Analysis of Thermodynamic Events Taking Place during Vacuum Drying of Corn

Ľubomír Šooš (), František Urban, Iveta Čačková (), Ľudovít Kolláth, Peter Mlynár, Viliam Čačko and Jozef Bábics
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Ľubomír Šooš: Institute of Manufacturing Systems, Environmental Technology and Quality Management, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Slovak University of Technology in Bratislava, 812 31 Bratislava, Slovakia
František Urban: Institute of Energy Machinery, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Slovak University of Technology in Bratislava, 812 31 Bratislava, Slovakia
Iveta Čačková: Institute of Manufacturing Systems, Environmental Technology and Quality Management, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Slovak University of Technology in Bratislava, 812 31 Bratislava, Slovakia
Ľudovít Kolláth: Institute of Manufacturing Systems, Environmental Technology and Quality Management, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Slovak University of Technology in Bratislava, 812 31 Bratislava, Slovakia
Peter Mlynár: Institute of Energy Machinery, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Slovak University of Technology in Bratislava, 812 31 Bratislava, Slovakia
Viliam Čačko: Institute of Manufacturing Systems, Environmental Technology and Quality Management, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Slovak University of Technology in Bratislava, 812 31 Bratislava, Slovakia
Jozef Bábics: Institute of Manufacturing Systems, Environmental Technology and Quality Management, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Slovak University of Technology in Bratislava, 812 31 Bratislava, Slovakia

Sustainability, 2024, vol. 16, issue 2, 1-20

Abstract: Agricultural materials (LF products) can be considered biologically living organisms due to their structure and the composition of colloidal capillary-porous substances in them. They contain a large number of microscopic pores, microcapillaries and macrocapillaries, in which water is able to pass from the inner parts to the surface of the grain, and vice versa. Thus, it can be concluded that drying is an important and demanding aspect of agricultural production. To determine the optimal drying process for agricultural cereals from a nutritional, energy, economic and environmental point of view, it is necessary to address in detail the application of the technology of vacuum drying from a thermodynamic point of view. An analysis of the research results shows that drying temperature, harvest date and corn variety can significantly affect the properties of the main components of corn grain. This study investigates the individual technological parameters of the vacuum drying process for corn, such as the pressure used in the drying chamber, the grain drying temperature and the heating time, in order to achieve a maximum reduction in water content. The aim of the investigation is to determine the optimal parameters for the design of a functional prototype of a vacuum dryer. For this purpose, laboratory and semi-operational experiments using different types of organic materials are necessary. The structural design of the individual elements of the vacuum dryer is based on an analysis of laboratory and experimental tests, whose results are presented in this article.

Keywords: vacuum drying; high efficiency; agricultural crops; nutritional value; energy recovery (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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