Numerical modeling of chickpea (Cicer arietinum) hydration: The effects of temperature and low pressure

Chickpea is a leguminous that can be consumed both fresh and baked, and must be hydrated in both cases. The objective of this study was to discuss mathematical and numerical models, and also experimentally evaluate the process of water uptake in chickpea (Cicer arietinum) under different temperatures and pressures, determining the diffusion coefficient of water in the grains and the activation energy of the hydration process. The values for the diffusion coefficient ranged from 7.38×10-11 to 5.21×10-10m2s-1. The activation energy was determined at 36.040kJmol-1, the activation volume at -7.724×103cm3mol-1 and the constant value was 2.185×10-4. By comparing the experimental results with those obtained from the analytical solution of the theoretical model, there was a satisfactory fit of the model to the experimental data, and the hydration curves were plotted. A good adjustment of the numerical model, the model of Abu-Ghannam and the Peleg model was made to the experimental data. The Arrhenius-Eyring type equation was used to explain the dependency of the diffusion coefficient with the temperature and pressure in the hydration process.