Desikatasyon

Desikatasyon is the process of removing moisture from a material to produce a dry state. It covers both natural drying in ambient conditions and controlled drying using heat, vacuum, or desiccants. The primary purpose is to reduce water activity, thereby slowing or stopping microbial growth and chemical degradation and extending the shelf life or stability of products.

Common methods include air drying, oven or kiln drying, vacuum drying, spray drying, and freeze-drying (lyophilization). Freeze-drying removes water by sublimation under low pressure and is widely used for heat‑sensitive foods and pharmaceuticals. Spray drying produces powders from liquid feeds by atomizing into a hot gas.

Desikatasyon is used in food processing to produce dried fruits, coffee, and milk powder; in pharmaceuticals to create stable dry formulations; in seed technology to store seeds; in materials science for drying ceramics and polymers; and in conservation and archaeology to preserve artifacts and specimens.

Desiccants such as silica gel, calcium chloride, and molecular sieves absorb moisture in closed containers, and desiccators provide a controlled environment to protect hygroscopic samples. The concept is closely tied to water activity (aw), a measure of the free moisture available in a product or environment.

In biology, desikatasyon relates to desiccation tolerance or anhydrobiosis, where certain organisms survive extreme dryness by maintaining cellular integrity. Desikatasyon requires careful control to prevent damage from rapid moisture loss, texture changes, or chemical degradation in sensitive materials.