POSSIBILITIES OF ULTRASOUND APPLICATION IN CONVECTIVE DRYING OF FOOD PRODUCTS

Convection drying of foodstuffs still has some limitations that make it difficult to apply in certain areas. These include slow drying rate and loss of product quality. Some of these limitations can be overcome by introducing new technologies used as additional energy sources. Among others, ultrasound stands out, which is able to influence the drying rate without causing a significant increase in the temperature of the material. This favours its application in the drying of various temperature-sensitive materials or in drying processes carried out at low temperatures, such as convection drying at atmospheric pressure [1].