{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,10]],"date-time":"2026-08-10T02:28:45Z","timestamp":1786328925356,"version":"build-2736575974"},"reference-count":32,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"16","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,9]],"date-time":"2026-08-09T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1786233600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Foods"],"abstract":"<jats:p>The valorization of vegetable processing by-products is increasingly recognized as a key strategy for improving sustainability and supporting circular economy principles. This study evaluated the effects of freeze\u2013thaw pretreatment and cold-press dewatering prior to dehydration on the energy demand of whole tomato by-product processing. Tomato by-products were divided into different batches and subjected to freezing and thawing and\/or to cold-press dewatering before dehydration at 60 \u00b0C. Only the cold-pressed samples, with or without freeze\u2013thaw pretreatment, were also evaluated at 50 and 70 \u00b0C. A mathematical model previously reported in the literature was applied to estimate water removal during dehydration and quantify the energy demand associated with cold-press extraction, drying, and milling operations, enabling comparison among the investigated processing strategies. The results showed that the inclusion of a cold-press dewatering step decreased the energy demand, as the energy required for dewatering was lower than that needed to evaporate the same amount of water during drying. Freeze\u2013thaw pretreatment further reduced the amount of free water to be removed in the subsequent dehydration stage. Although drying temperature had a limited effect on total energy demand, a slight decrease was calculated when increasing the temperature from 50 to 70 \u00b0C. These findings demonstrate the potential of combining freeze\u2013thaw and cold-press dewatering as pretreatments for reducing energy demand throughout tomato by-product processing.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/foods15162791","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,10]],"date-time":"2026-08-10T01:20:03Z","timestamp":1786324803000},"page":"2791","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Effects of Freeze\u2013Thaw Pretreatment and Cold-Press Dewatering on the Downstream Energy Demand of Hot-Air Drying of Whole Tomato By-Product Powder Production"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"15","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0002-1456-3982","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Adriana","family":"Lordi","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Social Sciences, University of Foggia, Via Da Zara, 71122 Foggia, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-4944-9816","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Amalia","family":"Conte","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Humanistic Studies, Letters, Cultural Heritage, Educational Sciences, University of Foggia, Via Arpi, 71121 Foggia, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-8978-6449","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Matteo Alessandro","family":"Del Nobile","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Economics, Management and Territory, University of Foggia, Via A. Da Zara, 71122 Foggia, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,9]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"101299","DOI":"10.1016\/j.focha.2026.101299","article-title":"Agri-food by-prduct valorization and safety in sustainable food systems: Hidden hazards, risk-benefit trade-off, challenges and opportunities","volume":"11","author":"Ververis","year":"2026","journal-title":"Food Chem. Adv."},{"key":"ref_2","unstructured":"FAO (2019). FAO statistical databases agriculture. 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