A first principle model with lumped parameters was developed for the hydration of soya beans. A transient mass balance was applied to the soya beans taking into consideration the variation of the bean diameters during the process. Simulation results were compared to the empirical models available in the literature and with experimental data. Both the first principle and empirical models were validated by the experimental data that were obtained for the temperatures of 10, 15, 20, 30, 42 and 49°C. All models were able to represent the main data trends of the hydration process, after adjustment of their parameters for each temperature. However, the first principle model has the smallest deviations in relation to the experimental data. In addition, a generalized first principle model was proposed.
soya bean; hydration; modeling; simulation
