Abstract

This paper was conducted to design, fabricate, and evaluate the performance of the automated laboratory-scale flatbed rice dryer in terms of mean drying capacity, moisture reduction per hour, drying efficiency, dried seeds’ viability, or ability to germinate. The main structure of the automated laboratory-scale flatbed dryer has a length of 1,000 mm, width of 500 mm, and a height of 700 mm. It has five (5) basic components: drying bin, 1.1 kW electric heater, 10” centrifugal type blower, 1.5 hp electric motor, and an automatic power shut-off system. At an average drying temperature of 44.28℃±0.56℃ of the flatbed dryer, the results showed that the mean drying capacity of the automated laboratory-scale flatbed dryer was about 19 kg/h, the mean moisture reduction per hour was about 4.03 kg/h, the mean drying efficiency of approximately 66%, and mean germination rate of the dried grains of approximately 89%, which was above the acceptable Philippine National Standard of at least 85%. The findings indicate that the developed dryer is capable of efficiently reducing grain moisture content while maintaining seed viability. The system demonstrates potential as a laboratory-scale drying solution for rice seed processing and may contribute to reducing postharvest losses through controlled drying operations. For further improvement, it is recommended to incorporate a plenum chamber to enhance uniform heat distribution and airflow, thereby improving drying consistency and overall efficiency.

Full Article

DOI: 10.56901/QJRM4821

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