Dehydration

Outline

• Evaporation versus dehydration

• Purposes of dehydration
• Moisture-Sorption Isotherm
• Drying-rate curve
• Types of dryers
– Tray/cabinet (with or without vacuum), tunnel, puff,
fluidized-bed, spray, freeze, windhexe
 Evaporation versus Dehydration

• Evaporation
– Concentration of a liquid product to a liquid product
• Involves partial removal of water
• Dehydration
– Conversion of a liquid product to a dry (solid) product
• Involves (almost) complete removal of water
 Purposes of Dehydration

• Preservation
– Reduction in rate of microbial growth and other
chemical reactions at low water activity
• Reduction in transportation and storage costs
• Possible savings in packaging costs (packaging a
solid product as opposed to a liquid product)
Moisture-Sorption Isotherm with Hysteresis

5
 Drying-Rate Curve
Falling rate Constant rate

A-B: Temp. increases

C B B-C: Temp. is constant

A Below wc, rate of

Drying rate (kg water / m2 s)

moisture removal dec.

wc: critical m.c.

E
Moisture content on dry basis (kg water / kg dry solids)
 Types of Dryers
• Based on design or process used
– Tray, cabinet, drum, spray, tunnel, fluidized bed, vacuum-freeze,
atmospheric-freeze, filtermat, dielectric, ultrasonic, flash, through,
vacuum, paddle, rotary, air impingement, spouted, contact-
sorption, heat pump, pulse combustion, plasma torch, Carver-
Greenfield process, organic solvent vapor, slush, shock wave
• Based on media
– Air, superheated steam, flue gases
• Based on mode of operation
– Batch, continuous
• Based on number of stages
– Single, multiple

Emerging/alternative technologies: Microwave, infrared, windhexe

Tray Dryer
 Tunnel Dryer
Air exhaust (may go to Temperature control
preheating incoming air)
Steam

Air handling
Moist unit
air
Dry air

Feed in Product out

Vacuum Drum Dryer
Fluidized Bed Dryer
 Spray Dryer

Spraying
(atomization)
of product
increases
surface area
of contact
with hot air
for drying
 Freeze Dryer
Product is frozen and water is
removed by sublimation at low
pressure

Water Vacuum
Vapor pump
Door Flow
Product Condenser
Chamber Chamber
Connecting
Duct

Mushroom valve Condenser

Shelves (open position)

Instant coffee powder is produced by freeze drying or spray drying

 Phase Diagram (For Freeze Drying)
Water CO2

Solid Liquid Gas Solid Liquid Gas

Pressure (atm)

Pressure (atm)
Melting point
1.0
Triple point Triple point
Boiling point
0.006 5.1

1.0

0.01 100 -78.5 -56.6

Temperature (°C) Temperature (°C)

Phase changes: Melting/freezing, boiling/condensation, sublimation/deposition

 Freeze Dried Foods
• Coffee
• Meats
• Soups
• Vegetables, fruits
• Ice-cream
– Apollo 7 (1968); sweet, sticky, crumbles easily
 Windhexe Drying
• One-step milling and drying using high pr. hot air
– Eliminates additional equipment and process
• Low capital cost
• Simple construction
– No moving parts
– No issues with clogged spray nozzles
• Applicable to chunks of food
– Does not have to be a pumpable slurry
 Windhexe Drying: Power of a Tornado
Windhexe Dryer

One step milling and drying

High speed air pulverizes food, plastic, glass, Drying

purple
metal, and removes any moisture in it sweetpotato
Windhexe Dryer in Operation

Video
 Summary
• While evaporation involves some removal of water,
dehydration involves almost complete removal of water
from a product
• Dehydration is a preservation technique and it results in
minimization of transportation costs
• Drying processes usually involve rise in temperature of the
product followed by a constant rate of drying and finally a
falling rate of drying
• Various types of dryers (batch & continuous) exist for
drying foods
• Freeze drying usually results in best product quality
– It is however slow and also expensive