DEHYDRATION METHOD

摘要

The present invention relates to a method of dehydrating pieces of intact plant or animal tissue, said pieces containing at least 30 wt. % of water, the method comprising (i) contacting the pieces of intact tissue with a pressurised gas to reduce the water contenit of the pieces by at least 50 %, said pressurised gas having a pressure of at least 0.5xPc and a temperature of at least Tc-60 °C, Pc representing the critical pressure of the gas and Tc representing the critical temperature of the gas, and (ii) separating the pressurised gas from the dehydrated pieces, wherein at least 80 wt. %, preferably at least 90 wt. % of the matter removed by the gas from the pieces of intact plant or animal tissue is water. The invention also provides a method of dehydrating a material containing at least 30 wt. % of water, using a method as described before, followed by drying the separated pressurised gas by contacting said pressurised gas with a water absorbent water adsorbent; and recirculating the dried pressurised gas to the partially dehydrated material.