Drying Atlas

Drying Atlas: Drying Kinetics and Quality of Agricultural Products provides, in a condensed and systematic way, specific insights on the drying-relevant properties and coefficients of over 40 agricultural products. It also presents information about the production methods that influence the drying process, the quality of the dried product, the official quality standards of the products, and the design principles and operating characteristics of drying systems that are widely used in the postharvest processing and food industry. Available books on drying technology mainly focus on drying theory and simulation of drying processes. This book offers systematic information on the impact of other important parameters, such as relative humidity, air flow rate, mechanical, thermal and chemical pre-treatment, and drying mode for specific products. It is a unique and valuable reference for scientists and engineers who want to focus on industrial drying applications and dryers, as well as graduate and post-graduate students in postharvest technology and drying. - Explores the production methods that influence the drying process and quality of the dried product - Outlines the official quality standards of the products, the design principles, and the operating characteristics of drying systems that are used in postharvest processing - Features 41 chapters that are (each for an agricultural product) presented in a condensed and systematic way

Werner Mühlbauer received his master's degree (Dipl.-Ing.) in 1969 and doctoral degree (Dr.-Ing.) in 1974 in mechanical engineering from the University of Stuttgart, Germany and has been working in the field of drying agricultural commodities since 1970. His research covers almost all aspects of drying technologies (physical properties, drying theory, drying simulation, drying kinetics, impact of drying on quality, energy saving, development of drying methods, dryer testing and evaluation, etc.). Prof. Mühlbauer developed high accuracy test benches and standardized procedures to measure drying curves to predict drying behaviour and impact on quality of most important drying products (cereals, root and oil crops, vegetables and spices, stimulants, fruits and medicinal plants. He has published 353 papers in national and international scientific journals; he holds 6 patents and gave more than 250 presentations at scientific conferences in 25 countries, mainly on drying of agricultural products. He supervised 31 PhD-theses, 168-MSc theses and 95-BSc theses. He is author of the Handbook on Grain Drying (in German), the only book on this topic worldwide containing all aspects of drying from drying theory to practical applications. Since his retirement in 2004, Prof. Mühlbauer is working as scientific adviser to a leading German drying company.