www.tjprc.org editor@tjprc.org AN EXPERIMENTAL STUDY ON MATHEMATICAL MODELLING OF OSMOTIC DEHYDRATION OF BEETROOT R. N. SHUKLA 1 , M. ALI KHAN 2 & S. ZAIDI 3 1 Assistant Professor, Department of Food Process Engineering, SHIATS, Allahabad, India 2 Associate Professor, Department of PHET, A.M.U., Aligarh, India 3 Associate Professor, Department of Chemical Engineering, A.M.U., Aligarh, India ABSTRACT Osmotic Dehydration of beetroot was conducted by using three concentration levels (40, 50 and 60 %) of osmotic agents such as sucrose, fructose and maltodextrin along with three salt concentrations (5, 10 and 15 %) were used at three different levels of osmotic solution temperature (40, 50 and 60 °C). The samples to solution ratio were taken at three levels, i.e., 1:4, 1:5 and 1:6 for all the experiments. The full factorial design was employed to determine the number of experiments for osmotic dehydration. Osmotic solutions were prepared by dissolving the different levels of sucrose, fructose and maltodextrin along with NaCl in distilled water (w/w). A magnetic stirrer was used to dissolve the contents. The fresh osmotic solution was prepared for every run. The surface moisture was removed by using blotting paper. Osmotic dehydration was carried out from 10 to 240 min with varying time intervals to investigate the osmotic kinetics at each experimental condition. The moisture loss and solid gain were computed on the basis of mass balance. Models for dependent parameters of osmotic dehydration process, i.e., moisture loss and solid gain of beet-root were developed in terms of independent parameters (temperature, concentration of agents, sample to solution ratio and time of osmosis) using a scrambler software (CAMO AS, Trondheim, Norway, version 8.0.5). For the osmotic dehydration of beetroot total six best fitted models were developed by using 972 samples experimented with respect to different experimental conditions (time, solution temperature, osmotic treatments, sample to solution ratio and binary solution concentrations). The models for moisture loss and solid gain were developed and validated on the basis of the high value of the coefficient of correlation (r). In addition, the low value of SEC (standard error of calibration) and SEP (standard error of prediction) and insignificant biases in calibration and validation models indicated that the models for determining moisture loss and solid gain during osmotic dehydration of beetroot samples in different osmotic agents are best fitted to the data. KEYWORDS: Surface Moisture was Removed by Using Blotting Paper, Models for Moisture Loss & The Low Value of SEC Received: Aug 17, 2017; Accepted: Sep 10, 2017; Published: Sep 26, 2017; Paper Id.: IJASROCT201742 INTRODUCTION Beta vulgaris, commonly known as beetroot or beet, which is a flowering plant species in the family of Chenopodiaceous. Several cultivars are valued around the world, as edible root vegetables, fodder (Mangel) and sugar producing beet. It is grown widely in Germany and France and in lesser amounts in other European countries, Africa, Asia, and South America. Beetroot is now a popular salad vegetable. Beetroot can be peeled, steamed, and then eaten warm with butter as a delicacy; cooked, pickled, and then eaten cold as a condiment; or peeled, shredded raw, and then eaten as a salad. One increasingly popular preparation involves tossing peeled and diced beets with a Original Article International Journal of Agricultural Science and Research (IJASR) ISSN (P): 2250-0057; ISSN (E): 2321-0087 Vol. 7, Issue 5, Oct 20 17, 353-364 © TJPRC Pvt. Ltd.