Journal of Food Engineering 80 (2007) 781790

www.elsevier.com/locate/jfoodeng

Predicting the moisture and salt contents of sardine sheets

during vacuum pulse osmotic dehydration
Otoniel Corzo
a

a,*

, Nelson Bracho b, Jaime Rodrguez a, Maresvi Gonzalez

Department of Food Techology, Universidad de Oriente, Nucleo de Nueva Esparta, Guatamare, Venezuela
b
Department of Statistic, Universidad de Oriente, Nucleo de Nueva Esparta, Guatamare, Venezuela
Received 10 December 2005; received in revised form 16 July 2006; accepted 17 July 2006
Available online 16 November 2006

Abstract
Application of the Peleg model was investigated for predicting the moisture and salt contents of sardine sheets during vacuum pulse
osmotic dehydration using brine at dierent concentrations (0.150.27 g NaCl/g), temperatures (3038 C), and applying a vacuum pulse
at 11.0 kPa for 10 min. The high regression coecients (R2 > 0.97) and low mean relative error (<10%) indicated the acceptability of
Peleg model for predicting both moisture and salt contents. The eects of temperature on rate and capacity constants of Peleg model
for moisture and salt contents depend of the value of concentration of brine. The equilibrium moisture and salt contents were estimated
using Peleg capacity constant. Models for equilibrium moisture and salt contents as a function of brine concentration and temperature
were found.
 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Predicting moisture and salt contents; Vacuum pulse osmotic dehydration; Sardine sheets

1. Introduction
Osmotic dehydration is a viable process for the partial
removal of water in which cellular materials are placed in
a concentrated solution of soluble solute. A driving force
for water removal is set up because of a dierence in osmotic pressure between the food and its surrounding solution.
The complex cellular structure of food is a semi-permeable
membrane. Since the membrane responsible for osmotic
transport is not perfectly selective, other solutes present
in the cells can also be leached into the osmotic solution
(Giangiacomo, Torreggiani, & Abbo, 1987). The use of a
vacuum in osmotic dehydration allows for quicker processing times and a reduction in energy during process (Fito &
Chiralt, 1994). The osmotic dehydration process enhanced
by vacuum pulse is a technique which consists of submerging the food into an osmotic solution and applying sub-

Corresponding author.
E-mail address: otocorzo@cantv.net (O. Corzo).

0260-8774/$ - see front matter  2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.jfoodeng.2006.07.007

atmospheric pressure at a short interval followed by a large

osmotic dehydration period at atmospheric pressure. This
leads to the introduction of osmotic liquid into the pores
of the food through the hydrodynamic mechanism (Fito
& Chiralt, 1997), increasing the area of mass transfer in
the food and producing a greater solid-liquid exchange.
The rate of diusion of water from any material made up
of such tissue depends upon factors such as temperature
and concentration of the osmotic solution, pressure, the
size and geometry of the material, the solution to material
mass ratio, and the level of agitation of the solution (Fito,
1994; Raoult-Wack, 1994; Raoult-Wack, Lenart, & Guilbert, 1992; Rastogi, Eshtisghi, & Knorr, 1999; Rastogi &
Niranjan, 1998; Rastogi & Raghavarao, 1997; Simal, Benedito, Sanchez, & Rosello, 1998; Torreggiani, 1993).
During the process, the solute and moisture concentrations, and consequently, the mass, change, and nally there
will be an equilibrium state. Equilibrium kinetics of
osmotic dehydration of potato (Biswal, Bozorgmehr,
Tompkins, & Liu, 1991), sh tilapia (Medina-Vivanen,
Sobral, & Hubinger, 1998), apple (Monsalve-Gonzalez,

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O. Corzo et al. / Journal of Food Engineering 80 (2007) 781790

Barbosa-Canovas, & Cavalieri, 1993; Panagiotou, Karathanos, & Maroulis, 1998), banana and kiwi fruit (Panagiotou et al., 1998) have been studied. A model, with an
exponential approach to the equilibrium value of water
and salt contents was proposed by Zugarramurdi and
Lupn (1980) to explain observed behavior on sh salting.
Escriche, Serra, Fito, and Rivero (1998) applied this model
to study the osmotic dehydration with vacuum of codsh.
Escriche, Garca-Pinchi, Andres, and Fito (2000) studied
the inuence of temperature, duration of the vacuum pulse
and the kind of osmotic solution on mass transfer kinetics
during osmotic dehydration of kiwi fruit. Barat, Chiralt,
and Fito (2001) studied the inuence of operation variables
on water, solute concentration and weight net gain during
atmospheric osmotic dehydration and pulsed vacuum
osmotic dehydration of apple slices. Parjoko, Rahman,
Buckle, and Perera (1996) proposed equations to estimate
the equilibrium water and solute content as a function of
the equilibrium water loss and solute gain estimated by
Azuara, Beristain, and Garcia (1992). Peleg (1988) proposed a two-parameter sorption equation and tested its
prediction accuracy during water adsorption of milk powder and whole rice, and soaking of whole rice. This equation has been used to describe sorption processes in
various foods (Abu-Ghannam & McKenna, 1997; Maharaj
& Sankat, 2000; Sanjuan, Carcel, Clemente, & Mulet, 2001;
Seyhan-Gurtas, Ak, & Evranuz, 2001; Sopade & Kaimur,
1999; Sopade & Obekpa, 1990; Turhan, Sayar, & Gunasekaran, 2002). Palou, Lopez-Malo, Argaiz, and Welti (1994)
studied simultaneous water desorption and sucrose absorption during osmotic dehydration of papaya using Peleg
model. The major advantage of the Peleg model is to save
time by predicting water sorption kinetics of foods including equilibrium moisture content using short-time experimental data (Maharaj & Sankat, 2000; Turhan et al.,
2002). In the literature, there is little information available
about using Peleg model for the osmotic dehydration of
sh (Corzo & Bracho, 2006). The objectives of this study
were the determination of the applicability of Peleg equation in predicting moisture and salt contents of sardine
sheets during vacuum pulse osmotic dehydration; and the
determination of equilibrium moisture and salt contents
for vacuum pulse osmotic dehydration at dierent brine
concentrations and temperatures.

15.0 0.6 mm, and average thickness of 6.4 0.2 mm.

The moisture and salt contents were determined for fresh
sardine by quadruplicate.
2.2. Osmotic dehydration
Random groups with four sheets in each were formed. A
basket with four-marked compartment was used to put it in
the sheets of each group to avoid interference between
them. Four groups were introduced simultaneously into
an osmotic solution of a given concentration and temperature. A vacuum pulse at 11.0 kPa for 10 min was applied,
followed by 10 min of relaxation at atmospheric pressure
and nally the osmotic dehydration was carried out at
atmosphere pressure. One group was removed at intervals
of 1 h during 4 h. After the removal from brine the dehydrated sheets of each group were drained for 5 min, blotted
with absorbent paper to remove the excess solution. The
moisture content and salt content were measured. This procedure took place in each experience to the corresponding
conditions according to a 5 5 4 factorial design where
the temperature, concentration and dehydration time were
30, 32, 34, 36, and 38 C, 0.15, 0.18, 0.21, 0.24 and 0.27 g
NaCl/g, and 1, 2, 3 and 4 h, respectively. Experiments were
carried out by duplicate.
The osmotic solution was prepared by mixing commercial grade salt with distilled water. The brine to sample
ratio was always higher than 20:1 to avoid signicant dilution of the medium by water removal, which would lead to
local reduction of the osmotic driving force during the process. The concentration of the brine was monitored
throughout each experiment. The brine was agitated continuously with a magnetic stirrer to maintain a uniform
temperature throughout the experiment, thus enhancing
equilibrium conditions. The temperatures were also monitored using digital thermometers within the accuracy of
0.1 C.
The concentration of the brine (g NaCl/g) was adjusted
initially and thereafter monitored throughout each run by
the Mohr method (AOAC, 1990). The moisture content
of fresh and treated sardine sheets was determined by drying under vacuum (1.93 Pa) at 60 C until constant weight
(AOAC, 1990). The salt content of fresh and treated sardine sheets was determined by the Mohr method (AOAC,
1990).

2. Materials and methods

2.1. Sample preparation
The fresh sardine (Sardinella aurita) was acquired from
the shermen from the same capture zone of Margarita
Island, Venezuela, who caught the sh within 1 h before
selling them. Sardines were 1520 cm long and weighed
3035 g/sh. Sardines were manually lleted with stainless
steel knives, and then the llets were cut into sheets from
the muscle nearest to head. The samples were sheets with
an average length of 20.1 0.4 mm, average width of

2.3. Peleg model

Peleg (1988) proposed a two-parameter sorption equation and tested its prediction accuracy during water vapor
adsorption of milk powder and whole rice, and soaking of
whole rice. This equation is
t
X w X w0 
1
K 1 K 2t
where Xw is moisture content expressed as dry basis at time
t, Xw0 is initial moisture content expressed as dry basis, K1

O. Corzo et al. / Journal of Food Engineering 80 (2007) 781790

is the Peleg rate constant, and K2 is the Peleg capacity constant. In Eq. (1), becomes + if the process is absorption or adsorption and  if the process is drying or
desorption.
The Peleg rate constant K1 relates to desorption rate at
the very beginning, t = t0
dX w
1

K1
dt

The Peleg capacity constant K2 relates to minimum

attainable moisture content. As t ! 1, Eq. (1) gives the
relation between equilibrium moisture content (Xwe) and
K2
X we X w0 

1
K2

The plotting of Eq. (4) is a straight line, where the rst

term of the second member is the intercept (K1) and K2 is
the slope.
Similarly, for salt uptake the Peleg model can be also
written as
t
X s X s0
5
K 3 K 4t

t
K 3 K 4t
X s  X s0

where Xs is salt content expressed as dry basis at time t, Xs0

is initial salt content expressed as dry basis, K3 is the Peleg
rate constant, and K4 is the Peleg capacity constant.
The Peleg rate constant K3 relates to salt gain rate at the
very beginning, t = t0
dX s
1

K3
dt

The Peleg capacity constant K4 relates to maximum

attainable salt content. As t ! 1, Eq. (5) gives the relation
between equilibrium moisture content (Xse) and K4
1
K4

Our assumption was that the Peleg model would predict

salt uptake kinetics of food including equilibrium salt
content.
2.4. Statistical analysis
Statistical evaluation of the results was performed using
a 5 5 4 split (on time) factorial design (ve concentrations, ve temperatures, and seven time intervals). Linear
regression (Montgomery & Peck, 1982) was used to tting

2.5
2.1

1.7

1.3
0.9
0

Moisture content (g water/g db)

Moisture content (g water/g db)

or

X se X s0

Linearization of Eq. (1) gives

t
K 1  K 2t
X w  X w0

783

1.8
1.6

1.4

1.2
1
1

Dehydration time (h)

Dehydration time (h)

0.31

Salt content (g NaCl/g db)

Salt content (g NaCl/g db)

0.4
0.3

0.2

0.1
0
0

Dehydration time (h)

Fig. 1. Plot of moisture and salt contents during osmotic dehydration of
sardine sheets in brines at 34 C and dierent concentrations: (-) 0.15 g
NaCl/g; (- -) 0.18 g NaCl/g; ( ) 0.21 g NaCl/g; (- ) 0.24 g NaCl/g; (- )
0.27 g NaCl/g.

0.28
0.25
0.22
0.19
0.16
1

Dehydration time (h)

Fig. 2. Plot of moisture and salt contents during osmotic dehydration of
sardine sheets in brines at 0.21 g NaCl/g and dierent temperatures: (-)
30 C; (- -) 32 C; ( ) 34 C; (- ) 36 C; (- ) 38 C.

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O. Corzo et al. / Journal of Food Engineering 80 (2007) 781790

database to Peleg model, for each combination of concentration and temperature of brine. Analysis of variance was
carried out to nd eects (p < 0.05) of brine concentration
and temperature on the constants of Peleg equation, and
equilibrium moisture and salt contents. Multiple comparison tests were performed using LSDs test at the 95% condence level. Linear regression was used to tting data of
equilibrium salt content to Arrhenius equation in order
to estimate dependence of temperature. Multiple linear
regression was used to tting a model of equilibrium moisture and salt contents as a function of brine concentration
and temperature. Analysis was carried out by using the
Statgraphics 5.0 statistical software (Statistical Graphics
Corp., Rockville, MD, USA).
The performance of the prediction model was determined using the coecient of determination (R2) of the linear regression, and the modulus of the mean relative error
(MRE) between the values predicted from the prediction
models and the experimental. The MRE was calculated
by the expression
n
X
jY i  Y pi j
MRE
 100
9
nY i
i
where Yi and Ypi are experimental and predicted (Eqs. (1)
and (5)) values, respectively, and n is the number of experimental data points.

3. Results and discussion

3.1. Application of the Peleg model
Moisture and salt content of fresh sardine were
2.143 0.346 g water/g db and 0.0774 0.0042 g NaCl/
g db, respectively. The moisture and salt contents during
osmotic dehydration in brines at 34 C and dierent
concentrations and at 0.21 g NaCl/g and dierent temperatures are shown in Figs. 1 and 2. It can be seen that
moisture content decreased with increasing dehydration
time, brine concentration, and temperature, while salt
content increased. The changes were faster in the initial
period of dehydration and then the rate decreased.
Experimental data within the curvilinear segments of
each mass transfer and away from equilibrium conditions
(i.e. during the period of the decrease in moisture
content) was used to determine the goodness of t of
the Peleg model during osmotic dehydration a dierent
brine concentrations and temperatures. The results of
the linear regression models tted to the data are shown
in Tables 1 and 2. The coecients of determination, R2
values, ranged from 0.973 to 0.999 for both moisture loss
and salt gain. The p-values for model, intercept and
slope were slower than 0.0001. Such R2 and p-values
indicate a good t to the experimental data. The MRE

Table 1
Peleg constants and goodness of t of Peleg model for mass transfer during osmotic dehydration
Concentration (g NaCl/g)

Temperature (C)

Moisture loss

Salt up take

K1 (h (g/g db)1)

R2

K3 (h (g/g db)1)

R2

0.15

30
32
34
36
38

135.13 13.18
95.29 7.71
62.79 1.29
39.74 0.84
29.31 0.87

0.999
0.999
0.999
0.995
0.997

179.43 2.96
177.29 0.63
163.83 3.69
159.38 0.65
136.81 1.31

0.999
0.998
0.999
0.997
0.999

0.18

30
32
34
36
38

95.80 0.74
68.73 2.79
28.55 0.09
63.34 1.49
33.45 2.39

0.999
0.992
0.997
0.998
0.987

138.84 1.37
179.57 6.94
211.85 1.26
241.49 1.43
251.05 3.24

0.987
0.986
0.993
0.999
0.998

0.21

30
32
34
36
38

32.68 0.04
23.40 0.12
19.24 0.07
16.96 0.52
14.80 0.80

0.998
0.999
0.995
0.997
0.973

179.78 3.48
158.57 1.38
173.18 1.78
190.16 4.56
165.82 3.54

0.996
0.995
0.996
0.996
0.996

0.24

30
32
34
36
38

22.47 0.20
13.96 0.51
13.29 0.24
19.79 0.12
28.99 0.45

0.998
0.979
0.992
0.999
0.997

142.44 3.40
127.30 3.38
149.58 1.48
178.75 0.52
181.41 2.53

0.998
0.990
0.998
0.998
0.987

0.27

30
32
34
36
38

20.45 0.82
22.34 0.61
11.28 0.56
11.25 0.76
11.86 0.83

0.997
0.999
0.984
0.999
0.995

160.25 3.48
188.35 3.40
162.14 1.62
189.48 1.81
199.08 1.86

0.973
0.994
0.976
0.994
0.995

Values of K1 and K3 are means of eight replicates.

O. Corzo et al. / Journal of Food Engineering 80 (2007) 781790

785

Table 2
Peleg capacity constants and goodness of t of Peleg model for mass transfer during osmotic dehydration
Concentration (g NaCl/g)

Temperature (C)

Moisture loss
1

Salt up take

K2 ((g/g db) )

K4 ((g/g db)1)

R2

0.15

30
32
34
36
38

1.33 0.07
1.59 0.04
1.17 0.01
0.88 0.01
0.76 0.01

0.999
0.999
0.999
0.995
0.997

4.54 0.02
4.54 0.02
4.54 0.02
4.54 0.02
4.13 0.07

0.999
0.998
0.999
0.997
0.999

0.18

30
32
34
36
38

1.10 0.01
1.84 0.02
0.86 0.00
1.73 0.01
1.31 0.01

0.999
0.992
0.997
0.998
0.987

4.13 0.07
4.13 0.07
4.13 0.07
3.89 0.03
3.89 0.03

0.987
0.986
0.993
0.999
0.998

0.21

30
32
34
36
38

1.09 0.01
0.66 0.00
0.72 0.00
1.03 0.01
0.86 0.01

0.998
0.999
0.995
0.997
0.973

3.89 0.03
3.89 0.03
3.82 0.02
3.82 0.02
3.82 0.02

0.996
0.995
0.996
0.996
0.996

0.24

30
32
34
36
38

0.76 0.01
0.59 0.01
0.68 0.01
0.91 0.01
0.95 0.01

0.998
0.979
0.992
0.999
0.997

3.82 0.02
3.37 0.01
3.37 0.01
3.37 0.01
3.37 0.01

0.998
0.990
0.998
0.998
0.987

0.27

30
32
34
36
38

0.96 0.01
1.05 0.01
0.68 0.01
0.83 0.01
0.89 0.01

0.997
0.999
0.984
0.999
0.995

4.34 0.02
4.34 0.02
4.34 0.02
4.34 0.02
3.72 0.07

0.997
0.994
0.976
0.994
0.995

Values of K2 and K4 are means of eight replicates.

(Table 3) indicates the relative error of the predictions,

and values below 1.35% are indicative of reasonable
good t for most practical purpose (Krokida &
Marinos-Kouris, 2003; Sopade, 2001) for predicting
moisture and salt contents. The high R2 attained and
the low MRE shows that for practical purposes the Peleg
equation is suitable for predicting the moisture and salt
contents of sardine sheets during osmotic dehydration
at both brine concentrations between 0.15 and 0.27 g
NaCl/g and temperatures between 30 and 38 C.

3.2. Initial mass transfer rate

The values of Peleg rate constants (K1 and K3) for dierent brine concentration and temperature are shown in
Table 1. The constant K1 and K3 variation was subjected
to analysis of variance across concentration and temperature eects. The results (Table 4) show that both K1 and
K3 were aected by concentration, temperature and its
interaction (Fig. 3). In conclusion, the eect of temperature
on these constants depends of the value of brine concentration. These constants are related to initial mass transfer
rate, e.g., the lower the K1, the higher the initial moisture
loss rate. At 0.15 and 0.21 g NaCl/g constant brine concen-

tration K1 and K3 decreased (p < 0.05) with increasing temperature suggesting a corresponding increase in the initial
moisture loss and salt uptake rates. The eect of temperature on these rates at the other brine concentration showed
the same pattern. The eect of brine concentration on
these rates depended on temperature. Gallart-Jornet
et al. (2007) found similar results during salting of cod
and salmon with two brine concentrations (0.15 and
0.25 g NaCl/g).
The constant rates for vacuum pulse dehydration of
sardine sheets (127.30251.05 h (g/g db)1 and 11.25
135.13 h (g/g db)1 for moisture loss and salt uptake,
respectively) were lower that those during osmotic dehydration at atmospheric pressure (0.2600.884 h (g/g db)1
and 0.8972.770 h (g/g db)1, respectively) (Corzo & Bracho, 2006). These results indicated that moisture loss and
salt uptake were enhanced by vacuum pulse (Chafer,
Gonzalez-Martinez, Fernandez, Perez, & Chiralt, 2003).
The initial moisture loss and salt uptake rates were
aected by pressure gradients named as hydrodynamic
mechanisms (HDM) during vacuum pulse (Andres,
Rodrguez-Barona, Barat, & Fito, 2002). The HDM consists mainly on exchanging the internal gas or liquid
occluded in a porous product by an external liquid phase
by pressure change in the food system (Fito, Andres,

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O. Corzo et al. / Journal of Food Engineering 80 (2007) 781790

Table 3
Mean relative error (MRE) for prediction of moisture and salt contents
Mean relative error (%)
Moisture content

Salt content

0.15

30
32
34
36
38

0.403
0.146
0.314
0.726
0.512

0.324
0.581
0.388
0.631
0.560

30
32
34
36
38

0.277
0.329
0.555
0.367
0.252

1.066
1.001
0.140
0.156
0.495

30
32
34
36
38

0.215
0.433
0.582
0.325
0.249

0.973
1.053
1.000
1.044
0.855

30
32
34
36
38

0.800
1.211
1.014
0.376
0.523

0.253
1.346
0.136
0.611
0.491

30
32
34
36
38

0.320
0.275
1.337
0.587
0.538

0.536
0.555
0.876
0.924
0.994

0.18

0.21

0.24

0.27

K1 (h(g water/g db)-1)

Temperature
(C)

120
90
60
30
0
30

32

34
36
Temperature (C)

38

30

32

34
36
Temperature (C)

38

270

K3 (h(g NaCl/g db)-1)

Concentration
(g NaCl/g)

150

240
210
180
150
120

Fig. 3. Multiple comparison of means of rate constants for moisture

content (K1) and salt content (K3) at dierent temperatures and brine
concentrations: (-) 0.15 g NaCl/g; (- -) 0.18 g NaCl/g; ( ) 0.21 g NaCl/g;
(- ) 0.24 g NaCl/g; (- ) 0.27 g NaCl/g.

3.3. Equilibrium moisture and salt contents

Chiralt, & Pardo, 1996). This exchange is associated to
the relaxation of the slightly deformed cell network
because of the low vacuum levels. The increase of concentration and the decrease of temperature raise osmotic
solution viscosity. This promotes low osmotic solution
penetration into the food pores via hydrodynamic mechanisms. In another way, the deformationrelaxation phenomena promoted by vacuum pulse are aected by high
temperature (Fito et al., 1996).

Table 2 shows the values of Peleg capacity constants (K2

and K4) for dierent brine concentration and temperature.
The constant K2 and K4 variation was subjected to analysis
of variance across concentration and temperature eects.
The results (Table 4) show that both K2 and K4 were
aected by concentration, temperature and its interaction
(Fig. 4). The eect of temperature on K2 depended on the
value of brine concentration. The constant K4 increased

Table 4
Analysis of variance for rate (K1 and K3) and capacity (K2 and K4) constants
Source

C
T
CT
Residual

Df

4
4
16

K3

K1

SS

MS

103150.0
58873.2
166404.0

25787.6
14718.3
10400.2

F-ratio
2479.8*
1415.4*
1000.1*

375
K4

C
T
CT
Residual

SS

MS

218462.0
69596.6
111324.0

54615.5
17399.1
6957.8

F-ratio

4466.5

11.9

4585.5*
1460.8*
584.2*

K2

4
4
16

117.1
37.8
4.2

375

0.3

29.3
9.5
0.3
0.0008

34925.9*
11281.8*
311.5*

18.0
4.8
17.5
0.1

4.5
1.2
1.2

12197.2*
3258.1*
2957.7*

0.0004

C = concentration; T = temperature; CT = interaction of concentration and temperature; Df = degree freedom; SS = sum of squares; MS = mean square.
*
Signicant at a = 0.0001.

O. Corzo et al. / Journal of Food Engineering 80 (2007) 781790

1.7

Table 5
Equilibrium moisture and salt contents at dierent conditions of brine
concentration and temperature

1.4

Concentration
(g NaCl/g)

Temperature
(C)

Equilibrium
moisture content
(g water/g db)

Equilibrium salt
content
(g NaCl/g db)

1.1

0.15

30
32
34
36
38

1.189 0.037
1.226 0.014
1.272 0.008
1.086 0.011
1.247 0.001

0.228 0.001
0.249 0.004
0.266 0.002
0.271 0.001
0.307 0.001

0.18

30
32
34
36
38

1.026 0.007
1.235 0.006
1.171 0.000
1.199 0.002
1.016 0.006

0.237 0.001
0.276 0.005
0.286 0.001
0.301 0.001
0.299 0.002

0.21

30
32
34
36
38

1.203 0.004
1.056 0.000
1.059 0.000
1.055 0.005
0.962 0.010

0.296 0.002
0.283 0.001
0.316 0.001
0.358 0.003
0.359 0.004

0.24

30
32
34
36
38

0.910 0.008
0.994 0.015
0.927 0.011
0.842 0.005
0.805 0.005

0.325 0.002
0.344 0.002
0.371 0.002
0.392 0.002
0.415 0.002

0.27

30
32
34
36
38

0.894 0.006
0.825 0.004
0.863 0.009
0.825 0.007
0.734 0.006

0.338 0.002
0.389 0.003
0.425 0.003
0.442 0.001
0.474 0.003

K2 ((g waterl/g db)-1)

0.8
0.5
30

32

34
36
Temperature (C)

38

4.6
K4 ((g NaCl/g db)-1)

787

4.1
3.6
3.1
2.6
2.1
30

32

34
36
Temperature (C)

38

Fig. 4. Multiple comparison of mean of capacity constants for moisture

content (K2) and salt content (K4) at dierent temperatures and brine
concentrations: (-) 0.15 g NaCl/g; (- -) 0.18 g NaCl/g; ( ) 0.21 g NaCl/g;
(- ) 0.24 g NaCl/g; (- ) 0.27 g NaCl/g.

(p < 0.05) with increasing temperature at all the brine concentrations. The capacity constants are related to equilibrium moisture content and equilibrium salt content, e.g.,
the lower the K2, the higher the equilibrium moisture content. The equilibrium moisture (Xwe) and salt (Xse) contents
were estimated (Table 5) using Eqs. (3) and (7). The equilibrium moisture content of sardine sheets was lower and
the equilibrium salt content was greater when a vacuum
pulse was applied than those for osmotic dehydration at
atmosphere pressure (Corzo & Bracho, 2006). Previous
studies indicated that a vacuum pulse was more favorable
to solute uptake than water loss (Fito, 1994). Porous gas
replacement by osmotic solution during vacuum increases
the pathway for solute uptake and water loss. These new
pathways for mass transfer are helpful to solute uptake
because of the absence of cell membranes in those spaces
(Barat, Talens, Barrera, Chiralt, & Fito, 2004).
At a constant temperature, the equilibrium moisture
content decreased (p < 0.05) with increasing brine concentration while equilibrium salt content increased (p < 0.05).
At a constant brine concentration, the equilibrium salt content increased (p < 0.05) with increasing temperature. The
eect of temperature on the equilibrium moisture content
is mixed and depends of the value of concentration of
brine. This could be explained by the fact that the process
starts by simultaneous transport of water and salt, and

Values of equilibrium moisture and salt contents are means of eight

replicates.

reaches equilibrium point. The equilibrium condition is

reached when water activities of brine and product become
equal. Since water activity can be decreased both by water
loss or salt uptake, there is a relationship between water
loss and solute uptake to reach equilibrium.
Studies on salting of milksh (Sannaveerappa, Ammu,
& Joseph, 2004), cod and salmon (Gallart-Jornet et al.,
2007) found that high salt concentration denatures the proteins and reduces their water holding capacity (WHC)
while that for salting of cod with diluted brines, an increase
in the WHC was observed (Barat, Rodrguez-Barona,
Andres, & Fito, 2002; Thorarinsdottir, Arason, Geirsdottir, Bogason, & Kristbergsson, 2002). Increased protein
denaturation at a high brine concentration compared with
at low brine concentrations causes less sample swelling
(Barat et al., 2002) and may promote loss of water from
the sh. The lower WHC at the higher temperature may
be due to increased thermal denaturation of proteins at
the higher compared with the lower temperature (Birkeland, Sivertsvik, Nielsen, & Skara, 2005; Sankar & Ramachandran, 2005). However, Sankar and Ramachandran
(2005) observed that proteins from Indian carp appeared
labile to denaturation at relatively low temperatures
(20 C).

788

O. Corzo et al. / Journal of Food Engineering 80 (2007) 781790

Table 6
Activation energy and frequency factor values for equilibrium salt content of vacuum pulse osmotic dehydrated sardine sheets at dierent brine
concentrations
Parameter

ln (k0)
Ea (kJ/mol)
R2

Concentration (g NaCl/g)
0.15

0.18

0.21

0.24

0.27

8.377 0.187
26.805 0.478
0.976

6.76 0.140
22.532 0.358
0.981

11.106 0.303
33.098 0.772
0.959

10.950 0.325
32.139 0.828
0.951

13.590 0.342
38.493 0.873
0.961

Table 7
Multiple linear regression for equilibrium moisture and salt contents as a function of brine concentration (C) and temperature (T). Xe = a + b(C) + d(T)
Source of variation

Xse

Xwe
Estimate

Constant
C
T
R2
*

Standard error

0.310
0.018*
1.296*

Estimate

Standard error

0.010
0.001
0.018

2.136
0.013*
3.251*

0.946

0.045
0.001
0.081
0.813

p-value < 0.001.

3.4. Modeling eects of temperature and concentration on

the equilibrium content
Dependence of the equilibrium salt contents on temperature is represented by the linearized Arrhenius equation:
Ea
10
RT
where k0 is the frequency factor (min1), Ea is the activation energy (kJ/mol), R the universal gas constant
(8.314 J/mol K) and T is the absolute temperature (K).
The plot of the logarithm of the equilibrium salt content
vs. 1/T would result in a straight line with the negative of
the slope equal Ea/R and intercept equal ln(k0).
The linearity of the data (R2 > 0.95) indicates that the
equilibrium salt content (Xse) as a function of temperature
followed an Arrhenius relationship, regardless of concentration (Table 6). The computed values of activation energy
(Ea) and natural logarithm of frequency factor (ln (k0)) are
reported in Table 6. Higher Ea value indicated greater temperature sensitivity of Peleg rate constant (Kn). Equilibrium
salt content at 0.27 g NaCl/g was found to be the most temperature sensitive (Ea = 38.493 kJ/mol) while that at 0.18 g
NaCl/g was the least temperature sensitive (Ea =
22.532 kJ/mol). Then changes on equilibrium moisture
content with increasing temperature during vacuum pulse
osmotic dehydration at 0.27 g NaCl/g are higher than
those changes at 0.18 g NaCl/g.
Multiple linear regression (Table 7) tted data of equilibrium moisture and salt contents as a function of brine
concentration (C) and temperature (T). The models as tted correspond to
lnX se lnk 0 

X we 2:136  0:013C  3:251T

11

X se 0:310 0:011C 1:296T

12

The models as tted explained the 94.6 and 81.3% of the

variability in Xwe and Xse at the 99% condence level,
respectively (Table 7). With these models the equilibrium
moisture and salt contents can be calculated when the sardine sheets are vacuum pulse osmotic dehydrated in brine
concentrations in the range 0.150.24 g NaCl/g, temperatures in the range 3038 C, applying a vacuum pulse at
11.0 kPa for 10 min. In Eq. (11) the coecients for brine
concentration and temperature are negatives. This indicates that equilibrium moisture content decreases with
increase in brine concentration and temperature. In Eq.
(12) the coecients for brine concentration and temperature are positives. This indicates that equilibrium salt content increases with increase in brine concentration and
temperature. Eects of brine concentration and temperature were analyzed previously in the section of equilibrium
moisture and salt contents.
4. Conclusions
Peleg equation adequately predicts the moisture and salt
contents of sardine sheets during vacuum pulse osmotic
dehydration at brine concentration between 0.15 and
0.27 g NaCl/g, temperature between 30 and 38 C, applying a vacuum pulse at 11.0 kPa for 10 min. Eects of brine
concentration and temperature on the initial moisture loss
and salt uptake is mixed and depends on their interaction.
The equilibrium moisture content decreased with increasing brine concentration while equilibrium salt content
increased. The equilibrium salt content increased with
increasing temperature while the variation of equilibrium
moisture content depends of the value of concentration
of brine. Models for equilibrium moisture and salt contents
estimated using Peleg equation as a function of brine concentration and temperature were found.

O. Corzo et al. / Journal of Food Engineering 80 (2007) 781790

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