Performance evaluation of paddy drying using moving bed dryer

Drying is an important step in postharvest treatment of paddy for prolonging storage life before consumed. Several paddy drying have been developed, but the proper performance on thermal efficiency is scare. The purpose of this study is to examine the performance of moving bed paddy dryer in term of thermal efficiency in accordance with drying time. In this case, the paddy was dried under different air temperatures (40°C, 50°C, 60°C) and air velocities (0.85 m/s, 1.85 m/s, 2.85 m/s, 3.85 m/s). As indicator, the moisture content in paddy was observed and thermal efficiency was calculated every 15 minutes for operational drying time 240 minutes. Results showed that the higher air temperature and velocity resulted faster drying time. Furthermore, for all drying conditions, the thermal efficiency became lower in longer drying time. The fastest drying time was 75 minutes at air velocity 3.85 m/s and temperature 60°C. In general, the thermal efficiency improvement of moving bed dryer is still positive for further application.Drying is an important step in postharvest treatment of paddy for prolonging storage life before consumed. Several paddy drying have been developed, but the proper performance on thermal efficiency is scare. The purpose of this study is to examine the performance of moving bed paddy dryer in term of thermal efficiency in accordance with drying time. In this case, the paddy was dried under different air temperatures (40°C, 50°C, 60°C) and air velocities (0.85 m/s, 1.85 m/s, 2.85 m/s, 3.85 m/s). As indicator, the moisture content in paddy was observed and thermal efficiency was calculated every 15 minutes for operational drying time 240 minutes. Results showed that the higher air temperature and velocity resulted faster drying time. Furthermore, for all drying conditions, the thermal efficiency became lower in longer drying time. The fastest drying time was 75 minutes at air velocity 3.85 m/s and temperature 60°C. In general, the thermal efficiency improvement of moving bed dryer is still positive for furth...