The aim of this paper is to develop a possibly general model of drying kinetics based on thermodynamics which can be used for different drying methods and shrinkable products such as fruits and vegetables. This model, developed on the thermodynamic basis, has well-defined coefficients and enables numerical computation for both the drying curves and temperatures of dried bodies as a function of time for the total drying process. Such a model should assure satisfactory adherence of the kinetic curves determined numerically to the experimental ones, and thus should provide the basis for numerical calculation of the net energy consumed for drying. Such well-formulated drying kinetics then offers the basis for the construction of energy-efficient drying processes due to their optimization with respect to drying time and energy consumption. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.