High precision laboratory dryer for thin layer and bulk drying with adjustable temperature, relative humidity and velocity of the drying air

Convective hot air drying is one of the most common post-harvest processes within the agricultural sector and a standard process in the food industry. The technique is used on fruits and vegetables in order to increase their added value or to extend their shelf life. Drying is highly dependent on the condition of the drying air in terms of temperature, relative humidity and velocity and on the thickness of the product layer. The influence of these drying parameters on the drying behavior and quality is product-specific and has to be investigated in laboratory experiments due to the high costs for full-scale evaluation. For this purpose, a high precision laboratory dryer was developed in order to achieve controlled and stable climate conditions during the drying of light bulk material. To avoid temperature drift of the load cell during drying, a temperature-controlled sensor housing was applied. To further stabilize the signal, it was corrected with the instantaneous temperature. The high precision laboratory dryer HPD TF1 could be potentially useful to establish drying curves for defined temperature, relative humidity and velocity of the drying air. Further potential applications are the establishment of sorption isotherms or the determination of diffusion coefficients of various materials.