This book provides a fundamental understanding of moisture transport in the drying of foods and of the physical and chemical changes that occur during drying. The combination of practical information supported by relevant theory makes this an essential volume for food engineers, those involved in equipment manufacture, process plant design and new product development in all food sectors where dried foods are used.

Contents:

Introduction to the drying of foods: An overview.
Drying fundamentals: Basic dryer types. Thermodynamic properties of air-water mixtures and moist solids.Drying kinetics. Food quality parameters.
Through-circulation dryers: On-farm dryers. Commercial dryers. Dryer control. Design of through-circulation dryers. Crop quality and drying. Crop drying costs.
Fluidized bed dryers: Basics of fluidization. Features of construction. Types of fluidized bed dryer. Operating considerations. Applications. Test procedures. Design methods.
Spray dryers: Spray drying principles. Spray dryer layouts. Meeting powder specifications. Special design features for hygiene and safety.
Contact dryers: Industrial equipment and applications. Theoretical overview of contact drying. Design of contact dryers.
Freeze dryers: Process overview. Description of the freeze drying process. Equipment. The cost of freeze drying. Freeze drying procedures. The packaging of freeze dried food.
Dielectric dryers: The fundamentals of dielectric heating. Dielectric drying. Applications of dielectric heat in drying. Cost of RF and microwave dryers.
Specialized drying systems: Pneumatic conveying dryers. Spin-flash dryer. Rotary dryers. Tray and tunnel dryers. Band dryers.
Solar dryers: Construction of solar dryers. Solar natural dryers. Semi-artificial solar dryers. Solar-assisted dryers. Economic evaluation of solar dryers. Design of solar dryers. Dryer operation and process control strategies.
Dryer selection: Specification of the drying process. Preliminary dryer selection. Bench-scale tests. Economic comparison of alternatives. Pilot-plant trials and final selection. Typical examples of the use of the dryer selection algorithm.
Sensors, control and operation: Dryer operation. Safety, health and the environment. Dryer control and instrumentation.
References. Index.

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