Preserving food and agricultural products via air drying has been utilized worldwide for centuries. At present, there is still increasing demand for high-quality shelf-stable dried food products, especially fruits and vegetables. The design of drying equipment and the selection of dryer operating conditions for food products must be done on the basis of raw material characteristics, quality requirements for the fi nal dry product, and economic analysis. Convective drying of foods is a combined heat and mass transfer operation. Its modeling and optimization require understanding of the transport mechanisms inside and between the solid food and the drying air, as well as knowledge of the thermophysical, equilibrium, and transport properties of both systems (Crapiste, 2000; Crapiste and Rotstein, 1997).

Fil: Crapiste, Guillermo Hector. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Bahía Blanca. Planta Piloto de Ingeniería Química. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Planta Piloto de Ingeniería Química; Argentina

Fil: Carrin, Maria Elena. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Bahía Blanca. Planta Piloto de Ingeniería Química. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Planta Piloto de Ingeniería Química; Argentina