Final answer:
The Moisture Sorption Isotherm depicts the relationship between a material's moisture content and the surrounding air's relative humidity at constant temperature, featuring three regions indicating monolayer adsorption, multilayer adsorption, and bulk absorption.
Step-by-step explanation:
The Moisture Sorption Isotherm is a graph that represents the relationship between moisture content of a material and the relative humidity of the environment at a constant temperature. This curve is used to understand how materials like food or pharmaceuticals absorb and release moisture from the surrounding air, which is critical for their stability and shelf life. The curve typically features three distinct regions:
- Region I: At low relative humidity levels, the material adsorbs moisture on a monolayer basis due to strong interactions between the water molecules and the material's surface.
- Region II: As the relative humidity increases, multilayer adsorption occurs, and moisture is adsorbed more freely with less attachment to the surface.
- Region III: At high relative humidity, the material may reach a point at which it starts to absorb water in bulk, effectively leading to the dissolution or degradation of the material.
Understanding the Moisture Sorption Isotherm is crucial for predicting the stability of products in different humidity conditions.