Diffusion and kinetic modeling of water absorption process during soaking and cooking of chickpea

Abstract

The chickpea soaking and cooking processes were empirically studied in terms of water absorption. The effective moisture diffusivity (Deff) and the convective mass transfer coefficient (K) were determined by developing a mathematical model in spherical coordinates. According to the evaluation of mass transfer parameters, the values of Deff and K ranged from 0.91 × 10−12 to 1.49 × 10−10 m2/s, and 2.02 × 10−10 to 7.25 × 10−10 m/s, respectively. Also, the kinetic behavior of chickpea during soaking and cooking was successfully modeled by the commonly used predictive models such as Peleg, Page, two-term, and Vega–Lemus. The statistical parameters including the coefficient of determination (R2) and sum of square error (SSE) were applied for comparison of mathematical models. The two-term model was found to be the best predictive equation for describing the soaking behavior of chickpea. In the case of cooking, a proposed model in this study was introduced as the best equation in predicting the moisture content of chickpea against time. The approach that was applied in this work can support the development of diffusion and kinetic modeling in different types of legumes during soaking, cooking, and the other processes related to moisture absorption or removal.