Drying - Methods of Drying

Methods of Drying

The following are some general methods of drying:

• Application of hot air (convective or direct drying). Air heating increases the driving force for heat transfer and accelerates drying. It also reduces air relative humidity, further increasing the driving force for drying. In the falling rate period, as moisture content falls, the solids heat up and the higher temperatures speed up diffusion of water from the interior of the solid to the surface. However, product quality considerations limit the applicable rise to air temperature. Excessively hot air can almost completely dehydrate the solid surface, so that its pores shrink and almost close, leading to crust formation or "case hardening", which is usually undesirable. For instance in wood (timber) drying, air is heated (which speeds up drying) though some steam is also added to it (which hinders drying rate to a certain extent) in order to avoid excessive surface dehydration and product deformation owing to high moisture gradients across timber thickness. Spray drying belongs in this category.
• Indirect or contact drying (heating through a hot wall), as drum drying, vacuum drying. Again, higher wall temperatures will speed up drying but this is limited by product degradation or case-hardening. Drum drying belongs in this category.
• Dielectric drying (radiofrequency or microwaves being absorbed inside the material) is the focus of intense research nowadays. It may be used to assist air drying or vacuum drying. Researchers have found that microwave finish drying speeds up the otherwise very low drying rate at the end of the classical drying methods.
• Freeze drying or lyophilization is a drying method where the solvent is frozen prior to drying and is then sublimed, i.e., passed to the gas phase directly from the solid phase, below the melting point of the solvent. It is increasingly applied to dry foods, beyond its already classical pharmaceutical or medical applications. It keeps biological properties of proteins, and retains vitamins and bioactive compounds. Pressure can be reduced by a high vacuum pump (though freeze drying at atmospheric pressure is possible in dry air). If using a vacuum pump, the vapor produced by sublimation is removed from the system by converting it into ice in a condenser, operating at very low temperatures, outside the freeze drying chamber.
• Supercritical drying (superheated steam drying) involves steam drying of products containing water. This process is feasible because water in the product is boiled off, and joined with the drying medium, increasing its flow. It is usually employed in closed circuit and allows a proportion of latent heat to be recovered by recompression, a feature which is not possible with conventional air drying, for instance. The process has potential for use in foods if carried out at reduced pressure, to lower the boiling point.
• Natural air drying takes place when materials are dried with unheated forced air, taking advantage of its natural drying potential. The process is slow and weather-dependent, so a wise strategy "fan off-fan on" must be devised considering the following conditions: Air temperature, relative humidity and moisture content and temperature of the material being dried. Grains are increasingly dried with this technique, and the total time (including fan off and on periods) may last from one week to various months, if a winter rest can be tolerated in cold areas.
• Refractance Window drying: Refractance Window™ Technology is a novel drying system, developed by the owners of MCD Technologies, Inc. in Tacoma, Washington. It uses circulating water at atmospheric pressure as a means to carry thermal energy to material to be dehydrated. The products are spread on a transparent plastic conveyor belt and unused heat is recycled. Products on the moving belt dry in a few minutes, contrary to hot air tray or tunnel dryers which take several hours, or freeze dryers which dry overnight. Refractance Window™ drying is believed to have a major advantage over drum drying or spray drying, in that foods and pharmaceutical ingredients are exposed to much milder temperatures and final products maintain good sensory qualities, such as color and aroma. The technology is relatively inexpensive and the equipment is simple to operate and maintain.

• Infrared Zone Drying: Infrared Zone Drying™ (RZD™) Technology is an establish drying technology, patented by Columbia PhytoTechnology. It uses infrared energy applied to a thin film of product in a series of zones. This allows product to be maintained at a low enough temperature to avoid damage while in its liquid state. The end result is dehydration time less than 10 minutes and almost complete preservation of nutrients, flavor and color. Unlike other gentle drying methods, such as freeze drying, it is a continuous high throughput process. Unlike low temperature spray drying RZD can dry liquids with suspended solids, such as purees, and also liquids that contain sugar without significant losses, such as fruit juice concentrates. The technology allows for independent control of the drying temperature and the infrared wavelength through the drying zones. A patent was filed that shows changing the wavelength effects the efficiency and drying rate. Targeting infrared wavelengths with high water absorption are critical to the dryer operation, output and product quality.