Mathematical Modeling of Moisture Sorption Isotherms and Determination of Isosteric Heats of Sorption ofZiziphusLeaves

Abstract

Desorption and adsorption equilibrium moisture isotherms ofZiziphus spina-christileaves were determined using the gravimetric-static method at 30, 40, and 50°C for water activity(aw)ranging from 0.057 to 0.898. At a givenaw, the results show that the moisture content decreases with increasing temperature. A hysteresis effect was observed. The experimental data of sorption were fitted by eight models (GAB, BET, Henderson-Thompson, modified-Chung Pfost, Halsey, Oswin, Peleg, and Adam and Shove). After evaluating the models according to several criteria, the Peleg and Oswin models were found to be the most suitable for describing the sorption curves. The net isosteric heats of desorption and adsorption ofZiziphus spina-christileaves were calculated by applying the Clausius-Clapeyron equation to the sorption isotherms and an expression for predicting these thermodynamic properties was given.