Journal of Food Engineering 78 (2007) 90–97

www.elsevier.com/locate/jfoodeng

Mathematical modeling of mass transfer in osmotic

dehydration of onion slices
a,* b
P.P. Sutar , D.K. Gupta
a
Department of Agricultural and Food Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur 721 302, India
b
Department of Post Harvest Process and Food Engineering, G.B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar 263 145, India

Received 24 May 2004; accepted 12 September 2005

Available online 8 November 2005

Abstract

The study on osmotic dehydration of onion slices was carried out in order to remove the moisture prior to the further mechanical
drying. Three salt concentration levels (5%, 12.5% and 20%), three temperature levels of osmotic solution (28 °C, 43 °C and 58 °C)
and the observations on weight loss and solid gain were taken at an interval of 5 min up to first half an hour followed by interval of
10 min for next 1 h. The sample to solution ratio of 1:5, agitation of 100 shakes per minute, sample thickness of 4 mm and 0.2% potas-
sium metabisulphite mixed with osmotic solution were used for the study. A two-parameter mathematical model developed by Azuara
et al. was used for describing the mass transfer in osmotic dehydration of onions slices. The effect of time on mass transfer kinetics was
investigated and the constants of two-parameter model and final equilibrium points for moisture loss as well as solid gain were found.
The effect of solution concentration and solution temperature was also studied and it was found that equilibrium moisture loss and solid
gain are related to solution concentration and solution temperature logarithmically. The optimum conditions of osmotic dehydration for
further drying were found to be 20% salt concentration, 28 °C solution temperature and 1-h of osmosis.
Ó 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Keywords: Moisture loss; Solid gain; Equilibrium moisture loss; Equilibrium solid gain

1. Introduction pretreatment prior to other drying methods improves the

Osmotic dehydration is the process of water removal by
immersion of water containing cellular solid in a concen-
trated aqueous solution during which simultaneous solid
gain also takes place. The driving force for water removal
is set up because of a difference in osmotic pressure
between the food and its surrounding solution. The com-
plex cellular structure of food acts as a semi permeable
membrane. Since, the membrane is not completely selec-
tive, it results in two counter current mass transfers, one
diffusion of water from food to osmotic solution and diffu-
sion of solute from solution to the food. Osmotic dehydra-
tion of fruits and vegetables is gaining attention due to its
important role in food processing industry because osmotic
*
Corresponding author. Tel.: +91 983 2139862; fax: +91 3222 282288.
E-mail address: psutar@iitkgp.ac.in (P.P. Sutar).
colour, flavour and texture of the final product, also it is
less energy intensive process as no phase change takes place
(Ertekin & Cakaloz, 1996 Islam & Flink, 1982; Karthanos,
Kastaropoulus, & Saravacos, 1995; Lerici, Pinnavaia,
Dalla Rosa, & Bartolucci, 1985; Pokharkar, 2001; Rastogi
& Raghavarao, 1997).
The rate of water loss during osmotic dehydration
depends upon the solution concentration, immersion time,
solution temperature, sample to solution ratio and agitation
or circulation of osmotic solution. A large number of stud-
ies are available in the literature regarding the influence of
these parameters on the rate of moisture loss as well as solid
gain (Conway, Castaigne, Picard, & Vevan, 1983; Islam &
Flink, 1982; Le Maguer, 1988; Rastogi & Raghavarao,
1994, 1997). In most of research works water loss and solid
gain come in equilibrium with respect to time when other
conditions are kept constant. Typical osmotic dehydration

0260-8774/$ - see front matter Ó 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.jfoodeng.2005.09.008
 P.P. Sutar, D.K. Gupta / Journal of Food Engineering 78 (2007) 90–97 91

Nomenclature

MLh moisture loss at any time (fraction) Wi weight of dry matter of sample before osmosis (g)
h time of osmosis (min) Wf weight of dry matter of sample after osmosis (g)
S1 constant related to the rate of water diffusion SGdb salt gain dry basis (fraction)
out from the product (min1) M0 moisture present initially (g)
L ratio of model squared model dependent and Mh moisture present at any time (g)
independent estimators in lack of fit test C concentration of osmotic solution (%)
ML1 moisture loss at equilibrium (fraction) T temperature of osmotic solution (°C)
SGh solid gain at any time (fraction)
S2 constant related to the rate of solid diffusion in Subscripts
the product (min1) 1 infinity
SG1 solid gain at equilibrium (fraction) h theta

runs require several hours to reach equilibrium and in some h 1 h

cases it is not possible to attain equilibrium due to biologi-
cal and/or physical instability (Azuara, Cortes, Garcia, &
Berstian, 1992). Some equations developed for osmotic
dehydration (Conway et al., 1983; Rastogi & Raghavarao,
1995, 1997) are specific for certain processing conditions
and geometric configurations (slab, cylinder, etc.). These
equations also cannot predict equilibrium point. In most
of the experiments of osmotic dehydration the osmosis is
carried out at constant temperature and solution concentra-
tion and rate of water loss and solid gain is a function of
time only. Azuara et al. (1992) developed two-parameter
models for both moisture loss and solid gain, which were
able to describe the mass transfer patterns on the basis of
short duration of osmosis. These models were also able to
predict the equilibrium moisture loss and equilibrium solid
gain.
The objectives of the study were, modeling of kinetics
of water loss and solid gain and establishment of equilib-
rium levels of water loss and solid gain at different solu-
tion temperatures and concentrations for onion slices as
well as to investigate the effect of temperature and sodium
chloride solution concentration on mass transfer during
osmosis.
2. Theoretical considerations
A two-parameter equation developed by Azuara et al.
(1992) can be written as
S 1 hðML1 Þ hðML1 Þ
MLh ¼ ¼ 1 ð1Þ
1 þ S1h S1
þh
where MLh is the moisture loss fraction at any time, S1 is
constant related to the rate of water diffusion out from
product, h is time and ML1 is moisture loss fraction at
equilibrium.
During the osmotic dehydration of onions slices the con-
stant S1 and moisture loss at equilibrium can be determined
by linear regression, using experimental data obtained. The
linear form is
¼ þ ð2Þ
MLh S 1 ðML1 Þ ML1
Similar equations can be used to determine the constant
S2 and solid gain at equilibrium during osmotic dehydra-
tion of onions slices. The equations are
S 2 hðSG1 Þ hðSG1 Þ
SGh ¼ ¼ 1 ð3Þ
1 þ S2h S2
þh
h 1 h
¼ þ ðlinear formÞ ð4Þ
SGh S 2 ðSG1 Þ SG1
where SGh is the solid gain fraction at any time, S2 is con-
stant related to the rate of solid diffusion in the product
and SG1 the solid gain fraction at equilibrium.
3. Materials and methods
3.1. Raw material preparation
Fresh well-graded, dark pink coloured, good quality
onions were procured from the local market on daily basis
prior to each set of experiments. The onions after peeling
were cut into 4 mm thick slices by a sharp edge knife in
the direction perpendicular to the vertical axis. The mois-
ture content of each onion was measured separately by tak-
ing one slice from each onion and the same value was used
for determination of moisture loss and solid gain for the
slices used from those onions. The moisture content of
onions was determined by vacuum oven. The range of
moisture content was between 82.72% and 88.94% on wet
basis.
3.2. Preparation of osmotic solution
Common salt, the osmotic agent, was purchased from
local market. The osmotic solutions of different concentra-
tions (5%, 12.5% and 20%) were prepared by dissolving
required amounts of salt in distilled water.
92 P.P. Sutar, D.K. Gupta / Journal of Food Engineering 78 (2007) 90–97

3.3. Experimental procedure
Experiments were conducted at nine combinations of
three concentrations (5%, 12.5%, and 20%) and three tem-
peratures (28 °C, 43 °C and 58 °C). The onion slices of
4 mm thickness, sample to solution ratio of 1:5, 0.2%
potassium metabisulphite with osmotic solution and 100
shakes per minute were kept constant for all combinations.
Onion slices were cut manually using a sharp knife. During
each experiment, the observations on weight loss and solid
gain were taken at an interval of 5 min up to first half an
hour followed by interval of 10 min for next 1 h to obtain
experimental data on osmotic kinetics. All experiments
were replicated thrice. At each designated time interval
the sample was taken out from osmotic solution, rinsed
and blotted using blotting paper and its weight was taken.
After that, it was analyzed for its moisture content by vac-
uum oven. The moisture loss and the solid gain were calcu-
lated based on mass balance. All reported results are from
average values of the three replications. Cut-off time for
osmotic dehydration was identified based on the moisture
loss and solid gain.
Salt solution was chosen for osmosis as it is an excellent
osmotic agent for vegetables retarding oxidative and non-
enzymatic browning (Sagar, 2001). Potassium metab-
1–6 at different salt concentrations and solution tempera-
tures. The moisture loss as well as solid gain increased
non-linearly with time at all concentrations and tempera-
tures. Both, the moisture loss and solid gain were faster
in the initial period of osmosis and then the rate decreased.
This was expected because osmotic driving potentials for
moisture as well as solid transfer will keep on decreasing
with time as the moisture keeps moving from sample to
solution and the solid from solution to the sample. Further,
progressive solid uptake would result in the formation of
high solid subsurface layer, which would interfere with
the concentration gradients across the sample-solution
interface and would act as a barrier against removal of
water and uptake of solid (Hawkes & Flink, 1978). Besides,
rapid loss of water and uptake of solid near the surface in
the beginning may result in structural changes leading to
Actual ML % at 28˚C
Actual ML% at 43˚C
Actual ML% at 58˚C
Predicted ML% at 28˚C
20 Predicted ML% at 43˚C
Predicted ML% at 58˚C
15
ML (% of initial moisture)

isulphite was added to prevent pink discolouration of dried

onions (Pawar, Singh, Dev, Kulkarni, & Ingle, 1988; 10
Rajkumar & Sreenarayanan, 2001). Agitation was given
during osmosis for reducing the mass transfer resistance
at the surface of the solid, good mixing and close tempera- 5
ture control in the osmotic medium (Ertekin & Cakaloz,
1996; Sagar, 2001). 0
0 20 40 60 80 100
3.4. Calculations
-5
Time of osmosis (θ), min
Moisture loss at any time (MLh) was characterized using
the following equation: Fig. 1. Effect of temperature of osmotic solution on moisture loss at
constant salt concentration (5%).
M0  Mh
MLh ¼ ð5Þ
M0
The salt gain was found by mass balance method
(Ertekin & Cakaloz, 1996; Islam & Flink, 1982; Sagar, 25
2001; Sankat, Castigne, & Maharaj, 1996; Welti, Palou,
Lopez-Malo, & Balseira, 1995). At each predetermined 20
ML (% of initial moisture)

time interval the samples were removed and were dried in

vacuum oven. The increase in dry mass of the sample 15
was noted as salt gain.
Actual ML% at 28˚C
Wf Wi 10
Actual ML % at 43˚C
SGdb ¼ ð6Þ Actual ML% at 58˚C
Wi Predicted ML % at 28˚C
5
Predicted ML% at 43˚C
Predicted ML% at 58˚C
4. Results and discussion 0
0 20 40 60 80 100
4.1. Effect of time on mass transfer -5
Time of osmosis(θ), min

Moisture loss from and solid gain by the onion slices Fig. 2. Effect of temperature of osmotic solution on moisture loss at
against time of osmosis can be observed from sample Figs. constant salt concentration (12.5%).
 P.P. Sutar, D.K. Gupta / Journal of Food Engineering 78 (2007) 90–97 93

60
40

35 50

30
ML (% of initial moisture)

40

SG (% of initial solids)
25

30
20

15 20
Actual ML% at 28˚C Actual SG% at 28˚C
Actual ML% at 43˚C Actual SG% at 43˚C
10 Actual SG% at 58˚C
Actual ML% at 58˚C 10
Predicted ML% at 28˚C Predicted SG% at 28˚C
5 Predicted SG % at 43˚C
Predicted ML% at 43˚C
Predicted SG % at 58˚C
Predicted ML% at 58˚C
0
0 0 20 40 60 80 100
0 20 40 60 80 100
-5 -10
Time of osmosis (θ), min Time of osmosis (θ), min

Fig. 3. Effect of temperature of osmotic solution on moisture loss at Fig. 5. Effect of temperature of osmotic solution on solid gain at constant
constant salt concentration (20%). salt concentration (12.5%).

12 140

10 120

8 100
SG (% of initial solids)

SG (% of initial solids)

80
6

60
4
Actual SG% at 28˚C
Actual SG% at 43˚C
Actual SG% at 58˚C 40
2 Predicted SG% at 28˚C Actual SG% at 28˚C
Predicted SG% at 43˚C Actual SG% at 43˚C
Predicted SG% at 58˚C Actual SG% at 58˚C
20 Predicted SG% at 28˚C
0 Predicted SG% at 43˚C
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 Predicted SG% at 58˚C
0
-2 0 20 40 60 80 100
Time of osmosis (θ), min
-20
Time of osmosis (θ), min
Fig. 4. Effect of temperature of osmotic solution on solid gain at constant
salt concentration (5%). Fig. 6. Effect of temperature of osmotic solution on solid gain at constant
salt concentration (20%).

compaction of these surface layers and increased mass

transfer resistance for water and solid (Lenart & Flink, 4.2. Mathematical modeling of mass transfer on
1984). Similar trends have been reported for other fruits the basis time
and vegetables during osmosis (Conway et al., 1983; Ertekin
& Cakaloz, 1996; Hawkes & Flink, 1978; Karthanos et al., A two-parameter equation based on mass balance devel-
1995; Lazarides, Katsanidis, & Nickolaidis, 1995; Lenart & oped by Azuara et al. (1992) was used in order to predict
Flink, 1984). The analysis of variance for effect of different the kinetics of dehydration during the osmotic process,
time intervals (0–90 min) on mass transfer showed highly and to determine the final equilibrium point. At a given ini-
significant difference in moisture loss and solid gain at all tial concentration and constant temperature, the moisture
combinations of temperature and concentration. The p- loss and solid gain are given by Eqs. (1) and (3). In Eqs.
values calculated at all combinations of temperature and (1) and (3), S11 or S12 represent the time required for half of
concentration were less than 0.05. the diffusible matter (water or solid) to diffuse out or enter
94 P.P. Sutar, D.K. Gupta / Journal of Food Engineering 78 (2007) 90–97

in the product respectively. Further, as the time, h becomes the water loss or the solid gain, MLh or SGh, approaches
much greater than the values of S11 or S12 , (that is, h ! 1), equilibrium value, ML1 or SG1, asymptotically. In Eqs.

1000 1600
r 2 = 0.99 2
900 r = 0.9937
1400
800
r 2 = 0.98 1200 2
r = 0.9956
700
1000
2
600 r 2 = 0.98 r = 0.9828
θ/MLθ

θ/SGθ
500 800

400 600
300 5%, 28˚C
400
200 5%, 28˚C 5%, 43˚C
5%, 43˚C 200 5%, 58˚C
100
5%, 58˚C
0 0
0 20 40 60 80 100 0 20 40 60 80 100
Time of osmosis (θ), min Time of osmosis (θ), min

Fig. 7. Linear plots of Azuara et al. model for determination of ML1 and Fig. 10. Linear plots of Azuara et al. model for determination of SG1 and
S1 at 5% salt concentration and different solution temperatures. S2 at 5% salt concentration and different solution temperatures.

700
2
300
r = 0.9891 r 2 = 0.9569
600
2
250
r = 0.9958 r 2 = 0.9555
500 2
r = 0.9939
200 r 2 = 0.9517
400
θ/MLθ

θ/SGθ

150
300
100
200 12.5%, 28˚C 12.5%, 28˚C

12.5%, 43˚C 50 12.5%, 43˚C

100
12.5%, 58˚C 12.5%, 58˚C
0
0 0 20 40 60 80 100
0 20 40 60 80 100
Time of osmosis (θ), min
Time of osmosis (θ), min
Fig. 11. Linear plots of Azuara et al. model for determination of SG1 and
Fig. 8. Linear plots of Azuara et al. model for determination of ML1 and
S2 at 12.5% salt concentration and different solution temperatures.
S1 at 12.5% salt concentration and different solution temperatures.

180
450
r 2 = 0.9802 160
2
r = 0.9795
400
r 2 = 0.9782 140
350
120
300 r 2 = 0.9856 2
r = 0.9089
100
θ/SGθ
θ/MLθ

250

200 80
2
r = 0.9834
150 60
20%, 28˚C
100 40 20%, 28˚C
20%, 43˚C
20%, 43˚C
50 20
20%, 58˚C 20%, 58˚C
0 0
0 20 40 60 80 100 0 20 40 60 80 100
Time of osmosis (θ), min Time of osmosis (θ), min

Fig. 9. Linear plots of Azuara et al. model for determination of ML1 and Fig. 12. Linear plots of Azuara et al. model for determination of SG1 and
S1 at 20% salt concentration and different solution temperatures. S2 at 20% salt concentration and different solution temperatures.
 P.P. Sutar, D.K. Gupta / Journal of Food Engineering 78 (2007) 90–97
(1) and (3), the values of parameters S1, ML1, S2 and SG1
can be estimated from short duration osmotic kinetic data
by performing linear regression on or by graphical plotting
of Eqs. (1) and (3) in the linearized form. The plots of lin-
earized forms of equations for different salt concentrations
and solution temperatures have shown by Figs. 7–12. So, if
h
the experimental plots of ML h
vs. h and SGh h vs. h were to
show linearity, the parameter values could be determined
from the intercept and the slope using Eqs. (2) and (4).
The model, Eqs. (1) and (3) could then be used to predict
the mass transfer kinetics.
h
The values of ML h
and SGh h as calculated from the mois-
ture loss and solid gain data at different salt concentrations
and temperatures were plotted against time. A linear trend
was observed in all cases. Straight lines were, therefore, fit-
ted by performing linear regression and the parameter val-
ues were determined. The values of ML1 and S1 for
moisture loss kinetics (Eq. (1)) and of SG1 and S2 for solid
gain kinetics (Eq. (3)) are given in Table 1. The determina-
tion coefficient values were in the range of 0.90–0.99 show-
ing a good fit of the proposed model in its linearized form
to the experimental data in all cases. The lack of fit test
applied to the replicated data showed that the models were
adequate to describe the moisture loss and solid gain in the
onion slices. The values of statistic L which were calculated
on the basis of model independent and dependent estima-
tors of residual standard deviations for both the moisture
loss and solid gain were 3.61 and 5.49, respectively at 5
per cent level of significance. The values of L were less than
the upper tail cut-off value 6.09 obtained from the F-distri-
bution which showed that the models were adequate to
describe the mass transfer at all combinations of tempera-
ture and concentration. The p-values calculated to show
the effect of time on mass transfer were also less than
0.05 at all combinations.
Table 1
Osmotic model constants for moisture loss and solid gain
Salt concentration (%) Temperature (°C)
28
ML1 (% of initial moisture)
5 10.25 (0.31)
12.5 15.96 (0.26)
20 24.35 (0.33)
S1 (per min)
5 0.19 (0.02)
12.5 0.12 (0.05)
20 0.18 (0.02)
SG1 (% of initial solid)
5 7.25 (0.18)
12.5 45.64 (0.67)
20 64.25 (0.84)
S2 (per min)
5 0.12 (0.030)
12.5 0.03 (0.006)
20 0.05 (0.004)
Values in bracket are standard deviations.
95
4.3. Prediction by the proposed model
A comparison of Azuara et al. model predictions with
the experimental mass transfer kinetics in the form of
moisture loss (% of initial moisture) and solid gain (%
of initial solid) was done by conducting three separate
experiments at 5%, 12.5% and 20% salt concentration
keeping solution temperatures of 28 °C, 43 °C and 58 °C
respectively. The other conditions in the experiments were
same as the original experiments. The standard error val-
ues between the actual and predicted moisture loss by the
model were 0.957, 1.21 and 3.28 respectively for the above
three experiments. As well as the standard error values for
solid gain for the above three experiments were 1.809,
2.037 and 7.008 respectively. This indicated that the pro-
posed model predicted the moisture loss from and the
solid gain by the onion slices well and can be accepted
for further drying.
4.4. Effect of concentration and temperature on mass transfer
It can be observed from Figs. 1–6 that both the moisture
loss and the solid gain by onions increased with increasing
concentration of osmotic solution (5–20%) at constant
solution temperature. This was expected because the osmo-
tic driving potentials for water as well as for solid would
increase with the increased salt concentration in osmotic
solution. Similar results have been reported for osmotic
dehydration of onions by Sagar (2001). Such effects have
also been reported in other fruits and vegetables (Ertekin
& Cakaloz, 1996; Hawkes & Flink, 1978; Karthanos
et al., 1995; Lazarides et al., 1995; Pokharkar & Prasad,
1998). The analysis of variance showed that the osmotic
solution concentration significantly affects the moisture
loss and solid gain at 5% level of significance.
43 58
13.00 (0.69) 16.88 (0.41)
19.43 (0.22) 21.33 (0.56)
27.70 (0.21) 32.95 (0.43)
0.18 (0.03) 0.19 (0.05)
0.14 (0.02) 0.14 (0.01)
0.17 (0.04) 0.31 (0.06)
9.33 (0.22) 11.29(0.36)
54.96 (0.32) 58.89 (0.19)
100.24 (1.53) 145.62 (1.27)
0.10 (0.006) 0.07 (0.001)
0.03 (0.002) 0.05 (0.008)
0.03 (0.006) 0.06 (0.003)
96 P.P. Sutar, D.K. Gupta / Journal of Food Engineering 78 (2007) 90–97
It was also observed from Figs. 1 and 6 that both the
moisture loss and the solid gain by onion slices increased
with increasing temperature of osmotic solution from
28 °C to 58 °C. Increase in the mass transfer due to increase
in solution temperature results because higher temperature
seems to promote faster water loss through swelling and
plasticizing of cell membranes, faster water diffusion within
the product and better water transfer characteristics on the
product surface due to lower viscosity of the osmotic med-
ium. Also, higher solid gains at higher temperatures may be
due the destruction to cell membrane structure (Le Maguer,
1988; Lenart & Flink, 1984). Similar results have been
reported by Lazarides et al. (1995) with osmotic dehydra-
tion of apple slices in a temperature range of 20–50 °C. Such
effects have also been reported in other fruits and vegetables
(Pointing, 1973; Pokharkar, 2001). The effect of tempera-
ture of osmotic solution was found by analysis of variance.
The temperature of osmotic solution was found to be signif-
icantly affecting on the moisture loss and showed the non-
significant effect on solid gain at 5% level of significance.
The increase in equilibrium moisture loss as well as equi-
librium solid gain with increase in salt concentration and
solution temperature were found to be varying by logarith-
mic relationships. The standard error values for equilib-
rium moisture loss and equilibrium solid gain as given by
relationships (Eqs. (8) and (10)) were 0.042 and 0.068
respectively.
ML1 ¼ a0 C a1 T a2 ð7Þ
ML1 ¼ 0:8592C 0:5290 T 0:4952 ðR2 ¼ 0:94Þ ð8Þ
b1 b2
SG1 ¼ b0 C T ð9Þ
SG1 ¼ 0:04406C 1:7384 T 0:6933 ðR2 ¼ 0:98Þ ð10Þ
where, a0, a1, a2, a3, b0, b1, b2 and b3 are coefficients of mul-
tiple regression equations.
These relationships predict the equilibrium points at any
concentration and temperature of osmotic solution at other
constant conditions used in this experiments.
4.5. Determination of osmotic dehydration cut-off time
for further drying
The duration of osmosis was considered to be one dur-
ing which the maximum moisture loss should take place
but solid gain should be within allowable limits so as not
to affect the acceptability of dehydrated onion slices.
The allowable solid gain in dehydrated onions was
decided by considering the allowable salt with onions in
number of recipies in which onion is used as ingredient.
It was found that salt with onions varies between 50%
and 133% of dry solid in onions (Isbael & Moore, 1983;
Gadia, 1988). Therefore, for acceptable quality the solid
gain in onion slices should be less than the 50% of dry solid
in onions. The moisture loss, at 50% solid gain, was higher
at 20% salt concentration than 5% and 12.5% salt concen-
trations at all temperature levels. Therefore, 20% salt
Table 2
Moisture loss (% of initial moisture) after 1 h of osmosis
Salt concentration (%) Solution temperature
28 °C 43 °C 58 °C
5 9.45 (0.34) 11.94 (0.78) 15.56 (0.36)
12.5 14.02 (0.23) 17.39 (0.18) 19.15 (0.49)
20 22.30 (0.27) 25.26 (0.42) 31.29 (0.26)
Values in bracket are standard deviations.
Table 3
Solid gain (% of initial solid) after 1 h of osmosis
Salt concentration (%) Solution temperature
28 °C 43 °C 58 °C
5 6.39 (0.23) 8.08 (0.14) 9.28 (0.29)
12.5 30.32 (0.86) 35.61 (0.26) 45.21 (0.42)
20 50.14 (0.66) 70.65 (0.81) 114.66 (1.93)
Values in bracket are standard deviations.
concentration with 28 °C solution temperature was decided
for osmosis with 1 h duration. The higher temperatures at
20% salt concentrations even require very less time for
same moisture loss and solid gain but were not used
because of energy requirement for heating osmotic solution
as well as the disadvantage of quality deterioration of
produce due to high temperature (Le Maguer, 1988; Lenart
& Flink, 1984). Tables 2 and 3 show the moisture loss and
solid gain after 1 h of osmosis. The moisture was after 1 h
of osmosis at 28 °C solution temperature and 5% salt
concentration was 9.45%, which increased up to 22.30%
at 28 °C solution temperature and 20% salt concentration.
Similar increase in moisture loss as well as solid gain was
observed due to rise in salt concentration at other temper-
atures. Also statistical analysis showed that there was sig-
nificant difference between moisture loss as well as solid
gain after 1 h of osmosis at different salt concentrations.
5. Conclusions
From the above experimental results it can be concluded
that the two- parameter models developed by Azuara et al.
can describe the mass transfer kinetics in the osmotic dehy-
dration process of onion slices at any time satisfactorily
when other conditions of osmosis are kept constant. The
model can predict equilibrium points on the basis of short
duration of osmosis without conduction of experiments for
several hours. The equilibrium moisture loss as well as
equilibrium solid gain as predicted by proposed models
increase by logarithmic relationship with increase in salt
concentration and solution temperature.
Acknowledgements
The authors are grateful to Indian Council of Agricul-
tural Research (ICAR) for its financial assistance and
 P.P. Sutar, D.K. Gupta / Journal of Food Engineering 78 (2007) 90–97
Professor Suresh Prasad, IIT Kharagpur for his valuable
advice to this research work.
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