Study of the performance of natural air / low temperature in-bin drying of different corn types using simulation.

RICARDO BARTOSIK; DIRK MAIER

Campinas, Brasil

Conferencia; 9th International Working Conference on Stored Product Protection.; 2006

The use of simulation for studying natural air / low temperature (NA/LT) in-bin drying systems is a common practice. This tool was used in the past to determine, for instance, the most convenient airflow rate, the most convenient fan and burner control strategy according to the weather conditions, and the maximum allowable initial moisture content. However, the effect of different corn types on drying performance was never studied before. Bartosik (2005) studied the adsorption and desorption EMC relationships of three corn types (yellow dent, white and waxy) and concluded that they were significantly different. The specific EMC relationships of these three different corn types were programmed into a NA/LT in-bin drying simulation tool (PHAST-FDM). The PHAST-FDM was validated with the white and yellow dent corn types, and the in-bin drying of the three corn types was studied in four locations in the Midwestern Corn Belt (Evansville, Indiana; Indianapolis, Indiana; Des Moines, Iowa; North Platte, Nebraska). It was found that the Drying Cost for the yellow dent corn type was the lowest for all locations, followed by the white corn type and last by the waxy corn type. The difference in the Drying Cost was more significant in the northern regions (North Platte, Nebraska), where the Drying Cost for the white corn type was 17.0% more expensive than the Drying Cost for the yellow dent corn type, while the waxy corn type was 52.2% more expensive. The higher Drying Cost predicted for the white and waxy corn types was related to the longer drying time required for these two corn types when compared to the drying time required for the yellow dent corn type. Although it was a common knowledge among farmers that different corn types had different drying time (and drying cost), this information was never quantified before