ABSTRACT Cryopreservation is a technique used to preserve genetic material at ultra-low temperatures in cryogenic germplasm banks. In order to enable the cryopreservation of a seed, it is necessary to study its appropriate freezing temperature and its water content, because seeds reach maximum physiological quality with high water contents, and they tolerate drying when they are orthodox seeds, but they may not tolerate cryopreservation. Therefore, the objective of this study was to analyze the influence of initial water content (50 to 10% wet basis) on the kinetic behavior of the lima bean seed at the temperature of −150 °C, in addition to determining changes in its physiological quality (germination and vigor) when cryopreserved (−150 °C) for 30 days with the variation of initial water contents (50 to 10% wet basis). For this purpose, changes in lima bean size (length, width, and thickness), sphere-equivalent radius and volume, and kinetics of seed cryopreservation as a function of its water content. The Fourier model and the Cavalcanti-Mata & Duarte models I and II were used for cryopreservation modeling, in addition to proposing a new model for cryopreservation kinetics in which water content determines the kinetic behavior. The conclusion was that the water content of 10% wb should be used for the lima bean seed cryopreservation since its physiological quality was not affected by cryopreservation at −150 °C. The model that best represents the experimental data is Cavalcanti Mata & Duarte Model II.

O objetivo do trabalho foi determinar a difusividade térmica aparente de sementes de cajá avaliando o efeito da variação do teor de água e da temperatura e ajustar diferentes modelos matemáticos aos valores experimentais. Sementes com a faixa de teor de água de 6,05 a 61,84% (b.u.) foram submetidas a secagem e à temperatura de 40 ºC. A redução do teor de água ao longo da secagem foi acompanhada pelo método gravimétrico (perda de massa) enquanto a difusividade térmica aparente da semente de cajá foi determinada pelo método de Dickerson. Concluiu-se que a difusividade térmica aparente, em temperatura acima do congelamento e em ultrabaixas temperaturas em função do teor de água (b.u), podem ser representados satisfatoriamente por um modelo de regressão linear e que o valor da difusividade térmica aparente aumenta exponencialmente com o aumento da temperatura.

The aim of this study was to determine experimentally the apparent thermal diffusivity caja seeds, evaluating the effect of variation of water content and temperature and adjust different mathematical models to experimental values. Seeds with the range of water content from 6.05 to 61.84% (wb) subjected to drying at a temperature of 40 ºC were studied. The reduction of water content during drying was monitored by gravimetric method (weight loss). The apparent thermal diffusivity of caja seed was determined by the method of Dickerson. It was concluded that the apparent thermal diffusivity in temperature above freezing and ultralow temperatures as a function of water content (wb), can be satisfactorily represented by a linear regression model and that value of the apparent thermal diffusivity increases exponentially with increasing temperature.

A polpa de cajá tem sido exportada da região Nordeste para todo o Brasil, e uma das maneiras de conservá-la é processando-a e armazenado-a na forma congelada. Durante o processamento, existem dois fatores que favorecem a qualidade do produto a ser armazenado: a rapidez com que o produto é congelado e a adição de açúcar como forma de dificultar a ação microbiológica. Na linha de processo, algumas propriedades termofísicas, como o calor específico e a densidade, se alteram com as temperaturas negativas e com o teor de sólidos solúveis totais; dessa forma, para o dimensionamento adequado de máquinas e equipamentos, torna-se necessário conhecer essas propriedades, principalmente quando se operam equipamentos criogênicos, onde as temperaturas podem chegar a -196 ºC. Neste trabalho, determinaram-se a densidade e o calor específico da polpa do cajá com quatro diferentes níveis de sólidos solúveis totais (natural da polpa; 20; 40 e 60%) e temperaturas entre -196 ºC e -18 ºC. A densidade foi obtida pela razão entre a massa da polpa e o seu volume. O volume foi determinado pelo método do deslocamento de massa (água) e o calor específico por meio de balanço de calor entre a massa da polpa, a massa do cilindro que contém a polpa e a massa do gelo. Conclui-se que a densidade da polpa de cajá aumenta em função da redução da temperatura e do aumento do teor de sólidos solúveis totais de 9 para 60 °Brix e que o calor específico da polpa diminui com a diminuição de temperatura e aumenta com a concentração de sólidos solúveis totais.

The cajá pulp has been exported from the Northeast area to all parts of Brazil, and one of the ways of conserving it is processing and storing it in the frozen form. During the processing, there are two factors that favor the quality of the product to be stored; the speed that the product is frozen and the addition of sugar as a form of hindering the microbiologic action. In the process line, some thermo-physics properties like the specific heat and the density change themselves according to the negative temperatures and the total soluble solids content. Then, it's necessary to know those properties mainly when cryogenic equipments are operated, where the temperatures can be -196 ºC to have the appropriate dimension of machines and equipment. Therefore, in this work, it was determined the cajá pulp density and the specific heat for 4 different levels of total soluble solids (natural of the pulp; 20; 40 and 60%) and temperatures from -196 to -18 ºC. The density was obtained by the rate between mass of the pulp and its volume. The volume was determined by the displacement of mass (water) and the specific heat was determined by the balance of heating among the mass of the pulp, the mass of the cylinder that contains the pulp and the mass of the ice. The results allow to conclude that: a) the cajá pulp density increases in function of the variation of the temperature from -18 to -196 °C, and also as a function of the increase of the total soluble solids content from 9 to 60 °Brix; b) the cajá pulp specific heat decreases according to the decrease of the temperature and it increases according to the concentration of total soluble solids.