Journal Article

Vacuum freeze dryer technology for extending the shelf life of food and protecting the environment: a scenario study of the energy efficiency

Oztuna Taner, Oznur

2024

Overview

This study focused into vacuum freeze dryer technology for increasing food shelf life in a drying food technology. The determinants of energy consumption increase as the energy density of food production and storage increases. Reducing the amount of energy used for drying, freezing, chilling, refrigeration, and air conditioning is becoming more important. The objective of this study was to extend food’s shelf life utilizing creative and novel technical approaches, such as vacuum freeze-drying’s energy-efficient process. Despite being a part of this investigation, the vacuum freeze drier was created using environmentally benign energy sources. To minimize the carbon footprint of food preservation, it is essential to use eco-friendly energy sources in chilling storage. According to the first law of thermodynamics, the energy efficiency at 1 atm pressure and 25 [°C] temperature (neglecting potential and kinetic energies) in the dead state is calculated under thermal equilibrium conditions. In this study, the energy efficiency was shown according to 5 different scenarios. The results of energy efficiencies are as follows: η 1 is from 14.3 to 21.4%, η 2 is from 20.7 to 31.0%, η 3 is from 27.3 to 40.9%, η 4 is from 32.1 to 48.1%, and η 5 is from 34.6 to 51.9%, respectively. This analysis demonstrates that the energy efficiency improved from 12 to 18 h. In this study, optimizations with scenarios were employed considering vacuum freeze-drying technology in the plant with sustainable energy sources can considerably improve food shelf life while limiting our environmental impact.

• Publisher: Springer Berlin Heidelberg,Springer Nature B.V
• Subject: air / Air conditioning / Alternative energy / Aquatic Pollution / Atmospheric Protection/Air Quality Control/Air Pollution / Carbon footprint / Carbon sources / Chilling / Cooling / Earth and Environmental Science / Economic Development / Ecotoxicology / Energy conservation law / Energy consumption / energy density / Energy efficiency / Energy resources / Energy sources / Environment / Environmental Chemistry / Environmental Health / Environmental impact / Environmental Impacts: Find Solutions to Reduce Environmental Degradation by Production Technologies and Systems / Environmental protection / Equilibrium conditions / Food / Food preservation / Food Preservation - methods / Food production / Food Storage / Food technology / Freeze Drying / Freezing / Kinetic energy / Nexus between Energy Consumption / Refrigeration / renewable energy sources / Shelf life / Sustainable energy / temperature / Tonic immobility / Vacuum / Waste Water Technology / Water Management / Water Pollution Control