Osmotic Dehydration of Foods: Mass Transfer and Modeling Aspects

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FOOD REVIEWS INTERNATIONAL

Vol. 18, No. 4, pp. 305–335, 2002
OSMOTIC DEHYDRATION OF FOODS: MASS

TRANSFER AND MODELING ASPECTS
John Shi1,* and Marc Le Maguer2

1
Food Research Center, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, 93 Stone
Road West, Guelph, Ontario, Canada N1G 5C9
2
Department of Food Science, University of Guelph, Ontario,
Canada N1G 2W1
ABSTRACT
Biological materials contain a variety of individual soluble components. When

cellular biological materials are immersed in osmotic solution, multicomponent
mass transfer occurs, which ultimately leads to the loss of water from the food,
or osmotic dehydration. Mass transfer of food constituents during osmotic
dehydration may cause changes in food quality in terms of nutritional value,
texture, color, and taste. The aspects that are important for mass transfer
modeling are the driving force and the physical properties of cell units and
tissue matrix of cellular material. The complex cell wall structure of cellular
material acts as a semipermeable membrane, resulting in two simultaneous and
countercurrent flows in the biological tissue: water transfer out of material
tissue and transfer of the solute from the osmotic solution into the cellular tissue.
When the cells remain intact, the chemical potential of water is the main local
driving force for mass transfer towards the free intercellular spaces. At the same
time, volume changes in the cellular tissue occur throughout the process after
immersion in osmotic solution. Diffusion, osmotic processes, flux interactions,
and tissue shrinkage should all be taken into account for accurate description of
the mass transfer phenomena during osmotic dehydration. The mass transfer
process has been modeled based on the theories of Fickian diffusion,
*Corresponding author. Fax: (519) 829-2400; E-mail: shij@agr.gc.ca
305
DOI: 10.1081/FRI-120016208 8755-9129 (Print); 1525-6103 (Online)

Copyright q 2002 by Marcel Dekker, Inc. www.dekker.com
MARCEL DEKKER, INC. • 270 MADISON AVENUE • NEW YORK, NY 10016
306 SHI AND LE MAGUER
irreversible thermodynamics, multicomponent diffusion, and hydrodynamic

flow. The use of vacuum or pulsed vacuum has an effect on mass transfer, which
reveals the effect of material structure property on mass transfer. Evaluation of
the long-term equilibrium and the distribution of the phases in the tissue provide
a better understanding of the phenomena that control the mass transfer
processes in osmotic dehydration. It is important to link microstructural
investigations with the processing parameters during osmotic dehydration, and
the compositional and mechanical characteristics of the tissues. Knowledge of
the structural characteristics of the materials and the relationship between all
components in the mass transfer process needs to be further understood.
Key Words: Fickian diffusian; Irreversible thermodynamics; Mass transfer;

Matrix; Modeling; Multicomponents; Shrinkage
INTRODUCTION
Dehydration is an important unit operation in the food industry. The basic

objective in dehydration of food material is the removal of water from the raw
material to extend shelf life or reduce the load for subsequent operations. For
example, freezing of plant materials such as fruits and vegetables is an energy-
intensive process. The large amount of energy spent on freezing includes the phase
transformation, packaging, transportation, and storage of the large amount of
water present in the fresh material.[1] One way to deal with this problem is to
partially concentrate or dehydrate the product before freezing, so that the overall
energy requirement of the process is reduced.[2] During the last few decades,
significant research has been undertaken to remove water from fresh food material
to promote longer shelf life and better handling properties, to decrease transport
and storage costs by volume and weight reduction, and to improve the quality of
the food product. Preservation methods like drying, canning, and freezing have
been applied to prolong the shelf life of foods, but these methods often produce
food products low in quality as compared to their original fresh state. In order to
improve the quality of preserved food products, researchers have looked for new
ways to process foods, and one of these new methods is osmotic dehydration.
Preservation of foods, particularly vegetables and fruits, is often done by
dehydration methods such as air drying and freeze drying. Dehydrated products
can be stored and transported at low costs. However, the removal of water may
considerably reduce the quality of these products. Tough, woody texture, slow or
incomplete rehydration, and loss of juiciness typical of fresh food are the most
common quality defects of dehydrated food,[3] as well as unfavorable changes in
color and flavor. It is generally well known that the highest quality dry food
products are produced by freeze drying. However, freeze drying is one of the most
expensive unit operations. The applications of the principles of osmosis for
dehydration or freezing purposes have been primarily motivated by economical
factors,[4] and the quality improvement of the final products.[5]
OSMOTIC DEHYDRATION OF FOODS 307
By immersing a biological material into an osmotic solution, water flow from

the material tissue into the solution takes place. Solute transfer from solution into
the solid material tissue and a leaching flow from the natural material tissue are
also observed. This process is known as osmotic dehydration. Osmotic
dehydration is recognized as a processing method to obtain better quality food
products by removing water at low temperature. The principle of osmosis as a
natural phenomenon of water removal from cellular material has been known for a
long time. In recent years, there has been an increase in interest in this process.
Solutions of osmotic agents have a high osmotic pressure and low water activity.
The most commonly used osmotic agents are sucrose and sodium chloride (NaCl).
Other osmotic agents such as lactose, maltodextrin, ethanol, glucose, glycerine,
and corn syrups have also been used.[6,7] From an organoleptic point of view, sugar
solution has been used for the dehydration of fruits, and salts for vegetables and
meat. Aqueous solutions of mixed osmotic agents have also been used to
dehydrate fruits, vegetables, and meat. Mixed solutions include, for example,
sucrose with lactose, maltodextrin, and sodium chloride for use in apple ring
dehydration,[6] NaCl with sucrose for diced potato dehydration,[8,9] and NaCl and
ethanol in water for dehydration of diced carrots.[10]
Osmotic dehydration generally will not give a product of low enough
moisture content to be considered shelf-stable. Thus, this process is considered as
a pretreatment or as an intermediate step prior to a conventional stabilizing process
such as air-, vacuum-, or freeze-drying, freezing, chilling, or pasteurization or
other food processes for the preservation of fruits and vegetable, fish and meat
products. Ponting et al.[11] suggested a process for a reduction in weight of apples
by 50% using osmotic dehydration, followed by either freezing, air drying, or
vacuum drying. Farkas and Lazar[12] studied the feasibility of osmotic dehydration
of apples prior to freezing, as compared to the conventional process of air-drying
followed by freezing. The quality of apples dried osmotically compared favorably
with the conventional dehydro-frozen fruits, but the cost would be 25 –50%
higher. Ponting[13] observed that osmotic air-dried products are high in quality
immediately after drying but unstable during storage, whereas the fruits obtained
from osmotic dehydration followed by vacuum-drying were very stable even upon
storage.
Flink[15] showed that osmotic concentration can be used as a step prior to
freeze drying to yield fruits and vegetables of improved stability. Flink[5] also
pointed out that the flavor quality of freeze-dried product depends primarily on the
initial solids content and the rate of freezing. For foods with low solids
concentration (below 10– 20%), the retention of volatiles and the organoleptic
quality of freeze-dried fruit products can be improved by increasing the solids
content of the food material to levels of 25 – 35% prior to freezing.[6,14] This also
results in a reduction of the water load to the freeze-drier. Le Maguer and
Biswal[10] suggested a dehydrocooling process for fruits and vegetables. This
process would simultaneously cool and remove water by osmosis from vegetables
before they are frozen by traditional freezing methods. Since freezing of food
materials is an energy intensive process, a partial removal of water prior to this

operation reduces energy consumption significantly.
Karel[3] reported that intermediate moisture foods (IMF) have received
attention since the development of new products based on the following
technological principles: lowering the water activity by adding a solute, such as
glycerol, sucrose, glucose, or salt and retarding microbial growth by adding
antimicrobial agents (primarily antimycotic) such as propylene glycol and/or sorbic
acid. These IMF are produced with an osmotic treatment. The initial impact of this
technology was found in the area of pet foods. More recently, the American military
and NASA have encouraged the development of IMF for human consumption.
In the past two decades, fresh fruits and vegetables are increasing in
popularity for consumption as compared to canned and frozen fruits.[16] A growing
trend is emerging, however, as many of the large food processing companies have
decided to market living, respiring plant tissue. In order to satisfy the growing
market demand for commodities in a “fresh-like” state, minimal processing such
as producing IMF through osmotic dehydration will be increasingly used. Initial
contamination is of primary importance in such processes but good quality shelf-
stable products have been obtained.
The use of osmotic dehydration as a unit operation has already been applied
widely in the food area. Numerous studies have been done on a variety of food
materials and this application has found increasing utilization on fruits,
vegetables, and fish as an effective preservation method. Significant developments
in the process of osmotic dehydration have shown its importance in the food
processing industry. Research studies have uncovered many different aspects to
further the understanding and applications of this preprocessing technique. The
new millennium brings in its dawn many more exciting developments as
technological innovations and improvements in instrumentation are discovered.
Research in application of osmotic dehydration to food processing, both in
technology and in understanding component transfer mechanisms, is being carried
out in several countries around the world. In the mass transfer and modeling
aspects, the possibilities have been broadened by more capable computers and the
application of new numerical methods.
PHENOMENA OF OSMOTIC DEHYDRATION
Osmotic dehydration is partial removal of water by direct contact of a food

material with a hypertonic medium. Although the process is relatively simple,
many of the fundamental mechanisms of this process are still being revealed.
Water removal is based on the natural and nondestructive phenomenon of osmosis
across the cell membranes. The cell walls act as semipermeable membranes that
allow small molecules such as water to pass through, but not larger molecules
like sugar. Water continues to pass through the cell wall until the concentration of
water molecules is the same on both sides. Recently a similar result was obtained
with a model food gel with no membrane. This result showed that a semipermeable
cell membrane is not a necessary condition for osmotic processes.[17,18]
Differences in chemical potentials of water and solutes in a solid – solution system
result in fluxes of several components of the material and solution. The osmotic
pressure gradient is imposed by a concentrated external solution (sugar, salt, etc.).
Through control of the main variables of the process, mass transfer behavior will
cause either osmotic dehydration (dewatering) or impregnation soaking (swelling).
By using a highly concentrated osmotic solution (usually 50– 80 g solute per 100 g
solution), water flow (water mixed with low concentration of some natural solutes
from food material) out of the solid product into the osmotic solution occurs.
The transport of natural solutes in the food always accompany water transfer and
solutes also transfer from the osmotic solution into the food product. However,
water removal is much greater than osmotic solute uptake (Fig. 1).
In osmotic dehydration, the chemical potential gradient of water drives water
removal, which also promotes transport of the natural solutes of the food material
into the osmotic solution. The flow of water and solutes out of the solid foodstuff
mainly occurs in the first 2 – 3 hr of immersion. After this, the difference in water
content between solid product and osmotic solution tends to zero, until eventually
the system reaches a state of dynamic equilibrium of molecule transfer (Fig. 2).
During the later period of immersion, solute gain continues to increase steadily
because the gradient of solute concentration is still high (Fig. 2).
If the food material is immersed in a low concentration osmotic solution,
osmotic solution uptake by the food is greater than water removal from the food.
This process is called impregnation soaking (swelling or rehydration). During this
process, the gradient of moisture concentration drives osmotic solution into the
food product. The solute concentration gradient between solid food product and
osmotic solution causes the osmotic solute to transfer into the food material.
However, some pigments, flavors, and nutrients may transfer from the food into
Figure 1. Mass transfer pattern when a cellular material is immersed in osmotic solution.
Figure 2. Water removal and osmotic solute gain in cellular material immersed in osmotic
solution.
the osmotic solution during soaking or rehydration processes. After absorbing

osmotic solution, the solid food product becomes swollen.
During osmotic processes, removal of water and solutes in the food and
osmotic solute uptake are simultaneous and countercurrent flows, and isothermal
without any phase change, but are accompanied by structural changes such as
shrinkage or swelling. Thus, osmotic processes may provide the possibility of
modifying the functional properties of a food material, improving the overall
quality of the final products, creating attractive new products, and giving potential
energy savings.
MASS TRANSFER PHENOMENA DURING OSMOTIC

DEHYDRATION
After immersing some water-rich fresh food material in a hypertonic solution

(sugar, salt, etc.), the driving force for water removal is the chemical potential
gradient between the solution and the intracellular fluid. If the cell membrane is
perfectly semipermeable, the solute is unable to transfer through the membrane
into the cells. However, the semipermeable membranes in food materials are not
perfect due to their complex internal structure and possible damage during prior
processing. There are two major mass transfer phenomena involved in osmotic
dehydration: the movement of solute into the material and the flow of water out
of the tissue. Thus, osmotic dehydration is actually a multicomponent transfer
process of two simultaneous, countercurrent solution flows and one gas flow
(Fig. 1). The solution flow out of the food material is water mixed with some
solutes such as organic acids, reducing sugars, minerals, and some flavor and
pigment compounds that affect the organoleptic and nutritional characteristics
of the final products. Soluble solids present in the osmotic solution are taken up
by the food material. Also, there may be gas flow out of the intercellular space.
There have been numerous studies to describe the kinetics of the two
counter-current flows in osmotic dehydration. Variables such as temperature, time
of treatment, and concentration and composition of solutes influence the mass
transfer kinetics. The kinetics of mass transfer is usually described through the
terms: water loss, solids or solutes gain, and weight reduction. Water loss and
solute gain may be measured through rate of water and solute flow, respectively,
over time or through the amount of water lost or solute gained after a certain
period of time per amount of initial material. Solids gain can also be studied
through solute penetration techniques, where the amount of solute uptake by the
material is determined with time.
A mixture of various transport mechanisms occur and the contributions of
the different mechanisms to the total transport varies from place to place and
changes as drying progresses.[19] Recently, rapid progress has been made on the
theoretical modeling of osmotic processes for food materials. Water transfer in
food materials immersed in osmotic solutions may be described by several
different transport mechanisms, depending on the nature of the material, the type
of moisture bonding, the moisture content, temperature, and the pressure in the
capillary pores.[20] In general, liquid diffusion occurs in nonporous solids, whereas
capillary movement occurs in porous solids. In liquid solutions and gels, transport
of water takes place only by molecular diffusion, a relatively simple phenomenon.
In porous biological materials, gas-filled cavities, capillaries, cell walls, and
intercellular and extracellular spaces all can influence the mass transfer properties.
Water can be transported by several mechanisms simultaneously: molecular
diffusion, liquid diffusion, vapor diffusion (through gas flow), hydrodynamic flow,
capillary transport, and surface diffusion. Most frequently, a combination of these
mechanisms occurs due to the complex structures found in foods.
Mass transfer kinetics depend on both process parameters and the structural
properties of the product. In biological materials such as fruit, vegetable, fish and
meat, the water content, cell maturity, tissue structure, porosity, as well as the
geometry of pieces immersed in the osmotic solution influence water removal,
product solute loss, and osmotic solute uptake. The transfer process of
water þ solute out of the food material and uptake of osmotic solutes into the
food material are usually based on the following mechanisms.
1. Water and solutes transport by diffusion in osmotic process due to

concentration gradients,
2. Water and solutes transport by capillary flow due to differences in total
system pressure caused by external pressure, shrinkage, and capillarity
function,
3. Hydrodynamic flow in pores,
4. Water vapor diffusion within partly-filled pores due to capillary-
condensation mechanism, and
5. Water diffusion at pore surfaces due to concentration gradients at the

surfaces.
Modeling approaches for osmotic dehydration may be classified according to
what fluxes are assumed to occur internally, and according to how the model deals
with the process of simultaneous, countercurrent transport (water removal and
solute uptake). The effective moisture transfer rate estimated from dehydration
data represents an overall mass transport property of water in the material, which
may include several possible mass transfer mechanisms.
There is still a need for development of computational methods to rationalize
the design of the contacting units in osmotic dehydration. The work of Pavasovic
et al.[21] and Qi et al.[22] was done in parallel with undisclosed developments in
industry that involved numerous researchers in different countries. Several
investigations have dealt with different aspects of osmotic process to study mass
transfer kinetics. The concentration, composition of osmotic solution, tempera-
ture, time and pressure of processing parameters, the natural material properties,
and shrinkage during the process are recognized as main process variables related
to mass transfer modeling. Water and solutes transport during osmotic dehydration
of foods are affected by a large number of complicated and often interactive
physical, chemical, and microbiological processes. During the past decade, a
number of models have been developed for describing the osmotic process and
evaluating the transport of interacting solutes in porous material.[23 – 31]
Mass Transfer Inside and Outside the Material
When a cellular solid material is immersed in an osmotic solution, the cells in

the first layer of the material contact the osmotic solution and begin to lose water
due to the concentration gradient between cells and osmotic solution, and then
begin to shrink. From a schematic point of view, the situation is represented as
shown in Fig. 3.[32] After the cells in the first layer lose water, a chemical potential
difference of water between the first layer of cells and second layer of cells is
established. Subsequently, the cells in the second layer begin to pump water to the
cells in the first layer and then they begin to shrink. The phenomena of mass
transfer and tissue shrinkage spread from the surface to the center of the material
with operation time. Finally, the cells in the material center lose water and mass
transfer process tends to equilibration after long period of immersion time. Mass
transfer and tissue shrinkage occur simultaneously. So, in a certain period of
operating time, mass transfer and tissue shrinkage are only related to a certain part
of the whole material. In the fresh food material, water transfer occurs through the
cell membranes into extracellular space, and then into osmotic solution. Since cell
membranes are semipermeable, solute taken up from the hypertonic solution is
only accumulated in the extracellular space. Cells in different layers experience
different conditions of water loss, solid gain, and tissue shrinkage, but cells in
Figure 3. Schematic cellular material tissue representation and mass transfer pattern.[33]
the same layer can be considered in the same physical condition. As shown in
the section AI in Fig. 3, cellular structure is not changed. The water is being driven
out of the material from cell to cell only through the plasmodesmata by a turgor
pressure difference. In section A, water loss, osmotic solute uptake, and structure
change occur simultaneously. Osmotic solute is accumulated in the extracellular
space. Water is transferred from cells into the extracellular space through
membranes due to the concentration difference between extracellular space and
cellular solution. In section B, primarily water flow and osmotic solute flow
occurs. Section BI is considered as a reservoir of osmotic solution.
Mass Concentration Distribution
When food material is immersed in osmotic solution, the solid phase is

characterized as a ternary system, but the liquid phase may be considered as a
binary system. A schematic diagram of the solute and water mass concentration
distribution is shown in Fig. 4.[33] Here, W o1A is the initial water concentration of
cell solution and is initially assumed to remain constant in the interior of the food.
W o2A is the initial osmotic solute concentration inside the solid tissue. It is assumed
that there is no osmotic solute inside the solid material at the initial stage. In the
osmotic solution reservoir section, water and osmotic solute concentrations, W L1B
and W L2B , remain constant. The consideration of mass transfer modeling is usually
based on this mass concentration distribution.
Figure 4. A schematic diagram of the changes of concentration of water and osmotic solute during
process.[33]
REVIEW OF EXISTING MODELS OF OSMOTIC DEHYDRATION

Fickian Diffusion Approach
Most mass transfer models for osmotic dehydration process are based on the
assumption of independent diffusion of water and osmotic solutes in the solid
phase, and that the solid material is isotropic and does not shrink. Using these
assumptions, the mass transfer models apply the fundamental differential
equations for diffusion in solid material such as the first law of Fick.[34] Initially,
the moisture concentration in the food material is constant and no chemical
reaction occurs in the system; thus, the system may be treated as a one-
dimensional isothermal diffusion problem. In the isothermal transport process,
Fick’s law is the commonly used to theoretically predict the diffusion coefficients
of water and solutes in food materials, whether under continuous flow or
nonsteady state conditions. The process of osmotic dehydration can be
characterized by the rates of water loss and solute uptake of food material. For
a constant external condition (constant concentration) in osmotic solution and
negligible resistance at the solid– liquid contacting surface (sufficient agitation),
the internal resistance of the material to diffusion controls water and solute
transport. Fick’s first law provides the basic definition for mass transfer as shown
in Eq. (1).

›C
J¼D ð1Þ
›X
where J is mass flux induced by diffusion in the X direction, ›C/›X is the solute
concentration C gradient in that direction X.
Bird et al.[35] gave a general form of Fick’s second law that can be used to
analyze unsteady-state diffusion in symmetric porous material.

›C 1 › n21 ›C
¼ n21 X D ð2Þ
›t X ›X ›X
where t is time; n ¼ 1 for an infinite slab, 2 for an infinite cylinder, and 3 for a
sphere; and X is the distance measured from the center of the solid material.
Crank[34] provided solutions to Eq. (2) for a wide variety of initial and
boundary conditions. Assuming that individual molecular transport is
unidirectional and independent, the unsteady-state diffusion in symmetric porous
materials can be analyzed using a general form of the second Fickian equation.
The diffusion equations assuming an infinite slab geometry describe the transport
of one of the solutes (natural solute loss and osmotic solute uptake) into a food
material Eq. (3), and water transfer out of the solid material Eq. (4).
X1 2
Cs 2 C se 2að1 þ aÞ 2qn Dt
¼ exp ð3Þ
C so 2 Cse n¼1 1 þ a þ a qn 2 2 L2
2
Cw 2 C we X
1
22ð1 þ aÞcos qnLX 2qn Dt
¼ exp ð4Þ
C wo 2 Cwe n¼1 ð1 þ a þ a qn Þcos qn
2 2 L2
where Cso is initial osmotic solution concentration, Cse is osmotic solution

concentration at equilibrium, Cwo is initial water content in raw material, Cwe is
moisture content of raw material at equilibrium, and qn is a numerical constant.
a ¼ a=L; the ratio of volume of solution and food, where L is the half thickness of
the infinite state of food and a is the length. The value of the diffusion coefficient,
D, can be determined by using the slope method. A plot of the logarithm of
½ðC s 2 C se Þ=ðC so 2 C se Þ against time, t, should yield a straight line with slope
2ðq2n D=2:303L 2 Þ; from which D can be calculated.
The solutions to Eqs. (3) and (4) depend on the experimental conditions
expressed in terms of the boundary conditions. Typically, initial and boundary
conditions are given as:
0 , X , X0 C w ¼ Cwo ; Ci ¼ C io for t ¼ 0
X¼0 ›C w =›X ¼ 0; ›C i =›X ¼ 0 for all t . 0
X ¼ X0 C w ¼ Cwe ; Ci ¼ C ie for t . 0
Based on the assumption that mass transfer is the rate limiting step, and the
rate of mass transfer can be approximately predicted by appropriate mathematical
solutions of the simplified unsteady-state Fickian equation, mass transfer in
osmotic dehydration is controlled by internal resistance of the material.[36 – 38]
Fick’s law of diffusion in solids[34] was applied by Beristain et al.,[36] Favetto
et al.,[38] Mauro and Menegalli,[39] and many others. Simplified semi-empirical

approaches derived from the same solutions of Fick’s first law have proven useful
to describe water loss and solids gain. Relevant examples are those that rely on the
square root of time,[40] on an asymptotic hyperbolic behavior over time,[41,42] and
on a logarithmic approximation.[43 – 46] Numerical integration of the differential
equations for diffusion using a Crank– Nicholson algorithm has provided the
dehydration profile and the total concentrations in the solid material.
Although mass transfer process has been successfully used to determine
diffusion coefficients and predict solute flow through Fick’s law of diffusion, mass
transfer occurs far from equilibrium and is accompanied by significant shrinkage
and deformation of biological material, and probably also by flow
interactions.[8,10] Thus, simple approach is limited to processes where the mass
transfer occurs solely by diffusion, where flows are unidirectional, and when there
are negligible interactions between the components in the tissue during diffusion.
Mass transfer taking place in the extracellular spaces has been modeled by an
extended form of Fick’s Second Law. The results showed that it was impossible to
obtain a good agreement between predicted and experimental data when only
diffusion phenomena were considered in osmotic dehydration processes. Thus,
Fick’s law does not always predict the correct flows,[47] probably because only
moisture concentration gradients are considered as the driving force for solution
exchange.
Irreversible Thermodynamics Approach
Description of synoptic transport based on irreversible thermodynamics was

proposed to describe the overall mass transfer in a multicomponent system that
might occur in plant tissue. These understandings and mathematical models of
water transport in living plant tissue have contributed significantly to the
description and analysis of the behavior of mass transfer with consideration of
plant tissue shrinkage and interaction between multicomponent transfer during
osmotic dehydration.
Nonequilibrium Thermodynamic Model Approach of Philip[48 – 50]
The main source of water inside biological material tissue is the cells. The
transfer of water from within the cell to the extracellular region involves migration
through the cells, its enveloping structure, through the porous tissue structure, and
then through the outside boundary layers. Philip[48 – 50] presented a quantitative
theory of water transport through plant tissue. Nonequilibrium thermodynamics
theory was used to develop a quantitative description of water transport through an
aggregation of plant cells containing both permeating and nonpermeating solutes
in aqueous solution. It is now generally accepted that there are three main potential
pathways that water can follow while traversing plant tissue: (a) the apoplastic
transport pathway (cell wall pathway), which occurs outside the cell membranes
(plasmalemma) and can be defined as water diffusion through cell walls and
intercellular space between cells; (b) the symplastic transport pathway (symplasm
pathway), which is inside the plasmalemma and characterized by a fluid transport
from one cell directly into another cell through small channels (plasmodesmata);
and (c) the transmembrane transport pathway (vacuolar pathway), which is
defined as a water exchange route between the cell interior (cytoplasm and
vacuole) and the cell exterior (cell wall and intercellular space) across the cell
membrane.[51 – 54] There are also some sub-pathways possible for water to be
exchanged between the vacuole and cell wall.
Philip’s analysis assumed a tissue composed of cells with ideal semiperme-
able cell membranes and resulted in a linear diffusion equation with either water
potential, osmotic potential, turgor potential, or cell volume as the dependent
variable. The cell wall plays an important role in water transport. In the cell-to-cell
pathway, it is assumed that only the cell membranes have resistance to water
transport. The relevant conservation equations can be written by assuming that the
water fluxes in both the cells and cell walls are proportional to a potential gradient.
The potential for driving water along the cell-to-cell pathway can be given by
Eq. (5).
c ¼ PT þ Pos ð5Þ
where c is cell water chemical potential (bar), PT is cell turgor pressure (bar), and
Pos is cell osmotic pressure (bar).
Philip’s theory has been extended to describe water transport in cell walls
and plasmodesmata using the formalism of nonequilibrium thermodynamics to
allow for the simultaneous movement of water and diffusible solutes.[51 – 56] The
basic transport equations are expressed by Eqs. (6) and (7)[51] for the external
diffusion process.
2
›c ›c c2t
¼ D2 2 ð6Þ
›t ›X 2 Rf2
2
›t ›t c2t
¼ D1 þ ð7Þ
›t ›X 2 Rf1
where t is time (sec), t is wall water potential (bar), f1 is per cell water capacity of
cell wall pathway (cm3 bar21), f2 is per cell capacity of cell-to-cell pathway for
water (cm3 bar21), and R is per cell water flow resistance between pathways
(bar sec cm23).
The leakage of some natural solutes from food material into solution (such as
sugar, organic acids, mineral substances, and other chemical components) is
quantitatively negligible, but it may be essential as far as organoleptic or
nutritional qualities are concerned. From an osmotic point of view, the pathways
of osmotic solution from the external into the intercellular space, or vice versa are
readily accomplished by diffusion during the passage of substance from the
outside of the plant cell to its interior or vice versa.[57]
General Irreversible Thermodynamics Approach
Irreversible thermodynamics is applied to describe the coupling or

interacting effects that occur during the simultaneous transport of heat and
moisture. The mathematical approach described Onsager’s reciprocity relation[57]
is valid for a multicomponent system in experimental and theoretical
analyses.[56,58] The general irreversible thermodynamics relation is represented
mathematically in Eq. (8).
X
n
Ji ¼ Lij Y j i ¼ 1; 2; . . . ; n ð8Þ
j¼1
where Ji is mass (water and solute) flux, Yj is the thermodynamic driving force, and
Lij are the phenomenological coefficients.
One of the first applications of irreversible thermodynamics to osmotic
dehydration was that of Toupin et al.,[58] who developed a model of the mass
transport phenomena in plant material based on an earlier model of Molz et al.[54]
Later, Biswal and Bozorgmehr[59] calculated mass transfer rate parameters from
osmotic dehydration of green beans in aqueous solution of sodium chloride
through thermodynamics of irreversible process. The model indicated that mass
fluxes and driving forces were nonlinearly related. The general theory of
irreversible thermodynamics is based on the assumption that the flux, Ji, is a linear
function of all the factors operative in the system assuming the system is defined as
a mass transfer operation in three components, i.e. (1) osmotic solute, (2) water,
and (3) total solid. Applying the idea of irreversible thermodynamics,
multicomponent mass transfer is a coupling phenomenon between mass transfer
of components, where the driving force is the chemical potential gradient. In
modeling diffusion mass transfer through thermodynamics of irreversible
processes, a linear flux and force relation is developed.
J 1 ¼ L11 Y 1 þ L12 Y 2 ð9Þ
J 2 ¼ L21 Y 1 þ L22 Y 2 ð10Þ

In addition, entropy production theorem states that
J i Ei þ rY 2 . 0 ð11Þ
where Y2 is the driving force, Ei is the chemical potential gradient of the
component i, Ji is the flux of component i, and r is the reaction rate.
The phenomenological coefficients, Lij, are correlated by the law of Onsager,

which requires the equality of the cross-coefficients. The phenomenological
coefficients correspond to heat diffusion under conditions of constant moisture
transfer potential and isothermal moisture diffusion, respectively. Onsager’s
reciprocity relations reveals the equality of the cross-coefficients.
The flux of water through the cell membrane has been modeled extensively
using irreversible thermodynamics.[26 – 28,55,56,58,60,61] The flux is a function of the
difference in chemical potential between the water in the cell and the water in the
solution surrounding the cell. The contribution of each of the two membranes
(plasmalemma for the cell and tonoplast for the vacuole) to the total resistance is
unknown, and they are assumed to behave as one. A reflection coefficient for the
solutes causing the difference in chemical potential is based on the assumption that
only water is considered to be moving through the membrane during the
dehydration.
The flux of water through the membrane, Jw (kmol m22 sec), is proportional
to the difference in chemical potential of the water, Dmw (J kmol21), with the
proportionality constant being the permeability, Lp (kmol J21 m2 sec). The relation
can be given as Eq. (12).
J w ¼ Lp Dmw ð12Þ
The chemical potential of water in osmotic dehydration depends on two

thermodynamic properties of the system: water activity, aw, and difference in
pressure, DP (Pa). It can be written as Eq. (13):

awf
J w ¼ Lp RT ln 2 vw DP ð13Þ
awc
where R is the universal gas constant (8314 J kmol21 K) and T is the absolute
temperature (K). The molar volume of water is vw, with an average value of
0.018 m3 kmol21. The water activity of the cell surroundings, awf, has to be lower
than the water activity of the cell, awc, to produce an osmotic flow of water out of
the cell. The permeability of the cell membrane, Lp, determines how fast the water
can be drawn through it. The plant cell permeability varies between 5 £ 10211 and
3 £ 1029 kmol J21 m2 sec.[62 – 64] Chu and Le Maguer[65] measured the rate of
volume shrinkage of a cell during osmotic dehydration by using color microscopy
analysis, which lead to similar permeability values. The model developed was in
good agreement with experimental results.
When the chemical potential is the driving force, the relationship between
diffusion and phenomenological coefficients can be expressed by Eq. (14).[29,30]

L ›C
D¼ ð14Þ
r ›m T
Here, D is the mass diffusivity, L is the mass conductivity, r is the mass density,
›C/›m at constant T is related to the sorption isotherm, and C is the water content.
Multicomponent Diffusion Approach
Food material immersed in osmotic solution is considered to be a dynamic

system that is completely characterized by its mass transfer function. The overall
transfer function of multicomponents is considered the result of the transfer
function of each of the individual components. Food material is a multicomponent
system. During osmotic dehydration, there is not only a water concentration
gradient, but there are also other concentration gradients of some natural
components, and osmotic solutes as well. When simultaneous diffusion of water,
osmotic solutes, natural solutes, and gas flow out or into the food tissue matrix
occurs, diffusion is the mixing phenomenon resulting from mass flows caused by
driving force (Fig. 1). The diffusion process of each component in the mixture is
affected by the presence of the other components.
The study of multicomponent mass transfer has long been of importance in
many areas of chemical engineering. Interest in multicomponent mass transfer
phenomena in osmotic treatment of foods is relatively recent. Multicomponent
mixtures display a number of unusual interaction phenomena that can occur in
mass transfer processes, but are not present in the binary system.[66] During the
past decades, several approaches have been used to describe the osmotic process
mechanism and analyze the mass transfer kinetics of interacting solutes in porous
cellular material. In spite of the large amount of information that has been
accumulated on mass transfer phenomena in solid– liquid contacting operations,
the conventional equations of volume and mass transfer fluxes do not fully
describe the behavior of cellular system in such multicomponent mass transfer
processes.
The transfer mechanism, mass transfer rates, and equilibrium moisture
content for each component are generally very different, and this affects both the
kinetics and final equilibrium of the system. Understanding the mass transfer
phenomena in solid– liquid contacting systems from an engineering point of view
is desired in the development of industrial applications. A wide variety of
multicomponent flux equations have been proposed either on the basis of a
physical model or from irreversible thermodynamic models.[10,67,68] In general the
diffusivities of these solutes are largely different and segregation will occur. When
water, natural solutes, and osmotic solutes transport through cells of biological
material, their fluxes will be interdependent. The fluxes of solutes will be
dependent not only on the individual gradient of chemical potential, but also on the
gradient of chemical potential of water. The fluxes in osmotic dehydration process
are considered to be isothermal and can be described by nonequilibrium
thermodynamics. The proper linear constitutive equations can be presented for the
mass diffusion flux of component i relative to the mass-average velocity.
Water removal and natural solute leaching out in osmotic solution could be
described as ternary free diffusion. A diagram of food material immersed in
osmotic solution is shown in Fig. 3.[32] Taking account of the potentially major
multicomponent diffusion effects (water removal, osmotic solute uptake, and
natural solute leached out) and interacting multicomponent transfer in this

dynamic system, natural solute diffusion occurs at very low concentrations.
Van der Liji[69] gave ternary diffusion equations for water diffusivity as a function
of temperature and moisture content for glucose, sucrose, and maltose solutions.
The transport behavior of natural solutes in food material depends strongly on
moisture content of the food. The transport of other low-molecular weight natural
solutes such as vitamins, natural reducing sugars, organic acids, pigments, and
flavor components from food material into osmotic solution at very low
concentration can also be considered as diffusion phenomena in a ternary system.
Thus, the system can be defined as a mass transfer operation in four components,
i.e., (1) water, (2) osmotic solute, (3) natural solutes, and (4) total insoluble solid
food material (inert). The isothermal diffusion process in a four component system
can be completely described by three flow equations written for the case of
diffusion along the X-coordinate.[70 – 72] It has been assumed that there is no
interaction in the osmotic solution reservoir, so that the physical and
thermodynamic properties of the osmotic solution may considered as a pseudo-
binary system. The ternary diffusion flux of water being removed (J1), osmotic
solute uptake (J2), and natural solutes (J3) relative to the volume-averaged velocity
in one dimension may be described by flux equations according to the
concentration gradient in the biological cellular material. For components
diffusing in axial and radial coordinates of cylinder geometry, the mass flux
equation can be expressed as Eq. (15).[73]
!
›C i X 3
›2 C j 1 › X 3
›C j
¼ Dij þ Dij r i ¼ 1; 2; 3 ð15Þ
›t j¼1
›X 2 r ›r j¼1 ›r
where the diffusion coefficients Dij, are assumed constant. Equation (15) is valid
for radial coordinates, with r # cylinder radius, a, and 2L # X # L (L, half
height of cylinder).
CURRENT RESEARCH EFFORTS AND DEVELOPMENTS

Model Development at the Cellular Level
Many experiments have revealed that the osmotic solute that penetrates
the material tissue is found mostly in a superficial layer or zone at the interface
of the osmotic fluid with the solid material, even after long periods of immersion in
the solution.[17 – 19,74 – 79] The bi-compartmental model proposed by Raoult-Wack
et al.[17] assumed average concentrations in both zones (solid phase and liquid
phase) (Fig. 4),[33] and described their variation in time combining two
exponential equations. Salvatori[77 – 79] extensively studied this zone. The zone
grows deeper with time, creating a variable set of conditions for mass transfer both
in space and time. This zone is characterized by the depth of penetration of the
solute from the interface. The penetration depth of the osmotic solute was found to
be proportional to the square root of time. The effort to include the complex
characteristics of the cellular tissues in the modeling of osmotic dehydration has
led to the development of models from a cellular level approach.
Spiazzi and Mascheroni[80] developed a model for apple tissues using finite
volumes to represent the cells, and derived effective diffusivities from literature
data. A second method used averaged tissue properties, instead of dealing with
arrays of single cells. The fundamental feature of this method is to assume the
properties of the tissue at any given depth as equal to their average at that point.[81]
The averaging can even be extended to the overall active zone.[82] The principles
of diffusion are applied through the extended Fick’s law including bulk flow, for
the continuum in the extracellular space, combined with irreversible
thermodynamics for the membrane transport. The conceptual model, as proposed
by Yao and Le Maguer,[25 – 28] is schematically presented in Fig. 5.[82]
A generalized concentration profile for either water or osmotic solute is shown
along the path of a conceptual capillary.
The tissue consists of intracellular and extracellular volumes separated by a
semipermeable membrane. The individual cell membranes in the tissue are
combined into one single equivalent membrane.[81] The extracellular volume is
considered continuous, filled with water and in contact with the membranes. The
extracellular volume is partitioned into free volume (includes the volume of
capillaries and the volume between the fibers within the cell walls) and volume of
the cell wall fibers. The ratio of the free volume to the total volume of the tissue
gives the porosity. Properly averaged values for the cell dimensions and porosity
of the tissue allow the model to keep the proportions existing in the real tissue.
A value of tortuosity establishes the equivalence in length between the path
through the extracellular free volume, and the distance measured from the surface
of the slab. This graphic depiction of the tissue allows for an easier formulation of
the equations describing the phenomena involved in osmotic dehydration. Finite
element methods were used to solve these equations in space and time. It was
concluded that the osmotic flow of water is accountable for 90% of the water loss,
Figure 5. Schematic of mass transfer mechanisms in osmotic dehydration.[82]

and that the solute would diffuse 60% less into the tissue compared to a pure
diffusion mechanism. The advance of the front of penetration is related to the
shrinkage of the tissue. By making a mass balance and a volume balance, the
following Eqs. (16) and (17) were developed for free volume along the X
direction.[25 – 28]

›ðCi AÞ › ›C i ›ðC i vAÞ
¼ ADi 2 þ J iE i ¼ 1; 2: ð16Þ
›t ›X ›X ›X
›ðvAÞ X k
›A
¼ ðJ i vi ÞE 2 i ¼ 1; 2: ð17Þ
›X i¼1
›t
Here, A is cross sectional area of sample (m2), Di is apparent diffusion coefficient

(m2 sec21), v is volume average velocity (m sec21), and E is in the Y direction
dimension of the model (m).
Salvatori[77 – 79] thoroughly studied the evolution of the soluble solids
fraction in the liquid phase of osmotically dehydrated slabs of Granny Smith
apples. The depth of penetration of the front of solids was proportional to the
square root of time, in agreement with the general diffusion equations in solids.[34]
However, the profiles of concentration of soluble solids were much steeper than
those predicted by the solutions of the simple diffusion equation offered by
Crank.[34] The steeper profiles were produced by the bulk flow of osmotic water
opposite to the diffusion of the osmotic solute. The profiles were described by a
nondimensional empirical model that fitted very well with all the experimental
data.[77 – 79] Therefore, this model can be used to estimate depth of penetration
from experimental solute concentration at different depths in the tissue.
The difference in mole fractions of solutes between the extracellular liquid
and the solution inside the cells determines the driving force for mass transfer. If it
is assumed that all the water in the fresh tissue is inside the cells, the mass fraction
of soluble solids can be determined on a weight basis by gravimetric methods. The
molecular weight of these soluble solids can be estimated by osmometry or from
their composition. The soluble solids are usually sugars, organic acids, salts, and
other minor components.[83] The effect of starch and other macromolecules on the
water activity of the cells can be accounted for in a different way, i.e., by
computing the amount of nonosmotic water associated with it.[84] Once the
estimated molecular weight is known, the intracellular fluid can be defined by its
molar composition. The water activity depression of the array of solutes present in
the cell does not follow a linear behavior with mole fraction.[29,31] Since the
osmotic dehydration process should not affect the amount of solids present inside
the cells,[85] the concentration at any time can be computed. The amount of water
lost by the tissue is the total amount of water lost by the cells minus the water
retained in the extracellular space. The estimation of the water lost by the cells is
linked to the estimation of the porosity, defined as the extracellular liquid fraction.
The equilibrium is reached when mass flows stop.[86,87] From the irreversible
thermodynamics point of view, this happens for the cells when the difference in
chemical potential of water and solutes is zero. This is consistent with the
consideration of Lenart and Flink[6] that at equilibrium the water activity of the
osmotic solution and the potato tissue are equal. Biswal and Le Maguer[88] and
Biswal and Bozorgmehr[89 – 91] mentioned that the equilibrium is reached when the
aqueous phase activity of the product and the osmotic solution are equal. Other
authors refer only to the soluble substances concentration in the plant and osmotic
solution, considering them equal at equilibrium.[6,91 – 93]
Azuara et al.[41,42] used the concepts of water loss and solids gain in
equilibrium as asymptotes for the model in Eqs. (18) and (19). The water loss, WL,
per unit mass of initial tissue at equilibrium, WL1, was defined as the asymptote
for a hyperbolic expression to compute WL as function of a time constant, s1, and
time, t. The same concept is used for the solids gain, SG.
WL s1 t
¼ ð18Þ
WL1 1 þ s1 t
SG s2 t
¼ ð19Þ
SG1 1 þ s2 t
Long-time osmotic treatment (several days) revealed that the biological
cellular material product tends to gain weight, and the result is a product rich in
solutes.[17,18,94,95] Monsalve-González et al.[96] studied fruit cylinders and slabs,
and observed that the slabs lost less water than the cylinders, and the slab sugar
gain was also significantly less than the cylinders. In addition, a phase in which the
samples began to gain weight was observed. Barat et al.[97] explained these long-
term phenomena as relaxation responses of the tissue matrix. After the chemical
potential equilibrium with the cells is reached, the collapsed tissue matrix expands
slowly, recovering like a sponge while absorbing osmotic solution.
Tissue Shrinkage and Microscopic Approach
The mass transfer phenomena occurring in plant tissues during osmosis

involves complex mechanisms, most of them controlled by the plant cells. During
osmotic dehydration of cellular material, mass transfer inside the cellular material
depends on both processing variables and microstructure properties of the
biological tissue. There is a naturally wide variation in the physical nature of raw
food material. When biological cellular material undergoes osmotic dehydration,
mass fluxes in the system imply changes in structural and transport properties
(volume, dimension, viscosity, density, porosity, etc.). As a result, these changes
affect the mass transfer fluxes. The changes of material tissue volume and porosity
promote the action of nondiffusional driving forces, such as a pressure gradient
associated with the relaxation of deformed cell network to release the structural
stress.[97] A critical processing temperature is defined at which the cellular

membrane starts to loose its specialized permeability functions.[31] The eventual
effect of cellular dehydration on water transport properties will strongly depend on
initial biological microstructural characteristics, especially the intercellular
space.[8,9,98] It is generally accepted that the most important organ controlling the
osmotic phenomena is the plasmalemma membrane. The selective permeability of
cell walls and membranes controls the quantity and the rate of mass transfer. Any
destruction or disruption of the cell structure during osmotic dehydration
treatment will result in poor dehydration and undesired mass transfer behavior.
Membrane permeability affects the composition and concentration of solutes
within the cells, and implicitly, within the tissue slices. These composition
parameters will have influence on the processing requirements and eventually
affect the taste and flavor of the osmotically treated products. Biological processes
are still functioning inside the tissue when fresh biological material is immersed in
osmotic solution. Changes in composition and concentration of solutes inside the
cells will significantly modify the water removal profiles during osmotic
dehydration.
As shown in Fig. 6,[99] parenchymatic plant tissues, that constitute most
fruits and vegetables, are made up of an array of cells that are associated by a
three-dimensional mesh of cell walls made of cellulose fibers. Many open
capillary channels exist around the cells. A semipermeable membrane called
plasmalemma encloses each cell. Most of the water and soluble solids inside the
cells are found in one or more large vacuoles. The vacuoles often contain 80 –90%
of the cellular volume.[64] A membrane called tonoplast contains the vacuole. The
plasmalemma is encased in the mesh of cell walls and open capillary spaces.
During osmotic dehydration, the capillary channels provide a indent for the water
to exit the tissue as well as for the solutes to enter the tissue. The capillaries
constitute most of the extracellular space inside the tissue. Most fruits have a free
volume (includes the volume of capillaries and the volume between the fibers
Figure 6. Confocal laser scanning micrograph of fresh apple tissue.[99]

within the cell walls) between 2 and 10%. Some fruits, like apples, have up to 25%
free volume.[77 – 79] This space can be filled with water or solution during the
osmotic treatment, providing the pathway necessary for mass transfer inside the
tissue. Some water from the surface goes directly into the solution, but most of it
has to go through the network of capillaries and porous cell walls. This main
pathway for the movement of water in the tissue is called the apoplast. As time
progresses after cellular biological material is immersed in osmotic solution, the
solute penetrates further into these extracellular spaces of the tissue, creating the
zone where the cells are losing water through their membranes. This is considered
the active zone. Beyond that depth of penetration lays, the tissue remains
essentially unaltered.
Although readily observed under the microscope, the quantitative changes
that occur during osmotic dehydration are not easily measurable. Light
microscopy only works well on very thin sections of tissues. The actual physical
cutting of the material causes disruption of the tissues, thus limiting the area
available for observation and for measurement. Using scanning electron
microscopy (SEM) would require material to be frozen and embedded. These
processes also destroy the tissue. Therefore, a method that allows the observation
of thick sections of fresh or “minimally processed” tissue is necessary. Using red
beet tissue cells as materials, a three-dimensional true-color optical microscopy
system was developed.[65] This system allows the observation of the mass transfer
phenomenon in situ. This is a new technique to study cell volumetric changes in a
tissue matrix during osmotic dehydration in three-dimensions. The three-
dimensional imaging technique provides a means to visualize the cells in a tissue
in a more complete setting, although a time correction is required to take the “dead
time” for image preparation into consideration. Many modeling parameters are
estimated based on averaged data due to lack of proper data or based on
assumptions, due to lack of proper experimental techniques to measure them. With
experimental data obtained from imaging, the soundness of a diffusion model
could then be tested.
Another method for visualizing cell structures is confocal laser scanning
microscopy (CLSM) a form of light microscopy in which white or a narrow range
of wavelengths of laser light excites a specific fluorescent material.[100] The
microscope can image very clean, thin optical sections (or slices) from thick
fluorescent specimens.[101] CLSM also has the capability to obtain three-
dimensional images of biological and other microscopic structures.[102 – 104] The
microscope works very well with fresh tissues as well as with embedded samples.
To quantify changes in cell structure during osmotic dehydration, an
algorithm called the “spider” can explore the boundaries within the edge of the
selected cell (Fig. 7).[99] This procedure can be conducted on each selected and
labeled cell through a stack of images. The spider can also detect the missing
boundaries or gaps in the cell’s edge based on surrounding points in all dimensions
(X, Y, and Z ). The spider then interpolates all the points it has detected in the cell
and uses this to reconstruct a three-dimensional view of the cells (Fig. 8).[99]
Figure 7. Multiple cells with spider-detected edges (arrows).[99]
The reconstruction may be viewed as sample points or as a wire frame, and may be
moved and rotated in different axes and dimensions. These methods are able to
improve the kind of images acquired on osmotically-dehydrated plant materials.
Such imaging techniques provide a new dimension to studying the phenomenon of
osmotic dehydration at a cellular level in both qualitative and quantitative aspects.
Figure 8. Three-dimensional reconstruction of spider-detected cells in sampled-points view.[99]

FUTURE DEVELOPMENT
The technology of osmotic dehydration has potential to provide consumers

with safe products of excellent quality. Production of osmotically-dehydrated
products requires appropriate manufacturing equipment and procedures at the
industrial level.[105] The use of vacuum or pulsed vacuum has been extensively
studied.[23,24,106,107] A better understanding of the hydrodynamic mechanism and
long term equilibrium have led to another point of view from which to approach
mass transfer during osmotic treatment of foods.[24] Osmotic dehydration studies
have also been carried out using ultrasound to increase the mass transfer rates.[108]
The use of high-pressure pretreatment was found to enhance mass transfer rates in
pineapples. This is attributed to the breaking up of the cell walls, thus speeding up
water loss. Cell wall break-up was observed using differential interference
contrast (DIC) microscopy.[109] High intensity electrical field pulse (HELP) has
also been applied to increase mass transfer rates in carrots.[110] The higher rates of
water and solid diffusion are due to the increased permeability of the cells. The
cells are damaged by the application of the HELP treatment, thus causing a
decrease in turgor pressure. The disintegration of the cells, however, causes a
decrease in texture of the matrix. Although higher rates of mass transfer can be
obtained through this process, the overall quality of the final product (after the last
processing step) using these pretreatments was not determined. Detailed
characteristics of the materials and the mass transfer relationships needs to be
even further developed.
Osmotic dehydration of biological materials, involves multicomponent
transport. There is an internal exchange of water and solutes, as well as
interactions between components and the food network. Moreover, the transfer
mechanisms diffusion rates, and equilibrium moisture content for each of these
components are generally very different, and that affects both kinetics and the final
equilibrium conditions of the solid– liquid system. The semi-empirical approach
using only concentration gradient as diffusion driving force according to classic
chemical engineering diffusion theory has left some essential problems remaining
to be solved. Despite the achievements made in fundamental research and
industrial application around the world, the simultaneous flows of solutes and
water as well as the interactions between components require further theoretical
development to allow osmotic dehydration to be applied on a large scale in the
food industry. A systematic analysis of optimum combinations of osmotic
treatment with other unit operations, selection of osmotic-suitable material, and
solution management are necessary. This will allow technical and economic
evaluations to be more pertinent to industrial application.[111 – 113] It is also
necessary to set up pilot or bench prototypes to develop products for industry, and
to upgrade modeling and simulation of osmotic dehydration to a design level.[22]
The design of multicomponent and countercurrent processes need to be optimized
for the desired dehydration/impregnation rates. Incorporation of fuzzy logic,
neural networks, and other novel techniques for process control may enhance
development of osmotic dehydration. Incorporation of the concepts of glass

transition to the stabilization of osmotically-treated products also needs more
study.[114,115]
More detailed evaluation of the distribution of the phases in the tissue during
osmotic dehydration will provide a clear picture of the phenomena that control the
mass transfer processes. It is important to link the microscopy findings to the
processing parameters of the operation, and other compositional and mechanical
characteristics of the tissues. The structure of the tissue matrix and its role in the
kinetics, of osmotic dehydration as well as the equilibria of water and solutes still
require a more specific approach.[46,97,115] The development of practical
techniques and the advent of improved imaging tools will make this evaluation
more feasible.
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Osmotic Dehydration of Foods: Mass Transfer and Modeling Aspects

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MARCEL DEKKER, INC.

• 270 MADISON AVENUE • NEW YORK, NY 10016

FOOD REVIEWS INTERNATIONAL

OSMOTIC DEHYDRATION OF FOODS: MASS

John Shi1,* and Marc Le Maguer2

Biological materials contain a variety of individual soluble components. When

*Corresponding author. Fax: (519) 829-2400; E-mail: shij@agr.gc.ca

DOI: 10.1081/FRI-120016208 8755-9129 (Print); 1525-6103 (Online)

306 SHI AND LE MAGUER

irreversible thermodynamics, multicomponent diffusion, and hydrodynamic

Key Words: Fickian diffusian; Irreversible thermodynamics; Mass transfer;

Dehydration is an important unit operation in the food industry. The basic

OSMOTIC DEHYDRATION OF FOODS 307

By immersing a biological material into an osmotic solution, water flow from

308 SHI AND LE MAGUER

materials is an energy intensive process, a partial removal of water prior to this

PHENOMENA OF OSMOTIC DEHYDRATION

Osmotic dehydration is partial removal of water by direct contact of a food

OSMOTIC DEHYDRATION OF FOODS 309

310 SHI AND LE MAGUER

the osmotic solution during soaking or rehydration processes. After absorbing

MASS TRANSFER PHENOMENA DURING OSMOTIC

After immersing some water-rich fresh food material in a hypertonic solution

OSMOTIC DEHYDRATION OF FOODS 311

1. Water and solutes transport by diffusion in osmotic process due to

312 SHI AND LE MAGUER

5. Water diffusion at pore surfaces due to concentration gradients at the

Mass Transfer Inside and Outside the Material

When a cellular solid material is immersed in an osmotic solution, the cells in

OSMOTIC DEHYDRATION OF FOODS 313

Mass Concentration Distribution

When food material is immersed in osmotic solution, the solid phase is

314 SHI AND LE MAGUER

REVIEW OF EXISTING MODELS OF OSMOTIC DEHYDRATION

OSMOTIC DEHYDRATION OF FOODS 315

where Cso is initial osmotic solution concentration, Cse is osmotic solution

X¼0 ›C w =›X ¼ 0; ›C i =›X ¼ 0 for all t . 0

316 SHI AND LE MAGUER

et al.,[38] Mauro and Menegalli,[39] and many others. Simplified semi-empirical

Irreversible Thermodynamics Approach

Description of synoptic transport based on irreversible thermodynamics was

Nonequilibrium Thermodynamic Model Approach of Philip[48 – 50]

OSMOTIC DEHYDRATION OF FOODS 317

318 SHI AND LE MAGUER

General Irreversible Thermodynamics Approach

Irreversible thermodynamics is applied to describe the coupling or

J 2 ¼ L21 Y 1 þ L22 Y 2 ð10Þ

OSMOTIC DEHYDRATION OF FOODS 319

The phenomenological coefficients, Lij, are correlated by the law of Onsager,

The chemical potential of water in osmotic dehydration depends on two

320 SHI AND LE MAGUER

Multicomponent Diffusion Approach

Food material immersed in osmotic solution is considered to be a dynamic

OSMOTIC DEHYDRATION OF FOODS 321

natural solute leached out) and interacting multicomponent transfer in this

CURRENT RESEARCH EFFORTS AND DEVELOPMENTS

322 SHI AND LE MAGUER

Figure 5. Schematic of mass transfer mechanisms in osmotic dehydration.[82]

OSMOTIC DEHYDRATION OF FOODS 323

Here, A is cross sectional area of sample (m2), Di is apparent diffusion coefficient

324 SHI AND LE MAGUER

Tissue Shrinkage and Microscopic Approach

The mass transfer phenomena occurring in plant tissues during osmosis