Degradation Kinetics of Chlorophyll in Peas as a Function of pH

The kinetics of chlorophyll degradation in pea puree were determined in a specially designed reactor with on‐line pH control capability. Without pH control, the pH of the pea puree decreased continuously with heating due to acid formation; the pH was maintained within ±0.1 of the desired value with on‐line pH control. Chlorophyll (both a and b) degradation followed the first‐order reaction model. The temperature dependence of the rate constant was adequately modeled by the Arrhenius equation. The activation energy was independent of pH and was 17.5 kcal/mol and 17 kcal/mol for chlorophyll a and chlorophyll b, respectively. The degradation rate constant decreased log‐linearly as the pH was increased. A mathematical model was developed to predict the chlorophyll concentrations as a function of time, temperature and pH.