F. (Federico) Perondi, MSc

This PhD project deals with the drying of starch using supercritical CO2 (i.e., to lower the moisture content). Drying is an important step towards obtaining starch of desired structures that are suited for a range of applications (e.g., in the paper, adhesives and building industries). In this respect, supercritical CO2 drying represents an attractive alternative given its particular advantage in a better perseverance of the (starch) structure, e.g., when compared with the conventional air drying commonly used in the industry. This is mainly due to the absence of vapour-liquid interfaces during supercritical processing, which avoids the build-up of capillary pressures leading to pore collapse.