Multicomponent diffusion modeling and simulation in prato cheese salting using brine at rest: The finite element method approach

The relationship between NaCl in the diet and hypertension has stimulated a partial substitution by KCl in cheese, however, it is very important to guarantee an adequate proportion of NaCl/KCl, and also the homogeneous distribution of these salts is necessary to maintain the final quality of the product. Therefore, the use of models that simulate multicomponent diffusion during the mixed salting of cheese with a reduced quantity of NaCl is important to control the quality. The multicomponent diffusion that occurred during the salting of prato cheese in brine at rest, of adequate salt concentration, was modeled and simulated in this study. The model was based on Fick’s second law generalized for simultaneous diffusion. The finite element method (FEM) was used with a three-dimensional model. The deviation of NaCl experimental concentration data was 2.7% and 6.5% for KCl. The salting simulation, through FEM, allowed a potential increase in production (reducing the salting time), modulating the process to the required salt concentration.