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A respiration-diffusion model for 'Conference' pears. 1. Model development and validation.

Author(s) : LAMMERTYN J., SCHEERLINCK N., JANCSÓK P., et al.

Type of article: Article

Summary

A respiration-diffusion model based on Fick's second law of diffusion and Michaelis-Menten (M-M) kinetics, including non-competitive CO2 inhibition, was developed to predict the internal O2 and CO2 concentrations in 'Conference' pears. The 'respiration-free' diffusion and 'diffusion-free' respiration parameters were incorporated in the respiration-diffusion model. The system of coupled non-linear partial differential equations was solved numerically for a three-dimensional pear geometry, by means of the finite element method. When M-M kinetics are used to describe a process like gas exchange of fruits, the M-M which involves both gas diffusion and respiration, the M-M parameters were assigned a higher value than those obtained when respiration was first uncoupled from the diffusion process and then described by means of M-M kinetics. The maximal O2 consumption and fermentative CO2 production were diffusion-independent, but the M-M constants measured on cell protoplasts were considerably smaller when compared with the corresponding apparent M-M constants determined from respiration measurements on intact pears. The model was successfully validated for its prediction of the total pear gas exchange and the gas concentration under the skin, and is suited to simulating three-dimensional internal O2 and CO2 dioxide profiles in pears as a function of the storage atmosphere.

Details

  • Original title: A respiration-diffusion model for 'Conference' pears. 1. Model development and validation.
  • Record ID : 2004-1808
  • Languages: English
  • Source: Postharvest Biol. Technol. - vol. 30 - n. 1
  • Publication date: 2003/10

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