Air dehumidification with advance adsorptive materials for food drying: A critical assessment for future prospective

Abstract

Abstract In food processing, drying is an important unit operation for preserving the product quality by moisture content reduction. However, some drying processes suffer from technical and economical drawbacks mainly related to low process efficiency, high energy cost, and product quality degradation. Drying food products using dehumidified air at low temperature is one of the smart options to solve the abovementioned problems. This review presents some challenges and opportunities for dehumidifying air to enhance the driving force for drying. The potential of some solid materials, namely zeolite, silica-based materials, activated carbons (ACs), and other biomass-based materials, as moisture adsorbents for air dehumidification in food drying applications is also discussed. This paper also comprehensively reviews the recent perspectives and emerging technologies in the development of efficient adsorbent materials for air dehumidification, moisture adsorption–desorption characteristics, and its potential for food drying application. Moreover, some crucial parameters for advancing the research and development of adsorptive dehumidification systems are criticized in this review paper.