The preservation of food plays a vital role in ensuring food security and minimizing postharvest losses. However, conventional drying methods used in the food industry often consume significant amounts of energy and may have negative environmental impacts. In recent years, there has been a growing interest in developing sustainable drying technologies that reduce energy consumption, decrease greenhouse gas emissions, and maintain food quality. Therefore, the development and adoption of sustainable drying technologies is crucial to foster a more sustainable and efficient food preservation industry. Recent studies have shown promising results in various innovative drying methods, such as solar drying, heat pump drying, and microwave drying, which offer improved energy efficiency and reduced environmental footprints. Despite these advancements, there remain significant gaps in understanding the full potential and limitations of these technologies, particularly in terms of scalability, economic feasibility, and long-term sustainability. Addressing these gaps is essential to advancing the field and ensuring the widespread adoption of sustainable drying practices.

This research topic aims to gather scientific research on sustainable drying technologies for food preservation, energy consumption, environmental impact, and food quality aspects. It will focus on analyzing, comparing, and improving the energy efficiency and economic performance of various food drying methods, including convective air drying, solar drying, heat pump drying, microwave drying, vacuum drying, spray drying, and supercritical fluid drying. Additionally, the research will explore the applications of digital tools like sensors, computational modeling and simulation, machine learning, and artificial intelligence algorithms for optimizing and monitoring the food drying process, which is crucial to achieving a sustainable food industry.

To gather further insights into the boundaries of sustainable drying technologies, we welcome articles addressing, but not limited to, the following themes:

• Sustainability aspect of existing and emerging food drying methods
• Integration of renewable energy sources for drying
• Hybrid drying approaches
• Optimization of the drying process to enhance quality and energy efficiency
• Energy and exergy analysis of various drying methods
• Effective energy utilization systems like closed-loop energy systems, energy reuse, and recycling
• Implementation of advanced digital tools and intelligent control systems in drying
• Computational modeling and simulation approach for energy analysis, prediction, and optimization
• Nanotechnology in food drying for improvement of energy efficiency
• Impact of sustainable drying technologies on food quality, emphasizing nutritional content, sensory properties, and shelf life extension
• LCA (Life cycle assessment) methodology for assessing the environmental impact of drying technologies

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Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems

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