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Freeze drying, lyophilisation
Objective
Lyophilisation, commonly referred to as freeze-drying, is the process of removing water from a product by sublimation and desorption. The aim of the process is to preserve sensitive material that cannot be dried by evaporation at elevated temperature due to the degradation of specific components at high temperature which would result in a loss of taste or other quality aspects.Field of application
The technique is used for drying coffee extracts, spices, soup vegetables, flowers, instant meals, fish, meat, etc.Description of techniques, methods and equipment
This process is performed in lyophilisation equipment, which consists of:- a drying chamber with temperature controlled shelves (this can be a batch chamber, where the trays remain fixed on the heating plates through the drying operation, or a semicontinuous type, in which the trays move through a vacuum lock into a drying tunnel)
- a condenser, to trap water removed from the product in the drying chamber
- a cooling system, to supply refrigerant to the shelves and the condenser
- a vacuum system, to reduce the pressure in the chamber
- a condenser, to facilitate the drying process.