Abstract:
Moisture content of food material is a key factor influencing the quality of storage
and extending the quality of a food product. Manufacturers develop new technologies to process sensitive food materials to supply new products with improved properties and high quality. The process in which the air is cooled sensibly while the
moisture is removed from food is called cooling with dehumidification process.
The system fundamentally acts as a heat pump, which pumps the heat from the
dehumidified air to a different air stream in another area, with the aid of a refrigerant
gas to carry the heat. This article reviews the potential of low-temperature heat
pump dehumidifier drying used in the food industry. Moreover, this describes the
principle of cooling with dehumidification (CWD) process, the importance of studying
psychrometric charts to understand CWD process, measures used in identify energy
efficiency, comparison of this method over common dryers, applications, advantages
and limitations of the CWD drying method.
