Drying of Agricultural Grains in a Multiple Porous Draft Tube Spouted Bed

Abstract

A multiple porous draft tube spouted bed (MPDTSB) was used to carry out drying of Ragi (Eleusine coracana), Barley, and Wheat grains. Batch experiments were conducted under varied conditions of initial moisture contents of grains, air inlet temperatures, and airflow rates. The draft tube parameters and fluid inlet sizes were also varied in the study. The results indicated that MPDTSB has the potential to be used for scale up to large-scale solids drying. In addition, two single porous draft tube spouted beds (SPDTSBs) were used for comparison with MPDTSB; the batch drying times in the MPDTSB were found to be lower when compared to those in SPDTSB under identical operating conditions.

Keywords:

• Batch drying
• Drying time
• Grain drying
• Multiple spouted bed
• Scale up
• Single spouted bed