Monolayer Moisture Content of Some Legume SeedsN. D. MENKOV
Higher Institute of Food Industry, BG-4000 Plovdiv, Bulgaria
Abstract
MENKOV, N. D., 1999. Monolayer moisture content of some legume seeds. Bulg. J. Agric. Sci., 5: 887-893
The equilibrium moisture contents in legume seeds (common bean, broad bean, lentil, chickpea and vetch) were determined using the gravimetric static method at 5, 20, 40 and 60 0C over a range of relative humidities from 0.110 to 0.450. The monolayer moisture content (MMC) of the seeds is obtained by the BET (Brunauer-Emmett-Teller) and modified BET model. The MMC decreased with the increase in temperature. The modified BET model include the effect of temperature. The seeds have a monolayer moisture content when stored at relative humidity from 0.16 to 0.24 regardless of the temperature.
Key words: BET model, equilibrium moisture content, temperature