A diffusion equation to describe the isothermal absorption of liquid water in a spherical solid that undergoes uniform swelling was derived. The resulting partial differential equation was solved using a finite difference method, taking into consideration water content dependence of the diffusion coefficient. The developed model was applied to simulate the water uptake of brown rice for the soaking temperatures of 25, 45, 55 and 65 degrees C. The estimated "differential" diffusion coefficients were a strongly increasing function of moisture content for all temperatures tested, approaching to the self-diffusion coefficients of water for brown rice moisture contents near to the saturation values. The "integral" diffusion coefficient corresponding to range of moisture content resulting from soaking conditions were calculated and correlated according to Arrhenius equation with an activation energy of 32.5 kJ/mol. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.