Modelling and Simulation of Food Drying Processes—Emerging Trends and Sustainable Practices

Dear Colleagues,

In the ever-evolving field of food processing, modelling and simulation play a pivotal role in advancing our understanding of food drying techniques. These tools are integral for predicting how food loses moisture during drying, which is crucial for optimizing conditions, ensuring food quality, and improving energy efficiency. Modelling and simulation encompass a range of approaches, from straightforward empirical equations to sophisticated numerical simulations. These methods represent the intricate physical and chemical phenomena of drying, including heat and mass transfer dynamics. By accurately simulating various drying scenarios, researchers and engineers can refine drying protocols and achieve better control over the final product quality.

We are pleased to invite you to contribute to the Special issue: Modelling and Simulation of Food Drying Processes—Emerging Trends and Sustainable Practices. The aim of the Special issue are the Emerging Trends and Sustainable Practices. Emerging trends in food processing are reshaping the landscape of drying technologies. Alongside traditional thermal drying methods, there is a growing focus on non-thermal food processing techniques. These include methods such as high-pressure processing, pulsed electric fields, pulsing light, cold plasma, irradiation, microwave-assisted drying, etc. These non-thermal approaches often offer advantages like reduced energy consumption and better preservation of nutritional and sensory qualities. The emphasis on sustainable practices is also driving innovation, leading to more energy-efficient and environmentally friendly drying solutions.

This Special Issue aims to collect articles that focus on modelling and simulation which are critical in exploring and refining both thermal and non-thermal drying processes, ensuring they meet the modern demands for quality, efficiency, and sustainability in the food industry.

In this Special Issue, original research articles and reviews are welcome. Research areas may include (but not limited to) the following: air drying, ohmic heating, high-pressure processing, pulsed electric fields, pulsing light, cold plasma, irradiation, microwave-assisted drying, vacuum drying, freeze drying etc.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Prof. Dr. Elena Velickova
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Processes is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.