Drying and quality performance of dragon blood’s resin (Daemonorops sp.) exposed to solar and oven drying

Dragon blood’s resin is obtained by extracting the dragon blood’s fruit with organic or non-organic solvents. Following extraction, drying process is usually carried out to dry the wet resin. The drying techniques used is assumed to affect not only the drying performance but also the quality of the dragon blood’s resin, in particular its active ingredient content (dracorhodin). The purpose of this study was to measure and compare the effect of solar and oven drying on the drying performance and quality of dragon blood’s resin. The oven temperature used was 60°C. Both drying techniques were executed until the resin dried which was indicated by color change and its easiness to rupture. The results showed that solar drying of dragon blood required shorter time (210 minutes) with higher drying rate (0.25%/minute) than the oven drying process which need 250 minutes to finish with a drying rate of 0.14%/minute. Except the ash content of solar dried resin, other post-drying quality parameters of dragon blood resin from both drying techniques have met the Indonesia standard for trading purpose (SNI 8663:2018). Further statistical analysis confirmed that the drying techniques applied significantly affected the drying rate and post-drying quality values of dragon blood’s resin.

Drying Characteristics and Quality of Fresh White Waxy Corn Under Different Drying Methods

The drying characteristics and drying quality of fresh white waxy corn were investigated under three different drying methods (sun drying, hot-air drying and far-infrared drying) and different drying temperatures (55 °C, 60 °C, 65 °C, 70 °C, 75 °C, 80 °C). The optimal drying method and drying condition were obtained by comparing the drying time and drying quality including damage rate, rehydration capacity and the contents of protein, fatty acid and starch. The results showed that the drying time of sun drying was the longest, while the drying quality was the best, i.e., the damage rate was the lowest and the nutrient retention was the highest. The far-infrared drying time was shorter and the quality was better than that of hot air drying. The higher the temperature, the faster the drying rate. The optimal drying temperature was 60 °C under far-infrared drying, which can effectively remove the water and keep the food quality. Besides, the drying rate was faster than hot air, and the color of the dried products was brighter. When hot air drying was used, the value of fatty acids did not change much below 65 °C, but it rose sharply above 65 °C. The optimal drying temperature was 65 °C, under which the drying rate was moderate and the quality was relatively good. If the production cost was considered, sun drying was the best, following the 60 °C far-infrared drying. This conclusion can provide a reference for the drying conditions of corn after harvest in agricultural production, and to a certain extent provide suggestions for the later drying treatment methods and treatment temperatures of fresh white waxy corn.

Research on Energy-Saving Experimental of Critical Dehumidification of Combined Drying by Dehumidification Wheel and Heat Pump

In order to further decrease the energy consumption of desiccant wheel dehumidification, the drying medium circulation characteristics of a system combining heat pump drying with desiccant wheel dehumidification were investigated. Moreover, the critical dehumidification conversion mechanism was studied. The analysis of the heat pump hot air circulation system demonstrated that the heat pump system has the best dehumidification efficiency. Through the analysis of the system combining heat pump drying with desiccant wheel dehumidification, the critical conversion point was determined. The critical dehumidification mechanism was further verified using an online temperature and humidity measurement system. To investigate the effect of the critical point on energy consumption and drying quality and develop a drying model, response surface experiments were performed based on the effects of regeneration temperature, drying temperature, and conversion point relative humidity on rehydration, color difference, and specific moisture extraction rate (SMER). The optimal conversion point humidity was determined to be about 46% RH, which was slightly different from the test optimization value of 45.6% RH. In addition, comprehensive optimization and experimental verification of the influencing factors were conducted. The results demonstrated that the R2 values of the three models were greater than 0.98, and the experimental factors had a significant effect on drying quality and energy consumption. When the regeneration temperature was 96°C, the drying temperature was 53°C, the relative humidity of the conversion point was 46%, the color difference was 46.3, the rehydration ratio was 5.75, and the SMER was 1.62 kg/kW·h.

Drying of oak wood lamellas: Part 1. Analysis of the process in a dehumidification kiln

The subject of this paper is to analyse the drying process of oak lamellas, which are the solid wood top layer of engineered wood flooring. The focus of the first part of the paper is on dehumidification kilns. Drying in a dehumidification kiln is an interesting alternative to conventional drying of thin solid oak wood with the aim of reaching high drying quality in a reasonable time. Drying tests were done in an industrial dehumidification kiln, and drying parameters were compared with the drying in the conventional kiln. Simultaneously, a drying test at a higher temperature was done in the programmable climate chamber. It was demonstrated that thin oak lamellas (approx. 5 mm thick) could be successfully dried in a dehumidification kiln in a relatively short time and with high drying quality. With the applied drying schedule (initial temperature of 36?C, final temperature of 46?C), the drying cycle will last 2 to 5 days, depending on the amount of wood and the initial MC. Due to the high rate of water evaporation and the inability of the kilns to remove it fast enough, the drying of lamellas in both dehumidification and conventional kilns takes place at a higher equilibrium moisture content than the set values.

Optimizing lumber drying schedules for Oriental beech and sessile oak using acoustic emission

The aim of this work was to detect sounds providing evidence of the creation of drying defects and to correlate such data with drying quality. A further goal was to establish sound wave thresholds of ideal drying through the drying process by using an acoustic emission (AE) monitoring method. Thus, it is projected to decrease long drying times and also drying costs by reaching to ideal drying schedules. In this study, commercially preferred sessile oak and oriental beech structural lumbers were dried with three different schedules in a conventional kiln. The lumbers were “listened to” with AE sensors while drying according to the first two schedules, which were called protective and severe, respectively. AE events of the drying experiments were compared with ambient conditions and drying classes according to the standard of European Drying Group. The third drying schedule was optimized based on the AE peaks and applied. The results showed that ideal drying times were reduced up to 19% relative to the protective drying schedule, while obtaining the same drying quality for both species.