Sichuan Di Shore Low-Temperature Slow Dryer for Seafood – Coastal Region Case Study
2026-05-18
In recent years, with the transformation and upgrading of China’s aquatic processing industry, market demand for high-quality dried seafood products has continued to grow. Traditional seafood drying has long relied on natural sun-drying or coal-fired hot-air drying. The former is highly dependent on weather conditions, with raw material mold loss remaining high during rainy seasons. The latter operates at high temperatures with uneven airflow, often resulting in seafood products that are dry on the outside but moist inside with a hardened surface crust. Internal moisture struggles to escape, proteins denature severely, rehydration performance is poor, and the fresh, sweet flavor of core products such as shrimp skin and dried scallops is significantly lost. How to maintain drying efficiency while preserving seafood’s natural umami and nutritional components has become a key challenge for aquatic processing enterprises aiming to improve quality and efficiency.Against this backdrop, a medium-sized aquatic processing enterprise approached us for a tailored solution. After on-site inspections of the customer’s production site and in-depth research into process requirements, we identified three major challenges the customer faced:1. Large raw material processing volume: The enterprise processes over 2 tons of fresh shrimp, squid and other seafood daily. Traditional sun-drying requires extensive space and takes 2–3 days per batch.2. High-end product positioning: Low-temperature slow drying throughout the process is required to retain heat-sensitive nutrients such as astaxanthin and taurine.3. Strict export standards: Products are exported to Japan and South Korea, requiring extremely stringent microbial indicators. Fly and dust contamination during sun-drying must be completely eliminated.Our engineering team developed a customized solution and recommended the DA-200 Industrial Low-Temperature Slow Dryer for Seafood. Adopting closed-loop heat pump low-temperature drying technology, the equipment operates at a mild temperature range of 50–120°C. Circulating hot air penetrates the material layer evenly, achieving gradual dehydration from the outside in. This avoids protein denaturation and loss of umami substances caused by high temperatures.Equipped with an intelligent temperature and humidity interlocking control system, the dryer automatically and precisely adjusts the drying curve according to different seafood varieties and moisture content stages:- Initial stage: Low temperature and high humidity to prevent surface crusting- Middle stage: Uniform dehydration to set product shape- Final stage: Slow drying to lock in freshnessDried scallops processed with this equipment have a golden color, and shrimp skin remains plump and intact. Third-party testing confirms that the retention rate of astaxanthin is significantly higher than with traditional hot-air drying. After rehydration, the taste and freshness are nearly identical to fresh seafood.What impressed the customer most is that the DA-200 enables fully automated continuous production from feeding to discharging, eliminating manual turning and spreading. Daily processing capacity is 4 times that of traditional sun-drying, with highly consistent batch quality. The fully enclosed drying chamber isolates external flies and dust, ensuring products meet food export hygiene standards. Additionally, the equipment operates with zero exhaust emissions, fully aligning with the enterprise’s green production philosophy.This low-temperature seafood dryer delivers a low-temperature freshness-locking, efficient and clean drying solution for seafood. It meets the customer’s dual requirements of high production capacity and high nutritional value, ensuring every batch of Zhoushan dried seafood retains its natural sweet ocean flavor. This solidifies the quality foundation for the enterprise’s expansion into international markets. The equipment has been operating stably for two fishing seasons, and the customer has placed an additional order to expand production capacity.
