Drying 2004 Proceedings of the 14th International Drying Symposium (IDS 2004)

So Paulo, Brazil, 22-25 August 2004, vol. B, pp. 813-820

REFRACTANCE WINDOW TM - DOWN UNDER

Phillip T.Clarke
Food Science Australia, Sneydes Rd (Private Bag 16), Werribee, Vic, Australia 3030
E-mail: phil.clarke@csiro.au
Keywords: drying, refractance window
ABSTRACT
A new novel dehydration technology, Refractance WindowTM, offers both relatively
low cost operation with excellent retention of colour, flavour and nutrients. This
technology can be applied to both evaporation for concentration and complete drying to
a powder. This technology is now available in Australia where a Queensland based
company, NutraDry, have recently commissioned a processing facility including both
commercial and pilot scale equipment. The secret of this technology is its ability to
create a window for the passage of infrared energy used for drying and to operate at
relatively low temperatures. Hot water provides the heating medium utilising heat
transfer via radiation. Another unique attribute is its ability to self regulate as the
material dries which means that heat damage is kept to a minimum.
INTRODUCTION
The technology of drying for the preservation of food and ingredients has been practiced for a long
time with some of the earliest references being from the 18th century. During this time there have been a
wide range of techniques developed both for general and for specific applications. Today we have a
myriad of technologies starting with solar drying and including among others spray drying, tray drying,
freeze drying, osmotic dehydration, fluid bed drying, flash drying, spouted bed drying, drum drying and
infrared drying. Vega-Mercado (2001) divides all drying technologies into generations as follows: First generation involves the use of air flowing over a product to remove water predominately
from the surface of the material. For food applications these are more suitable for grains, slices
and chunks.
Second generation drying methods designed for liquids, slurries and purees. The food
industry utilizes these in spray dryers, fluid bed dryers and roller dryers in particular.
Third generation freeze and osmotic drying are two examples of this generation of methods
and are employed in the food industry to better maintain structural and quality issues.

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Fourth generation these are the latest developments in dehydration and include high vacuum,
microwaves, radio frequency and Refractance Windows (RW).

Commercial drying methods have been developed over time with the constant challenge of developing
a technology that can not only deliver high quality products but can operate at an economical rate of
manufacture. For high quality foods, freeze drying is traditionally used but it is relatively expensive (up to
10 times that of forced air dryers) and is limited to relatively small throughputs. On the other hand spray
drying can be used for large throughput but the quality of the resultant product is inferior to that produced
by freeze drying due to volatile losses and heat damage due to the relatively high temperatures required.
The RW process is a novel method of dehydration in enabling the dehydration of foods and ingredients
while maintaining their integrity with respect to flavour, colour and nutrients. It is comparable to freeze
drying in quality aspects but without the high operating costs. RW has successfully manufactured a
diverse range of products including fruits, seafood, dairy ingredients, juices and nutraceuticals both in
concentrated and dried forms. The technology was developed by MCD Technologies Incorporated,
Tacoma. WA, USA.
REFRACTANCE WINDOWS TECHNOLOGY
All three heat transfer methods: conduction, convection and radiation occur in water. The loss of heat
or energy from water to its surroundings occurs by either conduction or evaporation with convection and
radiation being internal processes. If a transparent layer of material is placed on the surface of water then
the energy loss can only take place by means of conduction. However, if moisture is introduced onto the
surface of this material then radiant transfer can occur. This allows radiated heat to pass from the water
into the wet material. This is referred to as a window of opportunity for the transfer of energy from the
water to the material to be dehydrated. At this point in time all three methods of heat transfer are able to
occur and this induces very rapid heat transfer into the product and rapid evaporation of moisture. This
window is slowly closed as the product losses moisture and the heat transfer decreases as the product
moves along the belt to the extent that when it reaches the end of the belt very little, if any, heat transfer is
taking place. Thus the process has an inbuilt regulator, which assists in the entrapment of flavour and the
high quality standards being maintained.
The Refractance Windows Process
A commercial RW drying plant is made up of modules. Each module is approximately 6 m long and
2.4 m wide. There is a liquid product application and a dried product removal section at either end of the
machine. Modules can be added to increase output. The RW process uses hot water at atmospheric
temperatures to provide the heat source for dehydration. The water, for each module is continually
recirculated and maintained at a set temperature (maximum is usually 95C as higher temperatures create
air bubbles which interfere with energy transfer through the belt) as heat energy is transferred to the
product. A schematic of the process for drying is shown in Fig 1. The product to be dried is sprayed at
thicknesses of 0.2 to 1.0 mm onto an endless conveyor belt, which spans the entire equipment regardless
of the number modules. The belt (made from a transparent polyester material-Mylar) literally floats on the
surface of the water and moves at speeds up to 3m / min depending on the drying regime required. The
infrared energy of the water is able to pass through the belt into the moist product and the water from the
product is released into the air above the belt and extracted by air circulated above the belt. As the
product moves along the belt its moisture level decreases and so does the heat transfer from the water by
radiation as the refractance window gradually closes due to the reduction in the water content of the
material being dried. This is a self-regulating mechanism and enables the product to be gently dried over
the period of transition from one end of the belt to the other. This prevents degradation of the product and
maintains the products quality. Cooling water is introduced near the end of the belt to reduce the

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temperature of the powder. This not only further limits degradation but it also assists in the removal of the
powder from the belt.
Products can be dried with heated water in the range of 25 to 95oC. The lower the temperature the
slower the drying rate and in most cases the lower the degradation of the product. Due to evaporative
cooling the temperature of the product seldom reaches more than 39 to 47 oC (Bolland, 2000). The
temperature of drying can be in the range 25 to 95 oC depending on the product under consideration. It has
been shown that it can be advantageous to operate at higher than lower temperatures for some products as
they maintain their quality attributes better if they are dried relatively fast using a higher temperature
band thus the water release time is faster. The time of drying is of the order of 2 to 6 minutes depending
on the moisture content of the product and the temperature of the water used for drying. Whereas most
food products are dried in the range of 50 to 95 oC it is very easy to dry heat sensitive bioactive
preparations at temperatures as low as 30 oC where microbiological aspects are not a consideration.

Figure 1: Schematic of the Refractance Window dryer (single module) (Adapted from Abonyi, 1999)

The principles of operation are the same for the evaporation

equipment but the configuration is different with the bed being at
angle as shown in Figure 2.This equipment allows for the
concentration of liquids to higher total solids by partial removal of
moisture whilst maintaining a liquid state.
EVALUATION OF THE TECHNOLOGY
Refractance Windows drying is particularly efficient for the
preparation of fruits and vegetables where the emphasis is on the
retention of natural components and quality aspects. These aspects
need to be maintained in the dried product and be available in
subsequent applications. Many of the traditional techniques for
dehydration of fruits and vegetables, particularly those that use heat,
all produced products with deficiencies in many of the desired
quality aspects. On the other hand freeze-drying always produces
dried materials of the highest quality but this technology suffers
Figure 2
because of high running costs and relatively low throughputs.
Therefore most of the studies to date on RW have been carried out as comparisons with common
technologies looking at efficiency and product quality in particular.

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Energy and operation

In his work on pumpkin drying Nindo (2003) measured the moisture content of the puree on the belt of
a commercial RF unit as a function of position along the belt and hence residence time (Figure 3) He
showed that with the heating water at 95C and a belt speed of 2.98 m/min, about 80% of the moisture
was removed from the puree in the first 1/3 of the drying time and the product had almost reached its final
moisture content within approximately 60% of the drying time. This drying rate shows the RW
technologys ability to utilise the heat energy during the window of opportunity when the product is moist
and then to gradually shut down by self-regulation as the product moisture content decreases. During a
similar experiment using a pilot plant Nindo also demonstrated the effect of using different water
temperatures and the subsequent effect on drying rates (Figure 4)

Figure 3: Changes in puree moisture content during drying and residence time on the drying belt

Adapted From Nindo 2003

Figure 4: Effect of heating water temperature on moisture content and drying rate.

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Nindo (2003) collected data from 3 experiments relating to the drying rate of the RW commercial
plant. Table 1 shows that the RW dryer removed moisture at a rate of 54 to 80 kg per hour, depending on
belt speed and that the evaporative capacity (kg/h. m2) ranged from 3.1 to 4.6.
Table 1: Puree input and drying rate data to obtain energy efficiency (Adapted from Nindo 2003)

Mass of pumpkin puree (kg):

Before Drying
After Drying
Puree moisture content (%):
Before Drying
After Drying
Total drying time for batch (min)
Effective belt surface area (m2)
Puree input (kg/h)
Water removal rate (kg/h)
Water removal rate (kg/h m2)

Exp 1

Exp 2

Exp3

73.9
16.0

141.0
30.2

145.9
30.6

79.4
4.9
64
17.4
69.3
54.3
3.1

79.6
4.7
97
17.4
87.2
68.6
3.9

80.1
5.2
86
17.4
101.8
80.4
4.6

Adapted From Nindo 2003

Both Nindo (2003) and Abonyi (1999) calculated the thermal efficiency of the RW technology. Table
2 is a composite of their results where the efficiency of both pilot scale and commercial RW plants are
compared to that of a range of other drying technologies. These figures demonstrate the very comparable
efficiency rates of RW (48-28% for pilot scale and 70-52% for commercial scale).
Table 2: Evaporative capacity and thermal efficiency for selected dryers

Dryer Type
Tunnel dryer
Band dryer
Impingement dryer
Rotary dryer
Fluid bed dryer
Flash dryer
Spray dryer
Drum dryer (for pastes)
Refractance
WindowTM
dryer
Pilot plant
Commercial plant

Typical evaporation
capacity (kg H2O/h.m2
or kg H2O/h.m3)
50 m2
30 80 m2
5 100 m3
(depends on particle
size)
1 30 m3
6 20 m3

Typical energy
consumption kJ/kg of
H2O
5500 6000
4000 6000
5000 7000
4600 9200
4000 6000
4500 9000

6 - 10
3.1 4.6 m2

Thermal Efficiency
42 38%
58 38%
46 33%
50 25%
58 38%
51 26%

4500 11,500
3200 - 6500

51 20%
78 35%

4700 8100

48 28%
70 52%

From Nindo (2003) and Abonyi (1999)

PRODUCT QUALITY
Microbial Integrity.
The act of drying itself does not necessarily induce microbial integrity and provide impart quality. Pretreatment of raw materials, in particular fruits and vegetables, by blanching or pasteurisation, are often
undertaken to reduce the microbial load. However, in the drying of heat sensitive materials the retention

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of quality aspects such as colour, vitamins and flavour are of such importance that pre-treatment is not
always desired and able to be undertaken. This raises concerns about the ultimate safety of the dried
product particularly upon reconstitution in applications where the microbial count may increase
dramatically in the presence of water. Therefore a drying process that can dehydrate these products and
reduce the microbial load to an acceptable level together with the retention of desirable quality attributes
would represent an enhanced drying system.
Nindo (2003) investigated the effect of RW drying on the total aerobic count (APC) and also that of
three different cultures inoculated into pumpkin puree prior to drying. The results of this work are
summarised in Table 3. It can be seen that the three test micro-organisms coliform, Escherichia coli and
Listeria innocua were all reduced to well below the minimum detection level of <5 CFU/mL which
corresponds to a microbial reduction of at least 6.1, 6.0 and 5.5 log CFU/mL respectively. The APC was
also significantly reduced by 4.63 log.
Table3: Microbial counts in log CFU/mL of pumpkin puree before and after RF drying

Control
Dried
Log
reduction

APC
Mean
7.17
2.54
4.63

SD
0.12
0.26

Coliform
Mean
6.78
<0.69
6.09

Escherichia coli
Mean
SD
6.73
0.14
<0.69
NA
6.04

SD
0.09
NA

Listeria innocua
Mean
SD
6.14
0.11
<0.69
NA
5.45
Adapted from Nindo (2003)

Colour
Overall colour retention and colour change due to a range of drying techniques including RW drying
were studied by Abonyi (1999), Nindo (2003) and Abonyi (2002). Nindo found that pureed asparagus
dried by RW was bright green in colour suggesting that most chlorophyll had been retained. He also
noted that RW dried powder was the closest to freeze-dried in greenness. Abonyi (2002) carried out
studies on carrot and strawberries. His results for the carrot trials showed that RW drying produced
product closer to freeze drying than both drum and spray drying and that RW dried puree was
characterised by higher L, a and B and chroma values indicating more vivid and more saturated red and
yellow colours both probably due to high carotenoid content and retention. In the studies on strawberries
the spray dried samples showed the greatest colour degradation. The RW product was equal to, or
superior to, spray dried material when maltodextrin was added as a carrier to the strawberry puree. Table
4 shows a compilation of the results obtained
Table 4: Colour measurement comparison for drying technologies
difference E for strawberry

Fresh
No carrier
With maltodextrin
Spray dried
No carrier
With maltodextrin
RW Dried
No carrier
With maltodextrin
Freeze dried
No carrier
With maltodextrin

(L* a* b*), darkness factor b* / a*, and total colour

L*

a*

b*

b*/a*

36.1
45.3

25.6
27.0

19.8
22.0

0.77
0.81

0
0

ND
77.8

ND
23.9

ND
16.8

ND
0.70

ND
34.4

53.8
63.2

27.9
29.3

16.9
20.2

0.60
0.70

18.5
19.3

53.8
71.5

30.0
25.6

18.8
16.6

0.63
0.65

18.7
28.1

Adapted from Abonyi (2002)

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Bioactive Retention
One of the major benefits of the RW drying technology is the retention of nutrients and bioactives in
the final powder. This low temperature/short time drying technology enables products with attributes
much more closely aligned to freeze drying to be manufactured, at a lower cost, particularly when energy
efficiency and throughput are taken into account. Two components of fruits and vegetables which are
essential to the human diet but which are both very sensitive to heat are carotene (Vitamin A) and
ascorbic acid (Vitamin C). Beta carotene and ascorbic acid together with total antioxidant activity (TAA)
are often used as markers to evaluate quality retention and heating effects in different drying technologies
and to determine the best conditions for the dehydration of fruits and vegetables in any given drying
system.
Ascorbic acid - is more sensitive to heat, oxygen and light than most other components in food. In a
study on asparagus Nindo (2003) found that using ascorbic acid retention as an indicator for comparison
showed that RW dried product was almost identical to the raw material and superior to freeze drying and
far superior to all thermal forms of dehydration. This work confirmed that done by Abonyi et al (2002)
who showed a loss of ascorbic acid of 6.4% during the drying of strawberries, which was comparable to
freeze-drying. (See Table 5). Work undertaken at Washington State University for MCD showed similar
results for ascorbic acid loss for RW and freeze drying for carrot where the losses were 77% and 82%
respectively and for corn they were 59% and 74%.
Table 5: Comparison of vitamin C content of strawberry purees after Refractance Window and freeze-drying

Treatment

Fresh
puree
RW dried
Freeze
dried

AA mg/g solid
1.8 +/- 0.01

AA
(%)

1.69 +/- 0.03

1.68 +/- 0.04

Loss

Moisture Content (%)

93.6 +/- 0.2

6.0 +/- 1.3

6.4 +/- 1.6

9.90 +/- 0.6

12.1 +/- 0.5
Adapted from Nindo (2003)

Carotene one of the major sources of carotene or vitamin A is carrots. Processing has been shown to
reduce the carotene content by up to 82% (Rukimini 1985) depending on the type of process used.
Comparative trials were undertaken by Abonyi (1999) between RW, drum drying and freeze-drying.
These results and data are shown in Table 6.
Table 6. Comparison of carotene loss in carrots during drying

Treatment

RW
Freeze dried
Drum dried
Convection oven
Food dehydrator
Microwave oven
Freeze dried
Air dried
Puff dried
Air dried

Alpha-carotene loss (%)

Beta-carotene loss (%)

7
2
55

10
5
57

82

24
72
36
48

Total carotene loss

(%)
9
4
56
24
18
28,63
45-55

Adapted from Nindo (2003)

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REFRACTANCE WINDOWS IN AUSTRALIA

Nutradry, an Australian company based in Queensland, spent almost 4 years of research on different
types of drying techniques. During this assessment procedure Nutradry consulted with Food Science
Australia (FSA) who introduced RW technology to them. FSA then assisted in the validation procedures
and the final selection of the RW technology, because of its particular advantages over other forms of
drying. Nutradry have recently installed and commissioned the largest and only Model 6 RW dryer in the
world, together with an evaporator using RW technology and a pilot scale dryer. Nutradry currently
produce a range of products including lycopene, beta-carotene, broccoli, spirulina, barley grass, teas and
herb blends, all of which have a full-bodied aroma and flavour similar to that of the natural product from
which they were made. These products can be used as ingredients in a multitude of applications. The
Nutradry product range extends to ingredients for the food, flavour, nutraceutical and pharmaceutical
industries. FSA has continued to work with Nutradry to identify and evaluate foods and ingredients,
which can be more beneficially dehydrated by the RW technology to either a dried or concentrated form.
One such material of particular interest is colostrum. This is the milk from a cow collected over the first
couple of days after calving; it is particularly rich in a range of nutrients such as immunoglobulin (Ig).
The levels of this and other beneficial bioactives decrease very quickly over a few days and are very heat
sensitive during processing. The use of freeze-drying is common practice for the processing of this high
value material. FSA has worked with several dairy companies to access the viability of the RW
technology for both the concentration and drying of colostrum. The results of these trials are under
evaluation at the present time. However, preliminary findings show very encouraging signs particularly
when the levels of Ig are compared in powders manufactured from freeze drying and RW dehydration.
REFERENCES
Abonyi, B.I., Tang, J, and Edwards, C.G. (1999), Evaluation of energy efficiency and quality retention for
the Refractance WindowTM drying system. Research Report , Washington State University, Pullman
WA
Abonyi, B.I., Feng, H., Tang, J., Edwards, C.G., Chew, B.P., Mattinson, D.S. and Fellman, J.K., (2001),
Quality retention in strawberry and carrot purees dried with Refractance WindowTM system, 67, pp
1051-1056
Bolland, K.M. (2000), A new low temperature / short time drying process, Cereal Foods World, 45,
pp293-296
Nindo, C.I., Feng, H., Shen, G.Q., Tang, J. and Kang, D.H. (2003), Energy utilisation and microbial
reduction in a new film drying system. Journal of Food Processing Preservation, 27, pp 117-136
Nindo, C.I., Sun, T., Wang, S.W., Tang, J. and Powers, J.R., (2003), Evaluation of drying technologies
for retention of physical quality and antioxidants in asparagus (Asparagus officinalis, L.), Lebensm. Wiss u.-Technol, 36, pp 507-516
Rukmini, H.S., Soekato, S.T., Fardiaz, D., Jenis, D. and Tomomatsu, A., (1985), The stability of
provitamin A in preparation of carrot powders, Forum Pascasarjana, 8, pp 13-24
Vega-Mercado, H, Gongora-Nieto, M.M. and Barbosa-Canovas, G.V. (2001), Advances in dehydration of
foods, Journal of Food Engineering, 49, pp. 271-289

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