Recent Applications and Potential of Infrared Dryer Systems for Drying Various Agricultural Products: A Review

ABSTRACT One of the best methods for the preservation of agricultural product is drying, which consists in removing water from the manufactured goods. One of the best ways to decrease drying time is to provide heat by infrared (IR) radiation. Many studies were done on drying of fruits and vegetables by different IR drying methods such as IR, IR-hot air, IR-vacuum, IR-fluidized bed, and IR-microwave drying methods. This paper reviews the effect of different IR drying methods on the drying time, effective moisture diffusivity, and textural and quality characteristics of dried apple, quince, grapefruit, lemon, persimmon, banana, peach, mushroom, carrot, pumpkin, garlic, and onion. IR methods could be used as an alternative to the current drying and blanching methods for producing high-quality dried fruits and vegetables. IR heating has many advantages including high heat transfer rate, uniform heating, low processing time, high efficiency (80–90%), low energy consumption, low energy costs, and improving final product structure, porosity, and quality. In addition, this study summarized the suitable mathematical models for modeling of IR drying of various fruits and vegetables. This study is helpful for producers of dried foods.