Authors : Mohamad Djaeni, Fauzan Irfandy and Febiani Dwi Utari
Abstract: This research discusses the effective moisture diffusivity on paddy drying with air dehumidified by zeolite. The paddy with an initial moisture content of 22% (wet basis) was dried in fluidized bed dryer at different temperature ranging 40-60°C. As a response, the moisture content in paddy was observed every 10 min for operational drying time 90 min. In doing so, a mathematical model was developed to predict the effective moisture diffusivity that was validated with average moisture content from the experiment. Result showed that the effective moisture diffusivity of paddy dried with zeolite was higher than that of without zeolite. The model also can fit with the experiment and be able to describe the moisture distribution accurately. Moreover, the quality of paddy based on proximate analysis during the drying process was acceptable and comparable with the quality of paddy dried without zeolite.
Mohamad Djaeni, Fauzan Irfandy and Febiani Dwi Utari, 2019. Effect of Temperature on Effective Moisture Diffusivity in Paddy Drying with Dehumidified Air. Journal of Engineering and Applied Sciences, 14: 9592-9597.