Effect of temperature and concentration on osmotic dehydration of coconut

Abstract

Osmotic dehydration is used as one of the upstream processing steps (separation of kernel from shell) during wet processing of coconut. Water loss from the coconut increased with the increase in temperature and concentration of the osmotic solution. A correlation has been proposed for the reduced weight based on Fickian diffusion as a function of temperature, concentration and immersion time. High correlation was observed between experimental and predicted values. © 1994 Academic Press.