Sadili, Christian Mark Nadela, Junnette John L.

Vergara, Johnrylle Patrick Dryers

BSME-4 ME 426 ML Engr. Ronald Galindo

People have been drying food for thousands of years by placing the food on mats in the sun. Dehydration, or drying, is a simple, low-cost way to preserve food that might otherwise spoil. Drying removes water and thus prevents fermentation or the growth of molds. It also slows the chemical changes that take place naturally in foods, as when fruit ripens. Surplus grain, vegetables, and fruit preserved by drying can be stored for future use. This simple method, however, allows the food to be contaminated by dust, airborne molds and fungi, insects, rodents, and other animals. Furthermore, open air drying is often not possible in humid climates. Through the advancement of technology, mechanical dryers nowadays replaced the traditional method of drying. Nonetheless, this paper will majorly focus on the potato dryer. Potato flakes are the most important form of dehydrated potato products, which also include potato granules, pellets, powder, shredded and sliced potato. Dehydrated potato flakes are made by pressing cooked mashed potatoes onto a drum drier, which forms a sheet that can be broken up and ground to the required density. Potato flakes can be used anywhere, where one would use mashed potatoes. Fig.1 Flow Chart for Potato Flakes Fig.2 Plant Layout

Fully ripe and matured potatoes are selected and they are thoroughly washed in either soak tanks or rotary washers to remove dust and dirt. Then they are peeled and cut into cubes or slice or stick form. Then they are dewatered and dried for a period of 3 to 4 hours to bring down the moisture level to around 10%. Further drying is carried out in a bin dryer to bring down the moisture level to around 5%. Then they are cooled and packed. To make potato powder, dehydrated slices are pulverised to the required mesh size and during this process, a small quantity of aluminium silicate is added to avoid formation of cake.

Suggested Potato Dryer Working principles of Potato Dryer: During operation, air will entered into the dryer and heated through heat exchanger, adapts scientific and reasonable cycle method, the hot air will pass through raw materials to be dried on the bed and carry out uniform heat exchange, under the action of cycle fan, hot air stream inside each unit of the dryer will carry out hot air cycle, finally air with low temperature and high damp will be out, the whole drying process with stable and high effect will be finished.

Potato Flakes

Calculation of the quantity of water to be evaporated is explained below with a sample calculation. If the throughput of the dryer is 60 kg of wet product per hour, drying it from 55% moisture to 10% moisture, the heat requirement is: 60 kg of wet product contains 60 x 0.55 kg water = 33 kg moisture and 60 x (1 - 0.55) = 27 kg bone-dry product. As the final product contains 10% moisture, the moisture in the product is 27/9 = 3 kg and so moisture removed = (33 - 3) = 30 kg Latent heat of evaporation = 2257 kJ kg-1(at 100 C so heat necessary to supply = 30 x 2257 = 6.8 x l04 kJ Estimation of drying time The rate of drying is determined for a sample of substance by suspending it in a cabinet or duct, in a stream of air from a balance. The weight of the drying sample can then be measured as a function of time from wet product to bone dry product. While different solids and different conditions of drying often give rise to curves of very different shapes in the falling rate period, the curve shown above occurs frequently. During the above measurements, the following conditions are to be followed. 1. The sample should be subjected to similar conditions of radiant heat transfer 2. Air should have the same temperature, humidity & velocity

Design 1. The dimensions of the dryer bin will be set wherein the value of length is twice the value of width; the height is equal to depth of the bed grain plus an allowance of 0.15m. The depth of the bed grain will be set to 0.15m. The plenum chamber will have a height of 0.15m. The density of the paddy is assumed to be 900kg/m3. 2. The specification of the blower will have a volume flow rate range that can deliver an air velocity of 0.05m/s 0.10m/s corresponding to the calculated area of the dryer bin, which will be measured with a venturi meter. This is to check and calculate the minimum fluidization velocity using equation 1.6. 3. The heat flow output of the electric heater that will be used will be adjustable in such a way that the final temperature falls in the range of 400C 500C, as suggested by the Department of Agriculture, with the corresponding mass flow rate. The overall heat transfer coefficient, h, will be solve using the equations

by solving Tf and using table A1 from the appendix, the value for , C, , kf, and Pr are attainable. Using table A2 from appendix, n and C are attainable. where: = Nusselt number d = diameter of the cylinder kf = thermal conductivity n,C = constants Ref = Reynolds number Pr = Prandtl number Tf = film temperature Ts = surface temperature = temperature of the fluid far from the surface = density of air V = velocity = absolute viscosity.

Time for air drying at constant rate (sample) 100 kg of food material are dried from an initial water content of 80% on a wet basis and with a surface area of 12 m2. Estimate the time needed to dry to 50% moisture content on a wet basis, assuming constant-rate drying in air at a temperature of 120C dry bulb and 50C wet bulb. Under the conditions in the dryer, measurements indicate the heat-transfer coefficient to the food surface from the air to be 18 J m-2 s-1 C-1. From the data Xo = 0.8/(1 - 0.8) = 4 kg kg-1, Xf = 0.5/(1 - 0.5) = 1 kg kg-1, and from the psychrometric chart, Ys = 0.087 and Ya = 0.054 kg kg-1 From the Lewis relationship (Eqn. 7.5) k'g = 18 g m-2 s-1 = 0.018 kg m-2 w = 100(1 - 0.8) = 20 kg Now we have and so (dw /dt )const. = k'gA(Ys -Ya) t = w ( Xo - Xf) / [k'gA(Ys -Ya)]

t = 20(4 - 1)/[0.018 x 12 x (0.087 - 0.054)] = 60/7.128 x 10 = 8417 s = 2.3 h (to remove 60 kg of water).