Measurement of high-pressure carbon dioxide solubility in orange juice, apple juice, and model liquid foods.

An experimental system to measure the carbon dioxide (CO(2)) solubility in liquids at different pressures was designed and tested. Pressure and temperature were controlled in the system, and the design assured an accurate measurement of solubility. Experimental measurements of CO(2) solubility were performed in pure water, model solutions (ascorbic acid-sugars-water, citric acid-sugars-water), and in commercial orange juice (OJ) and apple juice (AJ), as a function of pressure (7.58 to 15.86 MPa) at constant temperature (40 degrees C). Aspen simulation software was used to predict the solubility in simple cases. All experimental results and predictions from simulations were compared with literature data. Measurements of CO(2) solubility in pure water were not significantly different than the literature. CO(2) solubility (g/100 g of liquid) results in the model liquids and in the juices were lower than for pure water, due to the presence of solutes. The software simulation was able to predict the CO(2) solubility in the model systems at low pressures.