****Freeze-dryers are regularly designed with four basic components:

a drying chamber, a vacuum pump, a heat source, and a condenser. The correct selection and
operation of these components are critical to reach the benefits of the lyophilization process and
depend on the requirements of each product.
The drying chamber is where the frozen product is placed; although the freezing process can be
done within the chamber as a first step, in this case, the equipment must have a freezing system
(not shown inFigure 2). However, the chamber must be of a vacuum-tight design, and the
shelves in the interior require temperature control since heating and cooling processes take
place inside the chamber. In addition, an adequate vacuum pump is required to remove the non
condensable gases from the chamber and, subsequently, reach the desirable vacuum level, that
is, below 0.61 kPa. The heating source provides the latent heat of sublimation once the frozen
product is already at high vacuum conditions. Finally, the function of the condenser is to collect
the water vapor released by the sublimation of ice within product, and it must have sufficient
surface and cooling capacity to freeze all the steam generated during the sublimation process.
The water vapor contacts the condenser surface and is turned into ice crystals releasing energy;
afterward, crystals are removed from the system. Typically, the operational temperature of
condensers in commercial freeze-dryers is around 208.15 K (-65 ° C).
**** On the basis of product, global lyophilization equipment industry is classified into
manifold freeze dryers, rotary freeze dryers, and tray-style freeze dryers.
Manifold laboratory freeze dryers are compact, benchtop units that are used for light to
moderate sampling requirements. This type of laboratory freeze dryer is often available with
the choice of a condenser temperature, manifolds, and many other accessories.
Rotary evaporators are laboratory freeze dryers that are used in many chemical and biochemical
applications. They are used to preserve perishable materials and to make materials easier to
transport. Typically, freeze-dried materials are sealed to prevent re-absorption of moisture. Like
some other types of laboratory freeze dryers, rotary evaporators can be used to lower the boiling
points of liquids, including solvents. They are very effective at removing most organic solvents
through an extraction process. Often, the leftover materials are then removed with a high-
vacuum line. Rotary evaporators and related types of laboratory freezer dryers may also have
an integrated microprocessor to maintain conditions with the chamber or chambers.
Laboratory tray dryers consist of a cabinet that contains trays, which is connected to a source
of heated air. The air enters the bottom of the chamber below the trays and rises. Air flows
through the material and out an opening at the top of the chamber.
These freeze dryers are highly sophisticated and are used for drying a wide range of materials.
They can be used to produce driest form of the product for long-term of storage. These dryers
allow the product to be frozen in place and perform both primary and secondary freeze drying,
thus enabling manufacturers to produce the driest possible end product.
Tray-style freeze dryers accounted for a revenue share of more than US$3.5 billion in 2019 and
will continue to witness a significant adoption by 2026. These are generally preferred in the
long-term storage of labile drugs and pharmaceuticals.
**** As any other process, Lyophilization has many pros and cons
For the Advantages of Lyophilization, I can mention :
Removal of water at low temperature
Ease of reconstitution
Long preservation period owing to 95%-99.5% water removal
Little contamination owing to aseptic process
Oxidizable substances are well protected under vacuum conditions
Disadvantages of Lyophilization
Volatile compounds may be removed by high vacuum.
Single most expensive unit operation.
Stability problems associated with individual drugs.
Some issues associated with sterilization and sterility assurance of the dryer chamber and
aseptic loading of vials into the chamber.
Not all solutes can be freeze-dried to form a pharmaceutically acceptable cake
*** The main weakness of Freeze-drying is being an expensive process. The high energy
demands lead to high energy costs. It is very critical to improve the freeze-drying technique
that can lower the energy consumption and reduce drying time. The use of infrared heating to
replace the electric heating plate is a promising method to overcome the problem. In this study,
A novel laboratory scale apparatus using infrared lamps replacing the electric heating plate for
the freeze drying of Cordyceps militaris was developed.
The drying time, energy consumption, nutritional properties, antioxidant activities and main
volatile compounds of Cordyceps militaris dried by infrared freeze drying (IRFD) and
traditional freeze drying (TFD) at different drying temperatures were compared. The TFD
equipment was same as the IRFD equipment except for point 4 that are infrared glass lamps.
The results show that IRFD could reduce 7.21–17.78% of the drying time and 11.88–18.37%
of the energy consumption at a constant drying temperature in comparison of TFD without
compromising the quality of the dried product. This study can help food processing industries
to produce high quality freeze dried Cordyceps militaris and many other foods with an energy
efficient freeze drying process.