SORPTION ISOTHERMS AND ISOSTERIC HEAT OF PERICARP AND ENDOSPERM TISSUES OF ARABICA COFFEE FRUIT

ABSTRACT The aim of this study was to evaluate and model the hygroscopic equilibrium and isosteric heat curves of pericarp and endosperm tissues of arabica (Coffea arabica) coffee fruit, in different temperature and relative humidity conditions. Sorption isotherms were drawn under temperatures from 20°C to 70°C and relative humidity ranging between 10% and 90% until the product reached the equilibrium water content with the environment. The experiment was set up in a 4 × 4 factorial scheme (four relative humidity of the drying air and three tissues of the coffee cherry pericarp + endosperm [1: exocarp + part of the mesocarp, 2: mesocarp, 3: endocarp, 4: endosperm]), in a completely randomized design, with three repetitions. The results were examined by analysis of variance and regression using the STATISTICA 5.0 statistical software. Among the analyzed models, the ones that best fit the experimental data were modified GAB, for exocarp + part of mesocarp and mesocarp, modified Henderson, for endocarp, and Sabbab for endosperm. It was observed that, for all treatments, the lower water contents required a higher amount of energy to reach the equilibrium water content, and the integral isosteric heat decreased with the increasing equilibrium water content.