Development of Cost-effective Small-Scale Automatic Bin Grain Dryer

Abstract

Early season wheat is harvested with high moisture content, which makes it difficult to store. Selling the wheat in its green form is not cost-effective for the farmer, and grain losses are also high when harvested this way. To minimize grain losses and increase the value and profit margin of the farmer, a grain dryer is necessary for wet grains. This paper presents the development of design parameters for cost-effective small-scale automatic wheat grain dryers. The dimensions of the drying chamber, the amount of moisture to be removed in a batch, heater capacity, and fan capacity were all designed to create the dryer. The resulting wheat dryer has a batch size of 50 kg of threshed wet wheat and was tested in a laboratory for experimental purposes. It can also be used for commercial purposes. The dryer can measure the drying rates of wheat at different initial moisture contents, drying air temperatures, and drying air velocities. Experimental results demonstrated a direct correlation between initial moisture content and drying time. Specifically, drying times of 90, 120, 150, 195, and 240 minutes were observed for initial moisture contents of 16%, 18%, 20%, 22%, and 24%, respectively. The dryer also enables further investigation into the effects of varying drying temperatures and air velocities on the drying process.