The diffusion-sorption drying model has been developed as a physics-based way to model the decreasing drying rate at low moisture contents. This new model is founded on the existence of different classes of water: free and bound water. The transition between these classes and the corresponding thermodynamics form distinct components of the drying model. This paper shows that the characteristics of the different classes of water and of the transition between them can be deduced from the GAB sorption isotherm. The parameters in the GAB sorption isotherm support the theory of localised sorption, establishing the existence of different classes of water. Moreover, the sorption mechanism retrieved from the GAB parameters is in accordance with the sorption mechanism, which is obtained from the moisture dependence of the net isosteric heat of sorption. This holds for experimental sorption data of corn and starch as well as for literature data on five vegetables and four fortified cassava products. An extremum in the net isosteric heat of sorption coincides with the transition between bound and free water, and the partition moisture content corresponds with the monolayer value derived from the GAB equation. This confirms that the GAB monolayer value can be chosen as model boundary between bound and free water. Moreover, it reveals that this method can be developed into a technique to estimate the bound water content in foods.

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Sorption isotherms of corn and starch cylinders with immobilised catalase are experimentally determined at different temperatures for use in drying models in optimal control studies. This application of the sorption isotherm requires an accurate prediction of the sorption data at different temperatures for the low water activity range. The GAB equation is used for the prediction of the sorption isotherms. Two major problems are encountered by employing standard procedures, ie prediction of sorption at a w < 0.11 and sensitivity of the GAB parameters to the applied data range. An improved methodology is developed, consisting of extending the standard experimental procedure with additional data points in the low water activity range and changing the criterion in the regression procedure in the sum of squares, which is weighed by the variance of the experimental data. The new methodology leads to accurate, consistent and physically relevant parameters of the GAB equation, which are independent of the applied data range in the regression analysis and which result in accurate predictions of the sorption behaviour at low water activity. The sorption data at different temperatures at low water activity can be predicted in the best way with parameters obtained after direct regression based on weighed SSQ.

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International audienceMicroalgae are promising natural resources for biofuels, chemical, food and feed products. Besides their economic potential, the environmental sustainability must be examined. Cultivation has a significant environmental impact that depends on reactor selection and operating conditions. To identify the main environmental bottlenecks for scale-up to industrial facilities this study provides a comparative life cycle assessment (LCA) of open raceway ponds and tubular photobioreactors at pilot scale. The results are based on experimental data from real pilot plants operated in summer, fall and winter at AlgaePARC (Wageningen, The Netherlands). The energy consumption for temperature regulation presented the highest environmental burden. The production of nutrients affected some categories. Despite limited differences compared to the vertical system, the horizontal PBR was found the most efficient in terms of productivity and environmental impact. The ORP was, given the Dutch climatic conditions, only feasible under summer operation. The results highlight the relevance of LCA as a tool for decision-making in process design. Weather conditions and availability of sources for temperature regulation were identified as essential factors for the selection of geographic locations and for microalgal cultivation systems based on environmental criteria. Simulation of large-scale reactors with optimized temperature regulation systems lead to environmental improvements and energy demand reductions ranging from 17% up to 90% for systems operated in favorable summer conditions