The influence of different polyols as plasticizers of alginate films on their physical attributes like moisture content, soluble mass in water, water uptake, water vapor permeability, opacity and mechanical properties were determined and the results discussed based on scanning electron microscopy observations and glass transition temperature. The alginate films were obtained by casting, using three different gramatures. Calcium crosslinked and non-reticulated films were considered. The films plasticized with glycerol and xylitol were more hygroscopic than the films with mannitol. The lowest water vapor permeability values were found for films plasticized with mannitol, at all studied thicknesses. The films plasticized with glycerol and xylitol showed very similar functional attributes regarding their application as food wrappings. The Ca2+ crosslinked mannitol films showed the highest tensile strength at rupture (>140 MPa).

The paper reports on experimental data on the extraction of caffeine, coffee oil and chlorogenic acids from green coffee beans using pure supercritical CO2 and supercritical CO2 modified with ethanol (5% w/w) and isopropyl alcohol (5% w/w) at 50 and 60ºC and 15.2 24.8 e 35.2 MPa. In this study extraction kinetics were obtained for all assays i.e. samples were collected at several time intervals for each solvent and mixed solvent. When pure CO2 and CO2-ethanol mixed solvent were used, an increase in pressure resulted in an increase in the amount of oil extracted. When CO2 was modified with isopropyl alcohol, the amount of coffee oil extracted also increased with pressure. Caffeine extraction initially increased and subsequently decreased with pressure. Chlorogenic acids were only extracted when isopropyl alcohol was used as a co-solvent. An increase in extraction temperature resulted in a decrease of caffeine and oil extraction (retrograde condensation) when only CO2 was used as solvent. With the use of co-solvent this retrograde behavior was no longer observed and the increase in temperature resulted in the increase in the extracted amounts of caffeine, coffee oil and chlorogenic acids.

The freezing process is considered as a propagation problem and mathematically classified as an "initial value problem." The mathematical formulation involves a complex situation of heat transfer with simultaneous changes of phase and abrupt variation in thermal properties. The objective of the present work is to solve the non-linear heat transfer equation for food freezing processes using orthogonal collocation on finite elements. This technique has not yet been applied to freezing processes and represents an alternative numerical approach in this area. The results obtained confirmed the good capability of the numerical method, which allows the simulation of the freezing process in approximately one minute of computer time, qualifying its application in a mathematical optimising procedure. The influence of the latent heat released during the crystallisation phenomena was identified by the significant increase in heat load in the early stages of the freezing process.