Industrial Drying Research Articles

On the industrial solar drying of tomatoes in Biskra : A preliminary study

The objective of this study is to carry out a pre-feasibility study of solar industrial drying as a preliminary step before investing in large-scale solar drying projects in Algeria. Our primary goal is to promote the use of industrial solar dryers and to incite public authorities and industrials to invest in this promising niche. This work aims to strengthen the contribution of renewable energies and particularly solar energy in the sustainable development of the agri-food sector. Indeed, using solar energy will reduce the energy consumption and decrease greenhouse gas emissions of drying process. The prefeasibility analysis is achieved using the RETScreen Suite. Our study aims to investigate energy consumption of an industrial solar dryer of tomatoes, located in the city of Biskra. Various parameters as solar collector type and drying air temperature were tested and discussed. The obtained results showed a reduction in energy consumption up to 35%. Likewise, the reduction of GHG emissions recorded very favorable rates. This study's findings provide a preliminary vision for investors in the agri-food sector to build their project so they may maximize their profit while supporting the environment by lowering carbon emissions.

Effects of Different Drying Methods on the Structural Characteristics and Multiple Bioactivities of Rosa roxburghii Tratt Fruit Polysaccharides.

Drying conditions significantly impact the compositions and microstructures of polysaccharides, leading to various effects on their chemical characteristics and bioactivities. The objective of this study was to investigate how different industrial drying techniques, i.e., hot air drying, infrared drying, microwave vacuum drying, and freeze drying, affect the structural properties and biological activities of polysaccharides extracted from Rosa roxburghii Tratt fruit (RRTP). Results revealed that these drying methods significantly altered the extraction yield, molecular weights, monosaccharide ratios, contents of uronic acid and total sugars, gelling properties, particle sizes, thermal stability, and microstructures of RRTPs. However, the monosaccharide composition and functional groups of polysaccharides remained consistent across the different drying techniques. Biological activity assays demonstrated that RRTPs, particularly those processed through microwave vacuum drying (MVD-RRTP), exhibited excellent anti-linoleic acid oxidation, robust anti-glycosylation effects, and significant α-glucosidase inhibition in vitro. The outcomes of this research demonstrate that microwave vacuum drying serves as an effective pre-extraction drying method for RRTPs, enhancing their biological activities. This technique is particularly advantageous for preparing RRTPs intended for use in functional foods and pharmaceuticals, optimizing their health-promoting properties for industrial applications.

Predictive study of drying process for limonite pellets using MLP artificial neural network model

Due to the decline in high-grade iron ore production, the utilization of low-grade iron ore, such as limonite, has become necessary. Limonite contains a significant amount of bound water, which requires a drying process prior to use. Excessive heat stress caused by the evaporation of bound and free water during the drying of limonite pellets can lead to pellet disintegration and adversely affect gas-solid reactions. In recent years, artificial neural network (ANN) has been developing continuously in the fields of modeling and intelligent control, and has been widely used. Many predecessors used artificial neural network model to study the drying process of natural organic matter, and analyzed the factors affecting the drying rate of organic matter. In this study, we employed big data analysis, specifically Multilayer Perceptron (MLP) artificial neural networks, to analyze the drying process of limonite pellets and successfully established a predictive drying model applicable to limonite pellets. The MLP artificial neural network demonstrated excellent fitting between predicted and experimental values, with a maxi-mum R2 value of 0.999. The artificial neural network for drying developed in this study provides technical guidance for industrial material drying, reduces the workload of manual measurements, and minimizes energy consumption.

Drying kinetics and energy efficiency of soot ash of smelting silicon manganese alloys under microwave heating

When smelting silicon manganese alloy in an industrial electric furnace, it will produce smoke and dust waste gas, which can be utilized again back to the furnace and improve the utilization rate of raw materials after a particular trapping device and collection treatment. However, at higher moisture levels, they are prone to explode. Effects of various initial masses, initial moisture contents, and microwave output powers on the soot ash of smelting silicon manganese alloy were studies. The findings indicate that the microwave drying rate increases with all three variables. The time for complete microwave drying is directly proportional to the sample's initial moisture content and the sample's initial mass, and the time for complete microwave drying is inversely proportional to the microwave output power. The results demonstrate that the Modified Page model can accurately describe the microwave drying process. The experimental data were fitted experimentally by drying kinetic models. Microscopic characterization of soot ash from refining silico‑manganese alloys before and after drying was carried out using FTIR and SEM. Through FTIR characterization, the peak value of the -OH absorption peak decreases upon drying, and SEM results in no agglomeration caused by microwave drying and better dispersion of the soot ash of the dried smelted silica‑manganese alloys, all of which proved that microwaves could effectively remove water. It was discovered that the diffusion coefficient increased gradually with increasing power when it was computed using Fick's second law. The diffusion coefficient increases and then decreases as the moisture content increases. The diffusion coefficient decreases as the initial mass increases. Activation energy of microwave drying of soot ash from the refining of silicomanganese alloys was calculated to be −1.4467 W/g. Its purpose is to offer a detailed guide for the industrial drying of soot ash from silicomanganese alloy refinement using microwave drying technology.

Developments in scale-up procedures for industrial dryers

The aim of dryer scale-up is to increase batch size, or throughput of a continuous process, while maintaining final moisture content, product quality, end-use properties, safety and reliability. This article reviews and updates previously published material on scale-up processes of dryers in general and individual dryer types, particularly material from a Drying Technology special issue on scale-up in 1994. This is adapted to give a basic generic theory for scale-up, applying this to various dryers and noting specific exceptions. It is demonstrated that simplifying assumptions can often be reliably made for scale-up which reduce the level of complexity for modeling compared to equipment design and performance calculations. For example, prediction of drying rate and drying time in spray and flash dryers needs a kinetic model, but for scale-up a heat balance and scaling calculation usually suffices. Approximations such as a one-third power law for drying time are often effective. It is shown that there is some theoretical basis for empirical scale-up rules that have been used by dryer manufacturers. Scale-down is also important, selecting the most appropriate conditions for small-scale tests that will correspond to the desired performance at commercial scale. The individual concepts are not new, but they have not previously been unified into a simply stated general basis for scale-up.

Assessing the Applicability of Solar Thermal Technologies for Industrial Tea Drying

Most process heat being used for various industrial applications is supplied from fossil fuels. Coal, gas, and wood fuel are the most used heat resources which usually power steam boilers for production of heat used in a wide range of industrial processes. Since economic growth is largely linked to industrial production, it implies that, a shift towards use of clean energy technologies in industries is crucial to meet the rising demand of process heat while, cutting down carbon emissions to mitigate climate change. Solar thermal systems have over the past years shown potential as a practical alternative to fossil fuels for production of heat for several applications including, water and space heating, industrial process heating and electricity generation in thermal power plants. This study seeks to assess the feasibility of employing solar thermal technologies for drying purposes at Tingamira-Tanganda Tea estate in Zimbabwe. Systems advisor model (SAM) was applied to simulate performance of linear Fresnel (LF) and parabolic trough (PT) solar thermal technologies for industrial tea drying. Information on daily heat demand, required process temperatures and current heat sources was obtained to inform the design process of the proposed solar thermal systems. LF system exhibited better techno-economic performance. It requires a smaller collector area (360 m2) with a lower initial capital cost which is about 8% cheaper. Moreover, it produces higher annual energy at lower levelized cost of heat for solar multiples higher than 1. Carbon footprint of the factory would be reduced by about 114 tonnes CO2 annually. Sensible thermal energy storage technology can be considered for back up heat and heat recovery.

Tribological Behavior of Friction Materials Containing Aluminum Anodizing Waste Obtained by Different Industrial Drying Processes

With sustainability dominating the industry, recycling the generated waste from different processes is becoming increasingly important. This study focuses on recycling waste generated during aluminum anodizing waste (AAW) in friction material formulations for automotive braking applications. However, before utilization, the waste needs to be pre-treated, which mainly involves drying. Hence, four different industrial drying methods were studied to dry the AAW, and the corresponding characteristics were observed by evaluating its residual humidity and crushability index. The waste powders were further characterized using FT-IR and SEM/EDXS to understand their constituents. The initial analysis showed that the waste subjected to the drying process P2 and P1 with the lowest final humidity fetched the most desirable results, with P1 having the simpler drying procedure. The AAW powders were added in a commercial friction material formulation at 6 and 12 wt.% and subjected to friction, wear, and non-exhaust particulate matter analysis. The worn surfaces were analyzed using SEM/EDXS evaluation to understand the extension and composition of the deposited secondary contact plateaus. It was seen that the 12 wt.% addition of waste processed using the P1 technique provided the most satisfactory friction, wear, and emission characteristics, along with expansive secondary contact plateaus with a good contribution of the waste in its formation. This study showed a good relationship between the processing method and a formulation’s tribological and emission characteristics, thereby paving the way for using this drying method for other waste requiring pre-treatment.

Design, Construction, and Investigation of the Drying Equipment Using Solar Power for Bangladeshi Fruits and Vegetables

In underdeveloped nations where fuel and electricity are expensive, crop drying using solar power is a practical and affordable method of food preservation. For farmers in rural areas, it can be difficult or impossible to preserve fruits for later use without access to fuel and huge drying systems. Drying of potatoes in the sun is carried out with industrial dryers integrating solar power. This experiment shows how to design and optimize drying systems for usage in developing nations. A model of an industrial sun-drying system has been created and validated through experimental testing. The ambient temperature is between 28°C and 33°C, while the drying chamber’s temperature ranges from 30°C to 48°C at a flow rate of 1.8 m/s. The moisture content of the dried potato sample was 84.7% and 8.27% under loaded conditions and using only silica gel respectively. We use a photovoltaic (PV) solar panel-powered heating element coil in combination with solar energy that improves the efficiency of agricultural dryers.

Thin‐layer mathematical modeling for drying of turmeric slices in infrared dryer

AbstractDrying is an important unit operation in the turmeric processing chain. This research investigates the kinetics of drying turmeric slices using infrared dryer. The drying was performed at temperatures of 50, 60, and 70°C for slice thickness of 2, 4, and 6 mm. The drying temperature 70°C and slice thickness of 2 mm showed the highest drying rate. The highest curcumin and oleoresin yield with color retention was observed at the drying temperature of 60°C at 2‐mm slice thickness. Thirteen thin‐layer drying models were employed to evaluate the experimental drying kinetics of turmeric slices. The model Verma et al. showed the best fit with an R2 value of 0.99 with the least RMSE and chi‐squared values as 0.0193 and 3.73E−04, respectively. The activation energy for the turmeric slices of thickness 2, 4, and 6 mm ranged between 37.31 and 52.95, 48.78 and 57.51, and 46.79 and 57.37 kJ/mol for 50, 60, and 70°C, respectively.Practical applicationsThis research offers significant potential for improving the efficiency and quality of turmeric drying in industrial settings. The infrared drying enables accelerated drying of turmeric. The optimized infrared drying conditions (60°C and 2‐mm slice thickness) can significantly reduce drying time compared to conventional methods. This translates to increased throughput and minimized postharvest losses, especially in large‐scale turmeric processing facilities. The preservation of curcumin, oleoresin, and color at the optimized conditions ensures the production of high‐value turmeric products with superior nutritional and sensory attributes. This can lead to increased consumer appeal, brand differentiation, and potentially higher market prices for turmeric‐based foods, supplements, and nutraceuticals. The infrared drying technology can be prescribed to the industries over the existing industrial drying techniques. The cost‐effectiveness of the method, coupled with its potential for quality improvements and reduced drying time, makes it a viable option for turmeric processors seeking to enhance their operations.

Troubleshooting and problem-solving in industrial dryers

Dryers are designed once but then operate for many years, and it is important to have systematic methods to solve problems when they arise. Kemp and Gardiner proposed a systematic methodology in 2001, based on categorization of problems into five main types and a divergent-convergent algorithm to identify both root causes and potential solutions. This approach to troubleshooting has proved successful for dryers in a range of industries. This article reviews the experience gained, some resulting improvements, and overlap and synergy with other investigation methods such as Lean Six Sigma techniques. An extensive range of case studies is given, illustrating the successful application of the methodology to many different situations and dryer types. The broad approach has remained the same but various points of detail have been added. Appropriate theoretical models can give useful insights, often using quite simple methods such as heat and mass balances and drying times estimated with first-order kinetics. The insights can solve other drying-related problems such as caking in storage. The methods can also be used for process improvement, debottlenecking, and enhanced product quality.

Extension of a clustering identification approach to multivariable piecewise affine systems: Application to an industrial dryer

The main objective of this paper is the extension of the clustering-based identification approach to Multi-Input Multi-Output (MIMO) PieceWise Affine systems (PWA). This approach is performed by three main steps which are data clustering, parameters matrices estimation and regions computing. Data clustering is the most important step because the performances depend on the results given by the used clustering algorithm. In the case of MIMO PWA systems, we should cluster matrices of parameters which are considered high dimensional data. However, most of the conventional clustering algorithms are not efficient since the similarity assessment which is based on the distances between objects is fruitless in high dimension space. Therefore, we propose an extension of the DBSCAN (Density Based Spatial Clustering of Applications with Noise) clustering technique to identify MIMO PWA systems. The simulation results presented in this paper illustrate the performance of the proposed method. An application to an industrial dryer of Di-Calcium Phosphate (DCP) is also presented in order to strengthen the simulation results.

Microwave drying of yerba mate leaves: kinetics modeling and techno-economic analysis

Ilex paraguariensis, known as yerba mate, is a native species from South America widely used in the preparation of drinks, with several bioactive compounds. Its industrial drying process is archaic and associated to the contamination of the leaves with carcinogenic compounds. Previous study reported microwave drying of yerba mate as a potential alternative for its drying, but there are no studies on the techno or economic aspects of this process. Hence, this study aims to determine the drying kinetics on the yerba mate leaves (YML) using the microwave assisted drying method, and to provide a techno-economics analysis for different production and rate of return of investment scenarios. Microwave drying (MWD) of yerba mate was conducted at different powers (675, 945, and 1,215 W), and conventional kinetics models were fitted to the experimental data. A techno-economics analysis was conducted considering the processing of 10 – 100 kg YML/h in an agribusiness located in South Brazil. As results, the different microwave powers resulted in different equilibrium moisture content, and only the MWD at 1,215 W achieved Brazilian’s legislation requirement of 10 % of moisture (wet basis). Page’s drying kinetics model presented the best fitting to the experimental data, and its parameters were used in the study of economic viability. Finally, a required selling price of 19.88 US$/kg was calculated for the selling of the dried YML, resulting in a time of return of investment of 1 year for an agribusiness processing 100 kg YML/h.

Reducing Energy Consumption and Greenhouse Gas Emissions of Industrial Drying Processes in Lithium-Ion Battery Cell Production: A Qualitative Technology Benchmark

As the world’s automotive battery cell production capacity expands, so too does the demand for sustainable production. Much of the industry’s efforts are aimed at reducing the high energy consumption in battery cell production. A key driver is electrode drying, which is currently performed in long ovens using large volumes of hot air. Several drying technologies from other industries could reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions if successfully applied to battery cell production. High process and quality requirements must be met when adapting these technologies for battery cell production. Evaluating the technologies against these requirements is difficult due to the technological novelty of this industry and the associated lack of data. Furthermore, the significant differences in drying technologies render a comparison even more challenging. One objective of this study was to evaluate drying technologies and identify those that could be best adapted to lithium-ion battery cell production. Near-infrared and laser drying were found to be the best in terms of energy efficiency, cost savings and other parameters. Another aim was to analyse, in more detail, the technological challenges and the advantages and disadvantages of the top-ranked drying technologies. Finally, the saving potential for greenhouse gas emissions of near-infrared and laser drying was calculated for a global production scenario of LIB cells in 2030. The saving potential in this scenario would amount to 2.63 million metric tonnes (Mt) CO2eq per year if near-infrared drying was applied in all global LIB cell production facilities within the mentioned scenario and 1.47 million Mt CO2eq per year for laser drying.

A High-Efficiency Radio-Frequency-Assisted Hot-Air Drying Method for the Production of Restructured Bitter Melon and Apple Chips.

Nowadays, consumers are increasingly demanding processed food products with high levels of beneficial components. Bitter melon and apple are both nutritious foods rich in bioactive compounds. In this study, restructured bitter melon and apple chips were processed using four drying techniques: hot-air drying with/without exhaust air recirculation (EAR), and radio-frequency-assisted hot-air drying (RFHAD) with/without EAR. The drying characteristics, effective moisture diffusivity (Deff), specific energy consumption (SEC), total energy consumption (TEC), and some selected quality characteristics of the dehydrated chips were evaluated. The experimental results show that the application of radio frequency (RF) energy significantly facilitates water evaporation in the drying material, resulting in a significant (p < 0.05) reduction of drying duration by 31~39% over the experimental test parameters. The higher Deff values obtained from RFHAD and RFHAD + EAR were 6.062 × 10-9 to 6.889 × 10-9 m2/s, while lower SEC values ranged from 301.57 to 328.79 kW·h/kg. Furthermore, the dried products possessed better or fairly good quality (such as a lower color difference of 5.41~6.52, a lower shrinkage ratio of 18.24~19.13%, better antioxidant capacity, higher chlorophyll, total flavonoid, and total phenolic content, a lower polyphenol oxidase activity of 49.82~52.04 U·min-1g-1, smaller diameter and thickness changes, and a lower hardness of 27.75~30.48 N) compared to those of hot-air-dried chips. The combination of RF-assisted air drying and partial recirculating of dryer exhaust air achieved the highest saving in TEC of about 12.4%, along with a lower moisture absorption capacity and no deterioration of product quality attributes. This drying concept is therefore recommended for the industrial drying of several food materials.

Potential for Solar Industrial Process Heat Systems for Tea Drying Applications – A Case Study

Abstract An increase in energy consumption especially for industrial applications enhances the uptake of fossil fuels since, they are currently the major sources of industrial process heat and electricity. The need for clean energy technologies is therefore critical, in order to meet the rising energy demand using sustainable energy sources. Solar thermal energy technologies have attracted much attention in terms of research and developmental activities worldwide. The present study seeks to explore the viability of adopting solar thermal technologies at Tingamira - Tanganda Tea estate, Zimbabwe. Data on current sources of heat, daily consumption of process heat and required process temperatures was gathered. Systems advisor model (SAM, version-2021.12.2) was applied to analyse feasibility of linear Fresnel (LF) and Parabolic trough (PT) solar thermal technologies for industrial tea drying. LF system is potentially a better option for producing process heat for low temperature applications. It requires smaller aperture area (360 m2) and a lower initial capital cost of $ 112 860 which is about 8 % cheaper. Also, it yields more energy at lower levelized cost of heat as compared to PT technology when solar multiple is increased up to 2. Replacing wood fuel would reduce the factory carbon footprint by 114 tonnes CO2 annually. Also, potential for sensible rock-bed heat storage systems in the tea factory was assessed. Rock bed sensible TES using natural rocks can avail a viable option for heat storage and about 16 m3 of storage volume would be needed to meet a daily heat demand of 1 MWh.

Postharvest drying of walnuts: Effect of drying methods on walnut quality

It has been demonstrated that drying can significantly promote the antioxidant active substances of fresh walnut, as well as enhance lipid content and conversion of glycerol phospholipids to lysophospholipids in walnut. Currently, oven drying (OD) and natural air drying (NAD) are the two most commonly used drying methods for walnut. However, the differences in their effects on the quality of the final product remain unclear. This study investigated the effect of OD and NAD on the phenotypic and physiological properties and lipid oxidation of four main walnut varieties W10, W179, W185, X2 in Xinjiang, China, and determined the correlations among these properties. The results showed that OD could maintain plump and yellowish white kernels, whereas NAD led to noticeably darker and more wrinkled kernels at the end of drying. In addition, an analysis of quality-related metabolites revealed that two representative lipids PC (18:2_18:2) and PC (18:1_16:0) had completely different patterns under OD and NAD, and the metabolites highly relevant to these two lipids were mainly enriched in amino acid and ascorbate metabolism pathways. Comprehensive physiological and metabolite analysis indicated that OD outperforms NAD in maintaining walnut quality, and may be applied to industrial walnut drying.

Comparison on drying characteristic, efficiency, unit drying cost and quality of maize dried by a novel multi-crop mobile dryer, existing industrial dryer and sun drying method

This research aimed to investigate the effects of different drying methods on drying characteristic, drying efficiency, unit drying cost and quality of maize grain dried by newly developed HSTU multi-crop mobile dryer (HMMD) which was operated by alternative heating sources such as LPG and electric heater (EH), existing HSTU multi-crop industrial dryer (HMID) which was operated by rice husk fired cyclonic furnace and sun drying method. The comparative drying experiments were carried out at the drying temperature of 60±5 °C, 70±5 °C and 80 ± 10 °C for HMMD-LPG, HMMD-EH and HMID, respectively, while sun drying was accomplished at 30±5 °C. The results indicated that the HMMD was capable of drying 820 ± 10 kg maize in each batch from 29.8 ± 0.87 % (wb) moisture to 14 ± 0.56 % (wb). Drying time in HMMD-LPG, HMMD-EH, HMID, and sun drying were 8.24 ± 0.18, 7.36 ± 0.17, 10.18 ± 0.16 and 16.14 ± 0.24 h, respectively, indicated that HMMD reduced time significantly for drying of freshly harvested maize. Unit drying cost in BDT/kg for EH and LPG integrated HMMD was 2.64 ± 0.17 and 1.69 ± 0.10, respectively, while lesser unit cost was found in HMID and sun drying methods. However, drying efficiency of HMMD-LPG was the highest (64.79 ± 1.21 %) while HMID exhibited the lowest drying efficiency (49.42 ± 1.63 %). Mechanically dried grain especially by HMMD-LPG was better or comparable in terms of nutritional quality than sun dried maize. HMMD-LPG and HMMD-EH dried grain exhibited a lower ΔE value than HMID and sun dried samples which indicated that the color properties were not affected so much by the drying method. Furthermore, maize samples dried in HMMD had lower microbial loads than other products. Therefore, the HSTU multi-crop mobile dryer with alternative heating source is recommended as an alternative drying technique for quick and safe management of high moisture maize at farm level in Bangladesh and other subtropical countries in contrast to weather depended sun drying method.

Experimental determination of dynamic pseudo-equilibrium moisture content: A practical limit for the drying process

Simulation and rigorous design of industrial dryers combine a large number of models, which feed three fundamental balances: (1) mass; (2) energy; and (3) quantity of movement of the material through the dryer. Many of these models represent physical phenomena affecting the three balances at the same time, which makes these calculations extremely complex, hence, accurate models are essential. The hypothesis that the kinetic stage of drying of any material culminates in the thermodynamic moisture equilibrium between solid and drying gas has been in effect for many years. However, recent findings show that there is a transition stage between the kinetic stage and the thermodynamic equilibrium, which, experimentally, looks like an equilibrium. The beginning of this transition stage or dynamic pseudo-equilibrium stage would mark the end of the drying kinetics models, which has been named as the dynamic pseudo-equilibrium moisture contents (Xdpe). The non-observance of this phenomenon presupposes a model limited in its prediction capacity, especially in the last stages of drying and even more so at low drying temperatures. As a consequence, sizes of industrial dryers could be underestimated during the simulation and rigorous design process, or underestimate drying times, in batch dryers. On the other hand, the optimal conditions may never be found, during the optimization of existing industrial drying processes. The objective of this work is to present the procedure to determine Xdpe, during the experimental determination of drying curves of any material. Likewise, to propose the practical moisture ratio, which uses Xdpe, instead of the equilibrium moisture, to be used in the modeling of the drying kinetics.•The drying process is divided into three stages: kinetic, transition, and equilibrium.•The dynamic pseudo-equilibrium moisture content divides the kinetic and the transition stages.•The practical moisture ratio should be used in rigorous industrial dryer design calculations.

Microwave drying of bitter yam (Dioscorea bulbifera): An approach of MATLAB image processing to comprehend moisture diffusion process

AbstractThis study examined how microwave power loading (300–600 W) affected Dioscorea bulbifera (BY) slice drying, colorimetric values, moisture diffusion, textural, and rehydration properties. Drying time was reduced from 100 to 40 min with increased microwave power from 300 to 600 W. Drying rate and moisture diffusivity (4.948 × 10−9–1.262 × 10−8 m2/s) enhanced with microwave power and was observed falling rate drying. The initial and final moisture content of BY slices were 87% (w.b.) and 4.5% (w.b.), respectively. The activation energy for BY slices was 9.6 W/g. To illustrate the drying and color change behavior of BY, experimental data were fitted to 10 dryings and 4 color kinetics models. The Midilli–Kucuk model and the Fraction model were the best fitted for moisture and color parameters. The highest efficiency was 55.85% and the lowest specific energy consumption was 9.6 MJ/kg at 600 W microwave power. MATLAB microstructure characterization provided detailed pore analysis of microwave‐dried samples.Practical ApplicationsMicrowave‐dried yam can enhance storability, ease handling and transportation and protect against microbial activity, enzymatic browning and high‐water activity. Mathematical modeling of pretreated microwave‐dried yam is useful for industrial dryer design and large‐scale yam drying production. Additionally, yam flours have the potential for use in numerous applications, including noodles, extrudates, cookies, and bakery products. Further, yam flour may be a binder, thickener, and gelling agent.

The Use of Graph Theory for Modeling and Analyzing the Structure of a Complex System, with the Example of an Industrial Grain Drying Line

This article describes a method for analyzing and modeling a complex agrotechnological system using the example of an industrial grain drying line. Elements of graph theory were used to develop an effective tool for modeling such a system and to formally validate its structure. The proposed method can be applied to transform a general structural model into a set of relational models, to formally evaluate the resulting models’ functionality, and to comprehensively analyze different variants of the process. The method can be deployed at the stage of designing and operating an industrial grain drying line, and it can also be adapted for use in other areas, such as processing lines in the agri-food industry.