Performance of dehumidifier drying machine for soybean seeds drying

Abstract

The number of soybean consumption in Indonesia has increased every year. However, the amount of domestic production is still insufficient and continues to decline, so imports must be carried out. A strategy used to increase soybean production is by using a good quality of seeds. Drying with low relative humidity can reduce the drying temperature so that the quality of the seeds is maintained. A performance test was conducted by a dehumidifier drying machine with the temperature of 30°C, 40°C, 50°C and oven drying as control at 40°C. Drying was carried out until the moisture content reach 10-11% with every 30 minutes observations. The result showed that the dehumidifier drying machine gave constant air temperature and relative humidity at the drying chamber during the drying period. Duration of drying at the temperature of 30°C, 40°C, 50°C, and control was 7 hours; 6 hours; 3 hours; and 7.5 hours respectively. The application of a dehumidifier drying machine can reduce humidity up to 54% so that soybean drying can run faster than oven drying. A germination test could reach 87.96% in dehumidifier drying at 40°C which is higher than the control. This result showed that dehumidifier drying did not cause significant damage to soybean seeds.