LEMON PEEL DEGRADATION MODELING IN THE ENZYMATIC PEELING PROCESS

This work studies the optimization of the enzymatic peeling of Primofiore lemons, focusing on determining the changes that happen in the peel albedo. In this process, the conditions of temperature, time and concentration of the enzymatic preparation were determined in order to produce the maximum peel mass loss related to the best peeling efficiency. In this study, the effect of the temperature on the peeling process rate, the kinetic constants at different temperatures and the activation energy of the degradation of the peel albedo were determined. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS The process described in this work is applied in the peel removal technology by enzyme infusion, being one of the stages in the preparation of minimally processed lemons.