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Tray, tunnel and fluidised-bed drying sheet
5-mark answer frame

Explain tray and tunnel drying with their advantages and disadvantages.

How to lay out the answer. Follow the frame, then write it in your own words.

  1. 1 · Open in two lines. Tray and tunnel dryers dry pieces of fruits and vegetables with heated, moving air under control.
  2. 2 · Tray (cabinet) dryer.
    • Insulated cabinet, stacked mesh trays, fan and heater; batch.
    • Cheap and flexible; uneven drying, labour needed.
  3. 3 · Draw a tray dryer. [Sketch: fan → heater → air across stacked trays → exhaust]
  4. 4 · Tunnel dryer.
    • Trolleys of trays move through a long hot-air tunnel; semi-continuous.
    • Co-current (gentle, higher final moisture) or counter-current (drier product, scorching risk).
  5. 5 · Uses. Vegetable and fruit slices, leaves, dried vegetable mixes.
  6. 6 · Nutrition link. Cleaner and faster than sun drying, so more vitamin C and carotene survive.
  7. 7 · Close in one line. Tray dryers suit small units; tunnels suit large-scale drying.

Scoring tip: A small sketch of each dryer and the co-current vs counter-current point lift this answer.