KINETIC PARAMETERIZATION OF TRANSITIONS AND REACTIONS IN FOOD SYSTEMSFROM ISOTHERMAL AND NONISOTHERMAL DSC TRACES

When reactions and/or transitions take place within a food system, i.e . in the presence of a number of components, their kinetic parameteriz ation can be approached by careful analysis of isothermal DSC traces. Even when the signal is relatively smooth, a ''fine structure'' can be observed. This can be used in numerical manipulations if the original trace is in digital format. Some simple expressions are proposed for the determination of kinetic parameters from isothermal and non-isothe rmal scans. The case of consecutive reactions is also considered.