Geothermal Energy for Drying Fresh Produce

Food products can be treated and conserved through drying operations for guaranteeing the availability of nutrient-dense food all year long. Food drying lengthens the shelf life of the food and slows down food waste. Nowadays, the world's most pressing energy concern is the usage of renewable energy sources, due to worries about greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuels such as coal, oil, and natural gas. Geothermal power holds a unique place among clean energy sources of energy, because of its environment-friendly practices and abundant sustainable resources. Around the world, the United States, Mexico, Turkey, Italy, China, Australia, Indonesia, and Japan are the major locations of geothermal potential. Both geothermal resources with low to medium enthalpy and the earth's undisturbed temperature below 150°C are sufficient for dehydration. Cereals, coffee, tomatoes, cotton, pineapple, garlic, chili pepper, milk, wheat, avocado, olive, and tea leaves all can be dried using geothermal energy. Most conventional geothermal dryer types are cabinet, tube-bank heat exchanger, and rack tunnel dryer. On the other hand, solar energy is the most common natural source which is combined with geothermal energy for hybrid dryer equipment. In this chapter, general aspects of geothermal energy utilized in drying operations, as well as future prospects will be discussed comprehensively.