1 AIT Asian Institute of Technology

An economic comparison of paddy drying in shallow beds using natural and heated air

AuthorSolis, Norman Tolentino
Call NumberAIT Thesis no. AE-82-17
Subject(s)Rice--Drying--Economic aspects
NoteA thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirement for the degree of Master of Engineering, School of Environment, Resources and Development
PublisherAsian Institute of Technology
AbstractA series of paddy drying tests were conducted in a flat bed dryer using heated and unheated-air to compare the drying costs, moisture removal rates and the milling quality. The grain depth was 0.30 meter and the airflow rates were 7.64 and 9.16 cubic meter-min/square meter. A temperature of 43.0°c was maintained in the heated-air drying tests. The initial moisture contents of the paddy were 20.0 and 22.0% wet basis. The experimental and the simulated moisture removal rates in heated-air and unheated-air were in good agreement statistically showing that the drying models could be effectively used in the economic analysis. The heated-air drying was more economical than unheated-air drying due to the extended period of drying needed with unheated-air. It was found that a 3-horsepower engine would give the m1n1mum drying costs for the unheated-air, but heated-air drying costs always increased with increase in engine horsepower, The ratio of the unheated-air to heated-air drying cost varied in the range 2:1 to 3:1 depending on the engine horsepower applied. The quality of the paddy dried with unheated-air was significantly better than the quality of paddy obtained in the heated-air tests. However, the possible premium due to improvement of the quality dried with unheated-air was not included in the economic analysis due to the uncertainties in the present marketing practices in the Philippines.
Year1982
TypeThesis
SchoolSchool of Environment, Resources, and Development
DepartmentDepartment of Food, Agriculture and Natural Resources (Former title: Department of Food Agriculture, and BioResources (DFAB))
Academic Program/FoSAgricultural and Food Engineering (AE)
Chairperson(s)Jindal, Vinod Kumar
Examination Committee(s)Vokes, Richard W. A. ; Exell, Robert H.B.
Scholarship Donor(s)The ASEAN-USAID
DegreeThesis (M.Eng.) - Asian Institute of Technology, 1982


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