## 1 Introduction  
Drying is a time-honored food preservation technique that extends the shelf life of perishable products by reducing their moisture content. Among the various drying methods, convective drying is widely utilized due to its simplicity and effectiveness. This method involves the application of heated air to remove moisture from food products, thereby lowering water activity, inhibiting microbial growth, and prolonging shelf life [1, 2]. Infrared (IR) drying has gained attention for its efficiency and ability to enhance product quality. IR radiation penetrates food materials, causing water molecules to vibrate and generate heat, which accelerates moisture removal. This method offers rapid heating and can be combined with other drying techniques to improve overall efficiency [3, 4]. Combining convective (as the most traditional drying method) and IR drying (as novel and hybrid drying method) methods has been shown to optimize drying processes. For instance, integrating hot air pre-drying with infrared heating can reduce drying time by approximately 20% compared to infrared drying alone. Such combined approaches leverage the advantages of both methods, resulting in improved energy efficiency and product quality [5; 6]. Combined IR-convective drying outperforms conventional methods by leveraging rapid internal heating (IR) and efficient moisture removal (convection). Scientific studies confirm its advantages in speed, energy efficiency, and product quality, making it ideal for heat-sensitive materials like food products [7; 8]. IR directly heats the material, while airflow aids in the evaporation of water. Therefore, this method accelerates the drying process by 12-30% and reduces energy consumption by 15-20%. Additionally, it enhances quality by minimizing thermal degradation, which helps preserve the nutritional content of food. Combined IR-convective drying is faster because IR accelerates internal heating. It requires lower energy consumption since IR reduces the air-heating load and offers better preservation for food products due to shorter exposure times comparing to the convective drying method. Additionally, IR lowers the effective equilibrium moisture content through surface heating. Combining methods for drying stale bread aims to save energy and optimize the drying process. For example, in the work of [PERSON] et al. (2024), a combined convection-microwave dryer showed the best performance in terms of process duration, energy consumption, and the quality of the dried bread [9]. The sensitivity analysis of the innovative ohmic-assisted drying system (OAD), which combines ohmic heating with conventional air drying, was conducted for the first time, focusing on the effects of varying voltage, temperature, and air velocity using potatoes as a raw material. The optimal parameters identified--approximately 60 \({}^{\circ}\)C for temperature, 112 V for voltage, and air velocity between 1.07 and 1.98 m/s--not only reduced drying time by 32-38% compared to traditional methods but also preserved the quality of the potato slices, while providing benefits such as partial starch gelatinization and eliminating the blanching step, indicating strong potential for application in the food industry [10; 11]. Hybrid drying technologies offer numerous advantages, including improved drying efficiency, energy savings, better moisture removal, enhanced product quality, and increased retention of nutritional and bioactive compounds. To fully leverage these benefits, thorough investigations and optimization of operating conditions are crucial; however, implementing such systems may incur higher capital costs, necessitating comprehensive techno-economic analyses to clarify the relationship between technology and cost performance.