Configuration detail — [SPEC — Nick to confirm]
If it freezes, we can dry it.
Applications
What You Are Drying Decides the Machine
Every product releases its water differently. This page covers the eight categories we engineer for, what each one does under vacuum, and which part of the system it puts under pressure.
Where every size calculation begins
Batch weight alone cannot size a system. The same one thousand pounds can carry wildly different amounts of water depending on what it is, and the water is the part the machine has to move.
The table below shows the mass balance at three starting moistures, each dried to two percent final moisture. Same batch weight, a twenty-nine percent difference in the water that has to leave the chamber.
§ A / Mass Balance
Starting moisture is where every size calculation begins
Water removed from a 1,000 lb batch dried to 2% final moisture
Starting moisture · Solids · Finished weight · Water removed · Rate over a 24-hour cycle
- 70% starting moisture
- Solids 300 lb · Finished weight 306 lb · Water removed 694 lb · Rate over a 24-hour cycle 28.9 lb/h
- 80% starting moisture
- Solids 200 lb · Finished weight 204 lb · Water removed 796 lb · Rate over a 24-hour cycle 33.2 lb/h
- 90% starting moisture
- Solids 100 lb · Finished weight 102 lb · Water removed 898 lb · Rate over a 24-hour cycle 37.4 lb/h
§ B / Product Families
The eight categories we engineer for
Configuration detail — [SPEC — Nick to confirm]
Configuration detail — [SPEC — Nick to confirm]
Configuration detail — [SPEC — Nick to confirm]
Configuration detail — [SPEC — Nick to confirm]
Configuration detail — [SPEC — Nick to confirm]
Configuration detail — [SPEC — Nick to confirm]
Configuration detail — [SPEC — Nick to confirm]
§ C / Q&A
Questions about products and applications
Last reviewed August 22, 2026 · Sublidyne Engineering
What can be freeze dried commercially?
Almost anything with water in it, though not everything dries economically. Products high in fat or sugar take longer and cost more per pound of water removed. The practical question is never whether a product can be freeze dried, but whether the finished value justifies the water you have to remove.
Why do high-fat products take longer to freeze dry?
Fat does not sublimate and it sits in the path water has to travel to leave the product. The drying front moves inward more slowly, and the last few percent of moisture becomes the hardest to reach. Sizing for these products means weighting condenser capacity and cycle time accordingly.
What final moisture should I target?
It depends on what the product has to do afterward. Shelf-stable finished goods generally target a low single-digit final moisture, while ingredients bound for further processing may have a tighter or looser specification. Your specification, not a default, belongs in the sizing math.
Does loading depth change my throughput?
Yes, and not proportionally. Doubling tray depth lengthens the cycle rather than doubling output, because water has farther to travel out of the product. The honest measure of capacity is water removed per week, with loading, unloading, and cleaning turnaround counted against the clock.
Do different products need different equipment?
Often they need a different thermal architecture rather than a different size. Products that transfer heat well through shelf contact suit a conductive system; products the shelf cannot serve efficiently suit a radiant system. Multi-product operations are sized against the most demanding product they intend to run.
Can one system handle several different products?
Yes, provided it is sized against the most demanding one. A system sized to the easiest product on your list will bottleneck on the hardest. We size against the worst case in your mix and confirm the rest of the range fits inside that envelope.
Next Step
Tell us what you are drying
Send the product and its moisture figures and we will run the water load for your actual application.