Conveyor (or belt) dehydrators are often used for large industrial drying applications. This type of dehydrator is operated on
a continuous basis and can be used to dry many types of food products, including fruit and vegetable pieces (Sabarez, 2007). It
consists of a heating unit, a fan for air ventilation, a drying chamber, and a conveyor belt (Figure 2). The product is placed on
a conveyor and moves continuously through the drying chamber at the speed of the conveyor from the feed inlet to the product
exit of the dryer. The desired drying time is achieved by regulating the speed of the conveyor. If a longer drying time is required,
a multiple stage conveyor dehydrator is used, which consists of a series of conveyors stacked horizontally or vertically (on top of
each other). The vertical arrangement allows the length of the dryer to be rather shorter but increases the height of the dryer as additional
conveyors are added. In multistage (vertical) conveyor dehydration, the product moves back and forth within the dehydrator.
The movement of drying air in a conveyor dehydrator can also be in a cocurrent, countercurrent, or mixed-flow configuration. The
transferring movement between stages of conveyors allows reorientation and mixing of product to improve drying uniformity (Tang
and Yang, 2004). The dehydrator may consist of several sections in series for each stage, in which the temperature, air speed and
direction, and conveyor speed may be controlled for each section to maximize drying rate and optimize energy efficiency. Conveyor
dehydrators usually provide higher throughput and more consistent product quality, but require higher investment compared to
tunnel dehydrators.