Drying Technology has been consistently proactive in seeking from internationally recognized experts’ evaluative and critical assessments of current drying R&D in diverse areas. These reports appear as invited review articles for the benefit of experienced researchers and industry professionals, as well as those seeking guidance in initiating areas for drying research. The explosive growth rate of technical literature makes it truly difficult to identify areas for research that deserve attention and those that are most likely to be valuable to industry in the future. This is a tremendous professional service by the authors as well as the editorial team of this journal. I am sure industry also benefits from this contribution of the journal, although industry practitioners do not have the opportunity to recognize this in a measurable way, since they do not typically publish archival papers.
In this brief Guest Editorial, I wish to focus on review papers published during 2014 alone. From the list appended,[Citation1Citation2Citation3Citation4Citation5Citation6Citation7Citation8] one can readily note that we have covered a number of traditional areas, as well as recent developments in areas such as fluid bed, spray, and hybrid drying, as well as methodologies for enhancing drying rates. We have also published one review article that gives an overview of basic drying models using a thin-layer drying approach. We have covered such important industrial sectors as foods, seeds, and wood. The subject of microencapsulation is gaining importance in recent years, and this too is reviewed critically. Finally, control of dryers is very crucial in ensuring high quality dried products and making the operation sustainable. This is discussed in a concise yet evaluative review article.
To sum, Drying Technology has provided valuable access to recent R&D outcomes in areas mentioned above in a systematic and comprehensive manner. I hope we can continue this valuable service in the years to come as well.
References
- Aghbashlo, M.; Sotudeh-Gharebagh, R.; Zarghami, R.; Mujumdar, A.S.; Mostoufi, N. Measurement techniques to monitor and control fluidization quality in fluidized bed dryers: A review. Drying Technology 2014, 32(9), 1005–1051.
- Kucuk, H.; Midilli, A.; Kilic, A.; Dincer, I. A review on thin-layer drying-curve equations. Drying Technology 2014, 32(7), 757–773.
- Witrowa-Rajchert, D.; Wiktor, A.; Sledz, M.; Nowacka, M. Selected emerging technologies to enhance the drying process: A review. Drying Technology 2014, 32(11), 1386–1396.
- Barrozo, M.A.S.; Mujumdar, A.; Freire, J.T. Air-drying of seeds: A review. Drying Technology 2014, 32(10), 1127–1141.
- Tuncçal, T.; Uslu, O. A Review of dehydration of various industrial sludges. Drying Technology 2014, 32(14), 1642–1654.
- Mahdavi, S.A.; Jafari, S.M.; Ghorbani, M.; Assadpoor, E. Spray-drying microencapsulation of anthocyanins by natural biopolymers: A review. Drying Technology 2014, 32(5), 509–518.
- Feng, L.; Zhang, M.; Adhikari, B. Effect of water on the quality of dehydrated products: a review of novel characterization methods and hybrid drying technologies. Drying Technology 2014, 32(15), 1872–1884.
- Freire, F.B.; Vieira, G.N.A.; Freire, J.T.; Mujumdar, A.S. Trends in modeling and sensing approaches for drying control. Drying Technology 2014, 32(13), 1524–1532.