## 1 Introduction
(2015), who spray dried buckwheat and rapeseed honey with the addition of 1% \(w/w\) sodium caseinate (NaCas) and Arabic gum as carriers, observed higher \(R_{p}\) and better powder flowability [12]. [PERSON] et al. (2019), who obtained multifocal honey powders, concluded that skim milk powder as a carrier and milk as a diluent made possible an increase in honey content in the product of up to 70% [16]. [PERSON] et al. (2020) reported that it was possible to increase honey content in honeydew honey powders as a result of skim milk powder application as a carrier [17]. Furthermore, authors noted very high \(R_{p}\) and powder particles scattered and of small diameters, which is distinctive for spray drying of non-sticky materials. Apart from the film-forming properties of proteins present in milk, the presence of lactose is important as well in relation to the reduction of stickiness during drying when the skim milk powder is applied as a carrier. Lactose of high \(T_{g}\) (101 \({}^{\circ}\)C) increases the overall \(T_{g}\) of spray dried material and prevents problems that may occur during powder preparation [13]. Few researchers have questioned the application of lactose as a carrier; however, [PERSON] et al. (2009) analyzed the effectiveness of lactose-maltodextrin blends in passion fruit juice spray drying [18]. The authors concluded that the low lactose-maltodextrin blends (8:5, 10:5, 12:5% \(w/v\)) enabled successful spray drying and prevented stickiness-related problems. A major disadvantage of honey spray drying is the high amount of carrier (35-50%) that is added in order to avoid problems of stickiness [10]. The dehumidified air as a drying medium is increasingly becoming a vital factor in resolving previously mentioned problems in spray drying. As a result of lowering the air humidity, it is possible to lower drying temperature as a consequence of higher intensity of water evaporation. This phenomenon leads to successfully avoiding the issues resulting from the material's low \(T_{g}\)[19]. Several studies, for instance [PERSON] et al. (2019), [PERSON] and [PERSON] (2008) and [PERSON] et al. (2017) have been carried on dehumidified-air-assisted spray drying [20; 21; 22]. [PERSON] et al. (2019) reported that application of dehumidified air as a drying medium successfully enabled the lowering of the carrier content to 20% while maintaining above 90% the powder recovery in rapeseed honey spray drying [20]. As aforementioned, the carrier content in honey spray drying typically ranges from 35 to 50%; thus the achievement of [PERSON] et al. (2019) in increasing honey content in powders should be highlighted [20]. [PERSON] and [PERSON] (2008) noted product recovery of tomato pulp powders ranging from 80 to 90%, and these values were significantly higher than results presented in other studies [21]. Authors underlined that such high \(R_{p}\) values were a result of the low humidity of drying air. [PERSON] et al. (2017) spray dried olive mill wastewater and reported 87-94% powder recovery when dehumidified air was used as a drying medium in comparison to traditional spray drying with and without carrier and noted \(R_{p}\) was \(<\)3% and 1-24%, respectively [22]. It should be pointed out that previous studies did not address the energy consumption of dehumidified-air-assisted spray drying, and authors focused solely on process performance and powder properties. This is a major drawback, as it does not provide information on the economic aspects of this innovative technology that might be implemented into the industry. The aim of this study was to investigate the process performance and energy consumption of buckwheat honey spray drying using the traditional method (SD) and with the application of dehumidified air (DASD) in order to lower the carrier content. Despite the increasing interest in dehumidified-air-assisted spray drying, no one to the best of the authors' knowledge has studied the economic aspects of this technology.