Combination high-temperature, ambient-air drying.

ABSTRACT THE results of four years of high temperature, high-speed drying followed by in-storage, ambient-air dry-ing are presented. These results show that combination drying results in a reduction in propane or natural gas energy requirements compared to conventional high-temperature drying with in-dryer cooling. Electrical energy requirements are increased as a result of the in-storage phase of drying. In-storage drying performance using ambient air, supplemental solar heat and supplemental constant source heat is evaluated using computer simulation. The results show that ambient air pro-vides an efficient and effective means of drying. Addition of supplemental heat to the in-storage phase provides a modest increase in drying reliability. The total energy in-put for in-storage drying using supplemental heat from a fossil-fuel-derived source is significantly higher than with ambient-air drying.