Energy-Efficient Vacuum Sublimation Drying of Camel Milk: Numerical Simulation and Parametric Analysis
Altybay A. Rakhmatulina A. Darkenbayev D. Satybaldy S.
July 2025Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute (MDPI)
Energies
2025#18Issue 14
This study describes both experimental and numerical investigations into the heat and mass transfer processes governing the vacuum freeze drying of camel milk, with a specific focus on improving the energy efficiency. A three-dimensional model was developed and solved using the finite element method to simulate temperature evolution and sublimation interface progression during drying. The numerical model was validated against experimental data, achieving strong agreement, with an (Formula presented.) value of 0.94. A detailed parametric analysis examined the effects of the shelf temperature, sample thickness, and chamber pressure on the drying kinetics and energy input. The results indicate that optimising these parameters can significantly reduce the energy consumption and processing time while maintaining product quality. Notably, reducing the sample thickness to 4 mm shortened the drying time by up to 40% and reduced the specific energy consumption (SEC) from 358 to 149 kWh/kg. These findings offer valuable insights for the design of more energy-efficient freeze drying systems, with implications for sustainable milk powder production and industrial-scale process optimisation.
camel milk , heat and mass transfer , numerical simulation , porous media , specific energy consumption , sublimation , thermal optimisation , vacuum freeze drying
Text of the article Перейти на текст статьи
Department of Mechanical Engineering and Robotics, U. Joldasbekov Institute of Mechanics and Engineering, Shevchenko Str. 28, Almaty, 050010, Kazakhstan
Department of Software Engineering, International Engineering and Technological University, 89/21 Al-Farabi Avenue, Almaty, 050060, Kazakhstan
Department of Computational Sciences and Statistics, Department of Computer Science, Al-Farabi Kazakh National University, Almaty, 050040, Kazakhstan
Department of Automation and Robotics, Almaty Technological University, Tole Bi Str., Almaty, 050000, Kazakhstan
Departments of Technological Machines and Equipment, Satbayev University, Almaty, 050000, Kazakhstan
Department of Mechanical Engineering and Robotics
Department of Software Engineering
Department of Computational Sciences and Statistics
Department of Automation and Robotics
Departments of Technological Machines and Equipment
10 лет помогаем публиковать статьи Международный издатель
Книга Публикация научной статьи Волощук 2026 Book Publication of a scientific article 2026