Experimental Study of the Water Absorption Kinetics of the Coconut Shells (Nucifera) of Cameroun

Abstract

The study is focused on the phenomenon of diffusion of water through the shells of two coconut species (coconut nucifera) of Cameroun. The kinetics absorption of water was studied experimentally by the gravimetric method with discontinuous control of the mass of the samples at the temperature of 23℃. The mature coconut shells were cleaned mechanically, cut in a spherical shape and placed in a drying oven with 105 ℃ for 4 hours before being plunged in distilled water at 23 ℃ . This study made it possible not only to determine the rate of water absorbed, but also to model the water kinetic absorption of the shells. Of the two models tested (Peleg and Page), the Page model predicted very well the experimental data. The Fick law made it possible to evaluate the effective diffusivity coefficients at the initial and final phases of absorption. The effective diffusivity coefficient was given from the Arrhenius equation.