Prediction of supercritical carbon dioxide drying of food products in packed beds

Drying assisted by supercritical carbon dioxide is foreseen to become a promising technology for sensitive food products. In this contribution, a mathematical model is derived to describe the changes in water concentration in both a solid food matrix and a fluid carrier during drying. Finite different element method is used to solve the set of mass balance equations. A remarkable agreement between simulated and experimental data was obtained. Moreover, the simulated changes in water concentration in the solid and fluid carrier gave a coherent description of the process. This model can be used as a tool for optimizing the operating conditions and process scale-up in supercritical carbon dioxide assisted drying.