Methods of drying

In a typical phase diagram, the boundary between gas and liquid runs from the triple point to the critical point.
Regular drying is shown by the green arrow; supercritical drying, by the red arrow; and freeze drying, by the
blue arrow.

Drying can be accomplished by various techniques, some of which are noted below.

 Heated air drying (convective or direct drying): In this common technique, a heated
stream of air (or other gas) heats the material by convection and carries away the vapor
as humidity. The higher temperatures speed up diffusion of water inside the solid, so
drying is faster. However, the air temperature must be controlled, based on product
quality considerations. Air that is too hot can almost completely dehydrate the solid
surface, leading to shrinking and closing of internal pores, and crust formation or "case
hardening."

 Natural air drying: In this approach, materials are dried with unheated, forced air, taking
advantage of the natural drying potential of air. The process is slow and weather-
dependent, so a wise, "fan off, fan on" strategy must be devised. The strategy must take
into consideration such factors as air temperature, relative humidity, and moisture content
and temperature of the material being dried. Grains are increasingly dried by this
technique. The total time (including fan off and on periods) may last from one week to
several months.
 Indirect or contact drying (heating through a hot wall): Indirect drying techniques include
drum drying and vacuum drying. In drum drying, a heated surface provides the energy,
and aspirators draw vapor out of the chamber that contains the starting material. In
vacuum drying, heat is supplied by contact conduction or radiation (or microwaves), and
the vapor produced is removed by a vacuum system.