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Temperature and humidity based models for the prediction of transpiration rate in potatoes during storage
Author(s) -
Kedia Priya,
Kausley Shankar B.,
Rai Beena
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
journal of food process engineering
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.507
H-Index - 45
eISSN - 1745-4530
pISSN - 0145-8876
DOI - 10.1111/jfpe.13626
Subject(s) - transpiration , arrhenius equation , humidity , relative humidity , environmental science , chemistry , mathematics , thermodynamics , biochemistry , activation energy , photosynthesis , physics , organic chemistry
Transpiration of potatoes causes shrinkage, loss of skin firmness, and reduction in sellable weight leading to reduced returns on the stock. The knowledge about the transpiration rate of potatoes stored or being transported at different environmental conditions is necessary for predicting the weight of stock after a given period of time. In this study, models incorporating the effect of two most influential yet easily measurable parameters; temperature and humidity on transpiration rate were developed using well‐known Arrhenius equation. Since standard Arrhenius equation considers the effect of only temperature, we have employed Modified Arrhenius equations which incorporate the effect of both temperature and humidity. The experimental weight versus time data generated by storing the potatoes at different environmental conditions was used to develop these models with Root Mean Square Error of 0.13–0.32 g/kg day. These models predicted the weight of potatoes stored at different environmental conditions belonging to different potato varieties with Mean Absolute Percentage Error of 0.13–5.5. The study also presents a detailed analysis of transpiration models already available in the literature and compares them with the current model. The models developed in this study will help in making real‐time decisions to avoid food wastage in the supply chain. Practical applications It is well established that weight loss occuring due to transpiration leads to degradation of potato quality. During the movement in the supply chain, potatoes may experience varying environmental conditions which influence their rate of transpiration. The knowledge about the transpiration rate of potatoes stored or being transported is necessary for predicting the weight of stock after a given period. This can further aid in decisions regarding the sale and repurposing of the stock to minimize the wastage of potatoes. In addition to this, the knowledge about the transpiration rate is important for designing Modified Atmosphere Packaging (MAP) where the water vapor transmission rate of the packaging material is influenced by the transpiration rate.