Rheological evaluation of Prunus mume pulp

Abstract

SummaryThe rheological behaviour of mume pulp at 6, 7, 8 and 9 °Brix was investigated using a rotational viscometer at temperatures ranging from 15 to 75 °C. The rheological models of Herschel-Bulkley and Ostwald-Waele (Power Law) were fitted to obtain the rheological parameters of the mume pulp. The product was described as time non-dependent and presented a viscosity of 1.9 Pa.s at 15 °C and 1.1°Pa.s at 65 and 75 °C for the 9 °Brix pulp. The pulp showed non-Newtonian behaviour and the Herschel-Bulkley model was used to describe this behaviour. The activation energy ranged from 6.6-10.6 kJ.mol -1 and the consistency index from 18.0-22.9 Pa.s n for the 9 °Brix pulp and 8.3-12.2 Pa.s n for the 8 °Brix pulp at temperatures varying from 15 to 75 °C. The models presented high correlation values for all the rheological data obtained in the present work.