A Review of:“Advanced Drying Technologies, 2nd ed., by T. Kudra and A.S. Mujumdar.”

Advanced Drying Technologies, 2nd ed., by T. Kudra and A.S. Mujumdar. CRC Press: Boca Raton, FL, 2009. The success of the first edition of this book and the continuing R&D growth in drying technologies globally clearly resulted in the need for an updated and enhanced second edition. Indeed, over the last two decades the interest in drying processes and industrial applications alike has been growing continuously. Drying is one of the most common unit operations of chemical and process engineering with very broad applications in diverse processes such as those used in chemical, food, agricultural, ceramic, pulp and paper, polymer, textile, mineral, pharmaceutical, and other industries. Various estimates of the industrial energy use for thermal dehydration reaches over 12% of the total national industrial energy consumption. Because thermal energy for drying is derived mainly from combustion of fossil fuels, it is important to carry out drying operations efficiently to reduce their adverse effects on the environment as well. Despite being one of the oldest, most energy-intensive unit operations, the exposure to drying fundamentals and applications is rathermodest inmost engineering and applied science curricula around the world. Hence, principles and practice of drying should be reintroduced into engineering education. For the time being the design and analysis of industrial dryers remain largely a combination of science, engineering, and art. Not all drying techniques and operations in use today are optimal in terms of energy consumption, safety of operation, ability to control, minimal environmental impact, flexibility, and multiprocessing capability. In the wake of today’s global energy crisis, the growing consumer demand for better quality, increased productivity, innovative methods, and ecologically superior operations is on the rise. Increased attention throughout the world has also been given to problems of commercial solids drying. The incredible variety of dryers used in practice makes the proper choice of adequate equipment a highly important and challenging task. Furthermore, there is a need to develop innovative drying technologies to meet the requirements of the market in the globally competitive environment. After the well-accepted first edition of Advanced Drying Technologies, its second edition is the direct outcome of the recent growth in drying literature and new drying hardware. The main objective of the book is to provide an evaluative overview of the new and emerging technologies in drying that is not readily accessible in the conventional literature such as handbooks and textbooks. This thoroughly updated edition addresses many new drying technologies for numerous materials spanning from mass production industries such as paper, lumber, coal, or peat to high-value, heat-sensitive pharmaceuticals, nutraceuticals, and selected foods. It also introduces innovative techniques such as heat pump drying, atmospheric freeze drying, thermally assisted mechanical dewatering that allow both industrial practice and R&D projects to save energy and thus to improve the thermal balance of drying installations. The text is based on the authors’ professional expertise, each having over 30 years of experience in various aspects encountered in the area of drying. It covers most of the commonly used drying equipment and ancillaries and is likewise addressed to industrial sectors where drying is a key operation. Four new chapters are introduced: