Margarida Vaz

Activity coefficients in the evaluation of food preservatives

Abstract Food preservatives are used in very low concentrations. However, usually they are used in aqueous high ionic strength solutions. The Pitzer model allows activity coefficient determination in these cases. Without the knowledge of activity coefficients, activity or ‘correct concentration’ cannot be known. In this work, the activity coefficients of sodium chloride, potassium chloride and calcium chloride in pure solutions were calculated by the Debye–Huckel theory and the Pitzer theory. The calculated values were compared with experimental values. Activity coefficients of pure sodium benzoate in aqueous mixed solutions with potassium chloride or calcium chloride were evaluated using the Pitzer model. The same evaluation can be done to more complex systems once all Pitzer parameters values for the ionic species are known.