Mathematical modeling of multicomponent NaCl and KCl diffusion process during the salting of pre-cooked champignon mushrooms

Wet salting is an old preservation method however the NaCl has been frequently associated to high blood pressure issues. The KCl has been used as partial replacement without affecting the acceptability of the final product. In this study, the simultaneous diffusion of NaCl and KCl in champignon mushrooms in static brine and brine under agitation was modeled based on the generalization of Fick's second diffusion law and simulated using the finite element method. Main and crossed diffusion coefficients, as well as the Biot number, were determined using the super modified simplex optimization method by means of percentage error minimization. Deviations between the simulated and experimental data were 5.78% for NaCl and 4.78% for KCl in static brine and 4.95% for NaCl and 4.35% for KCl in brine with agitation and, the main diffusion coefficients 2.692 × 10−10 m2s−1 for sodium and 2.953 × 10−10 m2s−1 for potassium were obtained.