Advances in dehydration of foods

Food dehydration is still one of the most relevant and challenging unit ope rations in food processing, although the art of food preservation through t he partial removal of water content dates back several centuries. This arti cle provides essential information on the fundamental. including psychromet ry, and applied engineering aspects of food dehydration with up-to-date ava ilable commercial applications. The evolution of drying technology, divided into four generations, is thoroughly reviewed, from tray drying to the com bination of some drying technologies (the hurdle technology approach in dry ing) in order to optimize the process in terms of final food quality and en ergy consumption. The study of each generation covered numerous examples of different dryers. including their principles of operation, basic configura tions and most common applications, as well as their main advantages and di sadvantages. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.