Modelling the effect of temperature on the water sorption isotherms of chitosan films

The interaction of the water molecules from the environment with foods and other materials can be evaluated using sorption isotherms. Films and biodegradable films are susceptible to changes in their functional characteristics due to adsorbed water. The amount of moisture that biodegradable films can adsorb depends on the temperature, relative humidity of the storage area and chemical composition. Several mathematical models can be used to describe the behavior of sorption isotherms in biodegradable films and some of them have been modified to include the temperature parameter into the equation. In this research, the original and modified BET, GAB, Halsey, Henderson and Oswin models were assessed to determine their suitability describing the behavior of moisture adsorption isotherms of chitosan films at 15, 20, 25 and 30 °C. The modified models of GAB, Oswin and Halsey gave the best fit to the experimental sorption data of the chitosan films, with R² values higher than 0.97 demonstrating that those models describe better the sorption isotherms at the temperatures studied.