Electro-osmosis dewatering as an energy efficient technique for drying food materials

In recent times, there has been a rise in interest on the applications of electro-technology based food processing methods. With drying in food industries being an energy intensive process with huge environmental impacts, the objective of this study was to design and develop a purpose-built laboratory system, for experimentally characterising an energy efficient electro-osmosis dewatering system. Electro-osmosis is a unique dewatering technique in which, moisture in food materials are removed by the application of low electric field (5-30 V). Different food materials namely, yogurt, orange pulp and egg whites were tested using electro-osmosis at 15 V and 30 V over 15 min and 30 min, respectively. The energy consumption (kWh), carbon footprint (kgCO₂e) and cost indices (£/kg dried food) were also evaluated and compared with thermal drying.