Low Moisture Content (low + moisture_content)

Distribution by Scientific Domains


Selected Abstracts


FREE-SPACE MICROWAVE MEASUREMENT of LOW MOISTURE CONTENT IN POWDERED FOODS

JOURNAL OF FOOD PROCESSING AND PRESERVATION, Issue 1 2000
RAM M. NARAYANAN
A free-space microwave transmission technique has been developed and tested for rapid inline noninvasive measurement of the moisture content of various types of food powders. the basis of this technique is the relation between the attenuation of X-band microwave radiation through a sample of the food powder to its moisture content by weight. Since food powders generally lose their utility and desirable properties, such as flowability and resistance to spoilage, at lower levels of moisture content, typically 3,7%, special techniques must be developed in order to accurately characterize the moisture content at these low levels. One such technique is to use frequency averaging to enhance the accuracy of the measurements to avoid multiple reflection effects prevalent in low-loss low-moisture attenuation measurements. This technique was implemented in the moisture content estimation. Overall accuracies in moisture content estimation are generally less than 1%, although in some cases, accuracies are in the vicinity of 5%. [source]


Influence of moisture content on measurement accuracy of porous media thermal conductivity

HEAT TRANSFER - ASIAN RESEARCH (FORMERLY HEAT TRANSFER-JAPANESE RESEARCH), Issue 8 2009
Mingzhi Yu
Abstract The thermal conductivity measurement accuracy of sand was experimentally studied with a hot disk thermal constant analyzer and water morphologies, distribution, and evolution at the pore scale were observed with a charge coupled device (CCD) combined with a microscope. It was found that thermal conductivities of samples with low moisture content (<25%) could not be accurately measured. For samples with low moisture content, the analysis showed that the water in the region adjacent to the analyzer sensor mainly existed as isolated liquid bridges between/among sand particles and would evaporate and diffuse to relatively far regions because of being heated by the sensor during measurement. Water evaporation and diffusion caused the sample constitution in the region adjacent to the sensor to vary throughout the whole measurement process, and accordingly induced low accuracy of the obtained thermal conductivities. Due to high water connectivity in pores, the rate of water evaporation and diffusion in porous media of high moisture content was relatively slow when compared with that of low moisture content. Meanwhile, water in the relatively far regions flowed back to the region adjacent to the sensor by capillary force. Therefore, samples consisting of the region adjacent to the sensor maintained the constant and thermal conductivities of porous media with relatively high moisture content and could be measured with high accuracy. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Heat Trans Asian Res; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/htj.20272 [source]


Application of small-angle scattering to study the effects of moisture content on a native soy protein

JOURNAL OF APPLIED CRYSTALLOGRAPHY, Issue 3 2008
Catherine S. Kealley
The nano- and microstructure of glycinin, a soybean protein, has been investigated as a function of moisture for moisture contents between 4 and 21,wt%. Glycinin exhibits peaks in the small-angle region whose positions show minimal change with X-rays for samples up to 13% moisture. However, the use of neutron scattering, and the associated enhancement in contrast, results in the Bragg peaks being well resolved up to higher moisture contents; the associated shift in peak positions between 4 and 21% moisture are consistent with the expansion of a hexagonal unit cell as a function of moisture content. A Porod slope of ,,4 indicates that the interface between the `dry' protein powder and the surrounding medium at a length-scale of at least 3,µm down to ,20,nm is smooth and sharp. Scanning electron microscopy indicates that the powders, with low moisture content, have a porous appearance, with the porosity decreasing and microstructure expanding as the moisture content increases. [source]


Gas permeation related to the moisture sorption in films of glassy hydrophilic polymers

JOURNAL OF APPLIED POLYMER SCIENCE, Issue 6 2010
F.L. Laksmana
Abstract The purpose of this article is to elucidate the effect of integral sorption of moisture on gas permeation in glassy hydrophilic polymers. The oxygen and the simultaneous moisture sorption into various hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC) films were measured under a wide range of relative humidities using sorption analyzer equipment. Correspondingly, the oxygen permeability at different ambient conditions was measured using an oxygen detector. The solubility of oxygen in the HPMC film was found to be affected by the amount of water and therefore by the water state. At low moisture content, the water molecules are present as bound water, which promotes the sorption of oxygen in the HPMC films. At moisture content higher than 5%, water clusters are rapidly formed, which increase the affinity of HPMC polymer towards water rather than towards oxygen molecules, resulting in a decrease of oxygen solubility in the polymer. This was found to be the governing factor for the reduction in the oxygen permeability in glassy HPMC films at high water activity. This proposes a specific interaction between moisture sorption and oxygen transport in coating films like HPMC, which is of important aspect in the coating design and formulation. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2010 [source]


Development of an Enzymic Time Temperature Integrator for Sterilization Processes Based on Bacillus licheniformis ,-amylase at Reduced Water Content

JOURNAL OF FOOD SCIENCE, Issue 1 2002
Y.P. Guiavarc'h
ABSTRACT: The thermal stability of Bacillus licheniformis ,-amylase at low moisture content was studied, based on isothermal experiments performed in a temperature range 113 to 125 °C. The thermal inactivation was monitored by measuring the decrease in thermal denaturation enthalpy and/or the decrease in enzymic activity on pnitrophenyl-,-D-maltoheptaoside, or on starch as a substrate. Based on enthalpy readings, an enzymic system with a z-value of 10.4 °C was observed when using a relative humidity of 81% at 4 °C. A theoretical study showed that this system could be used as a Time Temperature Integrator (TTI) to monitor the safety of sterilization processes of numerous food products. [source]


Compositional and degradative changes during the manufacture of dry-cured ,lacón'

JOURNAL OF THE SCIENCE OF FOOD AND AGRICULTURE, Issue 6 2003
José M Lorenzo
Abstract The gross and mineral composition, the main physicochemical parameters, the protein extractability and the proteolytic (nitrogen fractions and free amino acids) and lipolytic (acidity index and free fatty acids) changes were studied throughout the manufacturing process of five batches of dry-cured ,lacón', a traditional Spanish meat product made from the fore-ham of the pig following a similar technological process to that of dry-cured ham. The main compositional characteristics of this product are the high NaCl content and the low moisture content at the end of the curing process. The pH remained fairly stable (around 6) throughout the whole process and a fall in aw was observed, reaching very low (0.767 ± 0.052) final average values. It was noted that 76% of the sarcoplasmic and 83% of the myofibrillar proteins became insoluble during the manufacturing process. The values of the different nitrogen fractions increased in a significant manner during manufacture, reaching low final values that indicate that ,lacón' undergoes a low level of proteolysis in comparison with other products manufactured by similar technologies. The high NaCl content and the intense dehydration suffered during the manufacturing process appear to be the principal causes of this reduced protein degradation. In accordance with the limited increase in the ,-amino acidic nitrogen during ripening, the total free amino acid content increased slightly but significantly from average values of 4371 mg kg,1 dry matter in fresh pieces to average values of 13 020 mg kg,1 dry matter in pieces at the end of the ripening process. The profile of free amino acids in the final product was similar to that observed by other authors in dry-cured ham. The acidity of the fat increased by a factor of five. The final average values (49.9 g oleic acid kg,1) were lower than those determined in dry-cured ham, which indicates that ,lacón' undergoes less lipolysis during the ripening process than dry-cured ham. C18 : 1, C18 : 2 and C16 were the most intensively released fatty acids during curing. The profile of free fatty acids in the end product was in agreement with that observed by other authors in dry-cured ham. Copyright © 2003 Society of Chemical Industry [source]


COATING WITH HONEY: A STUDY WITH MODEL SOLIDS

JOURNAL OF FOOD PROCESS ENGINEERING, Issue 3 2002
BHAVESH K. PATEL
ABSTRACT Simulation studies on coating of steel balls with honey as well as the rheological measurements were carried out at different moisture contents (20.3,37.7%, dry basis), and temperatures (5,80C). The coating characteristics of honey were judged by the thickness of honey layer, and by the proposed index, dimensionless uptake. Honey possesses extremely high viscosity at low temperatures and/or at low moisture contents. The sensitivity of honey viscosity with temperature was determined by using Arrhenius equation. Enhanced values of dimensionless uptake and thickness were obtained at low temperature-low moisture combinations. Viscosity of honey for easy handling and coating is in the neighborhood of 103 mPas corresponding to a temperature of 50C. [source]