Electrohydrodynamic drying: The opportunity for sustainable development

This review presents electrohydrodynamic (EHD) drying as a new advanced technology to increase awareness of professionals on the great opportunity to contribute to the sustainable future of humanity. This emerging technology, which exploits the phenomenon of ionic wind for direct extraction of liquid water from wet materials, has been described considering product quality, energy consumption, efficiency, and environmental protection from the emission of greenhouse gases. The economic analysis of this new technology showed that EHD drying has great potential to reduce food losses in production and distribution chains, as well as minimize waste from restaurants and households. The sustainability of EHD drying, based on capital and operating costs, energy and exergy efficiency, and social implications, is illustrated, using the example of EHD-assisted convective drying.

Automated summary

This review presents electrohydrodynamic (EHD) drying as a new advanced technology that utilizes the phenomenon of ionic wind to extract liquid water from wet materials. It highlights the potential of EHD drying in reducing food losses and waste, as well as its sustainability based on economic, energy, and social factors.