The primary purpose of drying is to extend the shelf life of a product and preserve the quality of its ingredients. Most of the food products available in grocery stores today have been dried in one form or another.
From a thermodynamic perspective, drying is a thermal process in which liquid is removed from a solid structure through a phase change. This phase change, or evaporation of water, occurs due to a pressure gradient between the product and the drying medium. The energy required for this process is supplied by the drying medium itself. Approximately 85% of all drying systems use air as the drying medium, although drying can also be carried out using superheated steam or under vacuum (freeze-drying).
We work within the following areas:
Drying is a combined heat and mass transfer process, and our R&D focuses on:
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Evaluation of product quality under different drying conditions
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Optimization of the drying process with a focus on energy reduction
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Energy recovery using heat pumps
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Advanced process control and improvement through the use of modern sensor technology
Rapid pulse drying
One of our specialized drying concepts is rapid pulse drying.
You can read more about rapid pulse drying on the SINTEF Blog.
Other specialized drying concepts
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Superheated steam drying
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Hot air drying
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Vacuum freeze-drying
Typical projects we are involved in include:
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Contract research for industry
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Competence-building projects
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Collaboration with industry, for example Drymeat
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Demonstration activities, for example heat pump drying – DryF
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Sustainability in drying processes
The methods we use include:
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Controlled semi-industrial drying tests in our SINTEF laboratory
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Simulation and modelling of heat and mass transfer phenomena
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Analysis of predefined product quality, also in collaboration with external institutes
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Concept evaluation for drying efficiency
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Evaluation of new concepts for energy recovery and process integration
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Testing and evaluation of new drying systems
Why choose SINTEF?
We may not have dried your specific product before, but we know how to dry – it is “just” heat and mass transfer! We have a strong theoretical foundation, many years of experience with different products, and a state-of-the-art drying laboratory. This enables us not only to dry almost any product, but also to do so while considering product quality and process sustainability.
Who do we do this for?
Our typical customers come from the food or feed industry and already have experience with drying a specific product. Together, we then evaluate how we can make the drying process faster, better, and more sustainable.
Read more about Drying of food