K. Muthukumarappan et S. Gunasekaran, MOISTURE DIFFUSIVITY OF CORN KERNEL COMPONENTS DURING ADSORPTION .1. GERM, Transactions of the ASAE, 37(4), 1994, pp. 1263-1268
Moisture adsorption tests were conducted using corn germ and composite
corn kernels under the humid air conditions of 75, 80, and 90% relati
ve humidity and 25, 30, 35, and 40-degrees-C temperature. Moisture dif
fusivity values were estimated based on the analytical Fick's diffusio
n model assuming corn germ and corn as an infinite slab. The mean mois
ture diffusivity of corn germ increased with air temperature (0.19 x 1
0(-7) to 0.66 x 10(-7) m2/h) and decreased with air relative humidity
(0.27 x 10(-7) to 0.60 x 10(-7) m2/h). Moisture diffusivity values of
corn germ were about two to five times lower than those of the composi
te corn kernel.