, pore size distribution, and energy interpretation provide insights into the microscopic and macroscopic aspects of moisture adsorption and desorption processes.