Food dehydration, more commonly known as food drying, is an old technique used to preserve food items by increasing their shelf life. Food dehydrator machines can be of various types, especially those that are used on a commercial scale. In this post, we will see each kind of commercial dehydrator machine and discuss their working and uses.
Batch Type Fruits And Vegetable Dryer
The fruits and vegetable dehydrator comes with a heat pump dryer and has a capacity of 150 to 300 Kg per batch. The machine is automatic with 48 trays and requires a power rating of 8kW.
Small Single Door Tray Type Food Dehydrator
This small drying machine works by circulating hot air to dry the food. It has a high temperature resistant axial flow fan to deliver air and an electric heater or radiator for heating the air. It is a closed circulation system with 35 to 45 % thermal efficiency. It emits very low noise, saves energy, and increases economic benefits. The capacity of each batch can be 80 Kg, with an air volume of 3450m 3/h, and requires a power rating of 9KW and an overall dimension of 1460X1000X1750 mm. The number of trays present in this dehydrator machine is 24.
Large Industrial Food Dehydrator Machine
This commercial dehydrator machine is a professional machine that removes material moisture as quickly as possible at a temperature that does not affect the texture, flavor, and color of the food. The oven consists of an axial flow fan and an automatic constant temperature control system and is also equipped with a computer control system for selection. Compared to single and double-door dehydrating machines, large hot air machines are featured with more baking vehicles and hence are suitable for large-scale food drying production.
It is a tray batch type of machine that has a capacity of 350 Kg for each batch. It comes with either 96 or 144 trays, with thermal areas of 82m3 and 100 m3, respectively. The electricity required for this dehydrator is 20KW.
Conveyor Mesh Belt Dehydrator
Conveyor mesh belt dehydrators are automatic continuous drying machines that are used for large-scale food production and drying. Large food dehydrators are used for drying foods like noodles, pasta, and dehydrated vegetables for instant noodles, fruit, seafood, soybean, and others. The machines can be equipped according to a customer’s requirements and production demands.
Continuous Potato Chips Dryer
This dehydrator works on the principle of hot air circulation at 60 to 60 degree Celsius inside the tunnel with a continuous running conveyor that removes the surface water of blanched potato chips. This machine can also be used to remove excess oil from fried potato chips. When the hot air passes over the potato slices at a consistent temperature, it effectively dries the moisture content. When using it for separating excess oil, the oil removed is collected by a drip pan. This machine is suitable for continuous operation as the air-dried, or deoiled potato chips enter the next process continuously.
