Spouted and fluidised bed drying of biomaterials

Authors: Oliveira, Wanderley P.; Souza, Claudia R.F.

Source: Stewart Postharvest Review, Volume 4, Number 1, February 2008 , pp. 1-11(11)

Publisher: Stewart Postharvest Solutions

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Abstract:

Purpose of review: Convective drying is the most common method used to preserve biomaterials like cereal grains, seeds, fruits, vegetables, flowers, spices and medicinal herbs. Nowadays, there have been substantial efforts to develop new technologies for drying these products. The objectives are the reduction of the production costs by increasing the drying efficiency and improving the quality of the dried products. This paper presents an overview of experimental studies on spouted and fluidised bed drying of selected biomaterials.

Findings: Spouted and fluidised bed drying of biomaterials is a challenging task. Biomaterials comprise a vast variety of products with diversified physical and chemical properties. Most of the studies reported in literature deal with a specific material, where the findings are restricted and not promptly applicable to other biomaterials. Changes in the bio-product properties, like textural changes (case hardening, shrinkage), colour loss, reduction in rehydration properties, and loss of bioactive compounds and nutrients in general depend on the properties of the material, equipment type and processing conditions. Attempts have been made to correlate the drying process with the physical and chemical properties of the biological material and drying conditions. Hybrid systems such as microwave fluidised and spouted bed dryers have also been proposed. However, several problems still remain.

Directions for future research: Several topics require further research, such as: process modelling; understanding the influence of the physical and chemical properties of the biomaterial and inert particles on drying behaviour and on product properties; studying the effects of different drying carriers on retention of bioactive compounds; and development of hybrid drying technologies.

Keywords: DRYING; SPOUTED BED; FLUIDISED BED; BIOMATERIALS; POSTHARVEST; HYBRID TECHNOLOGY

Document Type: Research article

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.2212/spr.2008.1.2

Affiliations: 1: University of São Paulo, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Science, Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo, Brazil

Publication date: 2008-02-01

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Spouted and fluidised bed drying of biomaterials

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