A mathematical model describing simultaneous solvent diffusion and gelatinization of starch was used to explain the water and calcium absorption in threshed corn grains during the thermo-alkaline treatment. A computer-aided nonlinear optimization technique was used to find the effective diffusion coefficients and the reaction rate constants of water and calcium in threshed corn grains at boiling temperature (92.5 +/- 0.3 degrees C). The mathematical model shows good correlation between measured and predicted values of water and calcium intake. It is concluded that the cooking process is limited by the reaction of starch components with water and calcium. The effective diffusion coefficient for water varied between 1.18 x 10(-10) and 1.45 x 10(-10) m(2)/s and for calcium between 8.55 x 10(-10) and 16.77 x 10(-10) m(2)/s. The diffusion of water and calcium in threshed corn was produced with a reaction rate constants in the range of 6.83 x 10(-4) to 10.4 x 10(-4) s(-1) for water and 2.7 x 10(-5)-7.6 x 10(-5) s(-1) for calcium. According to these effective diffusion coefficient values the diffusive process seems to be slower for water than for calcium. However, the reaction rate constant values are approximately 10 times higher for water than for calcium which may indicate that a higher amount of solvent was linked in the water diffusion process due to the gelatinization. Low concentration of Ca(OH)(2) such as 0.10% did not significantly affect the water diffusion of threshed corn during the cooking process. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.