OPTIMIZATION OF AIR-DRYING OF FOODS

Several optimization problems related with the air drying of foods are studied: maximization of nutrient or enzyme retention, minimization of process time, maximization of nutrient retention with a constraint on the final retention of an enzyme, and maximization of energy efficiency. These problems are successfully solved for three different model systems using an stochastic optimal control algorithm. The air dry bulb temperature and its relative humidity are used as the control variables. The optimal policies obtained are significantly superior to the classical processes in several cases. This suggests further research in order to experimentally evaluate these advantages.