A liquid diffusion model for thin-layer drying of rough rice

Abstract

In this study, the drying behavior of single-layer rough rice with a moisture content of between 22 and 24% on the dry basis was simulated by means of a liquid diffusion model, based on a prolate spheroid geometry. For this purpose, the solution of liquid diffusion equation was fitted to the experimental moisture ratios for drying air temperatures between 40 and 60 °C and velocity 1.5 m s−1. In order to make a comparison, the predictions of liquid diffusion equations for a spherical and finite cylindrical geometry were also fitted to the experimental results. Modeling was performed by selecting the diffusion coefficients in diffusion equations in such a manner as to minimize the sum of the squared differences between the experimental results and the theoretical predictions. It was found that the liquid diffusion model, based on a prolate spheroid geometry, explains single-layer drying behavior of rough rice well. It was also found that the model, based on a prolate spheroid geometry, has better agreement with the experimental results than the other geometries.