{Permeability of cork to gases}

Citation:
Faria, David P., Ana L. Fonseca, Helen Pereira, and Orlando M. N. D. Teodoro. "{Permeability of cork to gases}." Journal of agricultural and food chemistry. 59 (2011): 3590-3597.

Abstract:

The permeability of gases through uncompressed cork was investigated. More than 100 samples were assessed from different plank qualities to provide a picture of the permeability distribution. A novel technique based on a mass spectrometer leak detector was used to directly measure the helium flow through the central area of small disks 10 mm in diameter and 2 mm thick. The permeability for nitrogen, oxygen, and other gases was measured by the pressure rise technique. Boiled and nonboiled cork samples from different sections were evaluated. An asymmetric frequency distribution ranging 3 orders of magnitude (roughly from 1 to 1000 $μ$mol/(cm·atm·day)) for selected samples without macroscopic defects was found, having a peak below 100 $μ$mol/(cm·atm·day). Correlation was found between density and permeability: higher density samples tend to show lower permeability. However, boiled cork showed a mean lower permeability despite having a lower density. The transport mechanism of gases through cork was also examined. Calculations suggest that gases permeate uncompressed cork mainly through small channels between cells under a molecular flow regime. The diameter of such channels was estimated to be in the range of 100 nm, in agreement with the plasmodesmata size in the cork cell walls.

Notes:

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