**5.5 Drying**

Drying can be used as the first step in the creation of insect flour and even the final step in the production of protein concentrates or isolates. Oven drying, fluidized bed drying, and microwave drying, for example, can all be utilized to dry solid samples and are thus utilized to make flour from whole insects prior to grinding. Depending on the study, the experimental setup and parameters may vary greatly. For example, it was found that oven-drying parameters for various insects ranged from 40 to 80°C for 7 to 48 hours, or till consistent weight was achieved [69]. Microwaves were used to dry *T. molitor* or *H. illucens* in a few articles comparing various drying processes. Depending on the experimental setup, microwave drying parameters ranged from 0.5 to 2 kW for 30 seconds or up to 20 minutes [70]. Fluidized bed drying, however less widespread, has been recorded as an alternate drying method for insect flour manufacture [18].
