Moisture Sorption Isotherms of Osmotically Dehydrated Sweet Pepper.

Moisture sorption isotherms of osmotically dehydrated sweet peppers were determined at 15oC, 30oC and 40oC using static desiccator techniques. In the study, seven levels of water activity in range of 0.08 to 0.91 were used by the use of saturated salt solutions. The isotherms were found to be sigmoid type and of BET classification II. Out of seven sorption models i.e. BET, modified BET, Hasley, Caurie, GAB, Oswin and Smith, fitted to the experimental data, Oswin model was found to be the best for accurate prediction of moisture sorption isotherm with highest value of coefficient of determination (R2) and lowest values of standard error (SE) and relative deviation parentage (Rd). The value of monolayer moisture content of the osmotically dehydrated sweet pepper was found to be 3.037%, 3.934% and 4.432% (db) at 15oC, 30oC and 40oC respectively. The values of net isosteric heat of sorption as calculated by Clausius-Clapeyron equation showed a regular fall with increase in moisture content. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]