The main reason for drying is to extend the shelf life of a product and to stabilize the ingrediencies with a high quality. Most of our food products which can be found in a supermarket is dried in on or another form.
From a thermodynamic point of view drying is a thermal process in which a liquid is removed from a solid structure by a phase change. The phase-change or evaporation of the water occurs due to a pressure gradient between the product and the drying agent. The necessary energy for this process is delivered by the same drying agent. Approximately 85% of all drying systems uses air as drying agent, however it is also possible to dry with superheated steam or under vacuum (freeze drying).
We work within these areas:
Drying is combined heat- and mass transfer process and our R&D focusses on:
- Evaluation of product quality at different drying conditions
- Optimization of drying process with respect to energy reduction
- Energy recovery by heat pumps
- Advanced process control and improvement by using modern sensor technology
- Specialized drying concepts:
- Superheated steam drying
- Rapid Pulse Drying
- Freeze Drying
Typical projects for us are:
- Contract research for the industry
- Competence building project
- in cooperation industry e.g. - Drymeat -
- with international experts
- Demonstration activities, like e.g. for heat pump drying - DryF -
- Sustainable in drying processes
The methods we use are:
- Controlled semi-industrial drying test in our SINTEF lab
- Simulation and modelling of heat and mass transfer phenomena
- Analyses of pre-defined product quality also in cooperation with external institutes
- Concept evaluation for drying efficiency
- Evaluation of novel concepts for energy recovery and process integration
- Testing and evaluation of novel drying system
Why choose SINTEF?
We may not know or have dried your product yet, but we know how to dry – it is "only" heat and mass transfer! We have a solid theoretical background, many years of experiences with different products and a state of the art drying laboratory. This enables us not only to dry almost every product, but also to do this with respect to product quality and process sustainability.
Who are we doing this for?
Our typical customer comes from the food or feed industry and has already experiences in drying of a certain product. Together we evaluate then how we can dry faster, better and more sustainable.
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