Effect of the Treatment Temperature on the Surface Drying Set of Sugi Boxed-Heart Square Timber

High-temperature and controlled humidity treatment before drying has proven to be highly effective in preventing surface checks by forming drying sets in the surface layer of boxed-heart square timber in Japan. In this study, we examined the differences of the surface drying sets on sugi timber under different treatment temperatures. As a result, the width of a surface check after drying was much smaller at a treatment temperature of 120°C than at 80°C, and this indicates that the drying set with 120°C treatment would be larger than that with 80°C treatment. Also we observed that treatment temperature had a greater effect on the drying set as the drying advanced.     

IMPROVING THE QUALITY OF TIMBER FROM RED BEECH (N. FOSCA) BY INTERMITTENT DRYING

The effect of cycling the external conditions on the timber quality and drying time during seasoning has been studied for red beech (Nothofagus fusca), a difficult-to-dry New Zealand hardwood, inalaboratorybatchdryer. Intermittent drying at anair temperature of 45°C and a wet-bulb depression of 10°C takes longer to yield a given moisture content than continuous drying under the same conditions, but produces timber without honeycomb or severe case-hardening as observed in continuous drying. The experiments also indicate that the timber can tolerate a higher air temperature (55°C) in intermittent drying at the same wet-bulb depression with less case-hardening and without showing honeycomb compared with continuous drying at 45°C, having a similar total drying time. Intermittent drying at a slightly higher dry-bulb temperature (60°C) and a much higher wet-bulb depression (18°C) gives a similar degree of case-hardening to that found in samples dried continuously at a dry-bulb temperature of 45°C.     

CONDUCTION DRYING OF RAW AND STEABED RICE BRAN

The effects of conduction heating in a steam jacketed cylindrical dryer-cum stabilizer at the drying surface temperatures ranging from 100° to 120°C on thin layer conduction drying characteristics of raw and steamed rice bran were studied. Results show that both raw and steamed rice bran at 13.7·14.2 and 14.7 ·16 ·· 3 percent (d b) initial moisture contants (imc; respectively dried uncer fillinq-rate period only, where as steamed bran at 30·3 per cent imc dried initially under constant rate period for a very short time and then dried under fall ing-rate period. The drying surface temperature of 115°C can be taken as optimumu for conduction drying of both raw. and steamed rice bran. The empirical drying equations, developed for the above drying conditions. can be used to predict the drying time with fairly good accuracy.     

Effect of Low Temperature-Long Time Blanching on Quality of Dried Sweet Potato

Combining low temperature, long time blanching with moderate temperature drying very positively affected the textural characteristics of dehydrated sweet potato. Ten mm cubes of this tuber were slow-blanched at 60, 65 and 70°C for 15 and 45 minutes, then conventionally blanched at 94°C three minutes and, finally dehydrated in a cabinet dryer at 70 and 8S°C for a maximum of 195 minutes. The final product showed optimum texture attributes for the blanching treatment of 65°C for 15 minutes followed by the flash blanching and the drying process at 70°C for 120 minutes.     

A Numerical Simulation for Solving the Dippusion Equations in the Drying of Hardware Timber

A numerical simulation is described for solving the thermal conduction and mass diffusion equations in boards of hardwood timber, and the Einite-volume method used here has been applied to the drying of Eucalypt timber, an Australian hardwood. The predictions of the variation in the average moisture content with time agree well with both ex~erimental data from the literature and analvtical solutions of the-diffusion equation. The nume ical simulation treats the boundary conditions more accurately than the analytical solutions when the moisture movement is two dimensional, as it is through the cross-section of a timber board. This feature makes the simulation useful when describing the drying process under intermittent drying conditions. These conditions are encountered in the drying of timber in solar kilns, and this simulation may be used to predict the distributions of temperature andmoisture content inboards of timber which are being dried intermittently inside conventional kilns. The numerical simulation for intermittent drying has shown, inthe example studied here, chat the same overall change in average moisture concentration can be achieved with 12-hour active drying and 12-hour relaxationperiodaas forcontinuousdryingbyincreasingthedry-bulb temperature by 10°C for this timber. In spite of the higher dry-bulb temperature used in the active drying period of intermittent drying. the moisture concentration profiles within the board are predicted to be more uniform than with continuous drying, because the internal moisture diffusion process continues during the relaxation period. These mare uniform moisture concentration profiles in intermittent drying are likely to result in lower stress levels within the timber than with continuous drying.     

Assessment of the Actual Performance of an Industrial Solar Kiln for Drying Timber

The aim of this study was to assess the actual performance of an instrumented industrial solar kiln for drying Australian hardwood timber (Eucalyptus pilularis) boards (270 × 43 mm). Ambient temperature and humidity, air temperature and humidity in the kiln, and wood moisture contents were recorded on site (Heron's Creek, NSW, Australia) using sensors and an electronic data acquisition and logging system. The average increases in air temperatures in the kiln compared with ambient conditions were 17.3°C (May-June), 13.8°C (July-August), 10°C (September-October), 8.2°C (November-March), and 7.5°C (March-May) for five runs monitored. Drying times were 2-4 months from initial moisture contents of 43 to 62% (dry-basis) to final moisture contents of 12 to 22%. Overall, the solar kiln has been shown to be an acceptable alternative to air-drying for pre-drying of Australian hardwood timber.     

DESORPTION ISOTHERMS AND DRYING CHARACTERISTICS OF SHRIMP IN SUPERHEATED STEAM AND HOT AIR

Desorption isotherms for shrimp were determined at the temperatures of 50, 60, 70 and 80°C. Amongst the moisture equilibrium predictions between the BET and GAB models, the latter has a better predictable capability. The GAB parameters are correlated with the temperatures by the Arrhenius expression. Drying characteristics of shrimp in drying media at the temperature range of 120-180°C for superheated steam and of 70-140°C for hot air have been examined. Drying rate and effective diffusion coefficient are used to quantify quantitatively the difference between the superheated steam and the hot air dryings. The temperature is more important effect on drying rate and effective diffusion coefficient in the superheated steam than in the hot air. Inversion temperature exists between 140 and 150°C. Comparing to the hot air, the shrimp dried by the superheated steam shows a lower degree of shrimp shrinkage. In addition, product colours are slightly different to those from the commercial sources.     

Optimization of Kiln Drying for Softwood through Simulation of Wood Stack Drying, Energy Use, and Wood Color Change

An integrated modeling system was developed to simulate the drying processing, energy use, and wood color change in kiln drying of softwood timber. The model has been applied for a temperature range from 50 to 70°C and an airspeed from 3 to 9 m/s. The model is based on theoretical analysis and contains components such as kiln configuration and practical operations. From the model simulation, optimized drying schedules for minimizing color change and energy use are recommended with dry bulb temperature of 60 to 70°C and wet bulb depression of 15 to 20°C.     

TRANSIENT NATURAL DRYING-INDUCED BOUNDARY LAYERS

This work presents a methodology far obtaining heat and mass transfer coefficients for problems involving natural convection along a flat plate. In order to simulate drying conditions, a set of data has been obtained for the temperature range between 20 and 98° C and for various absolute humidities, both of the wall and ambient. It is shown that for drying at temperatures above 80° C, Nusselt and Sherwood numbers change very appreciably with respect to values obtained at smaller temperatures. The simulated results show that even for very low temperature differences, the transient period in natural convection along a flal vertical plate is smaller than 3s.     

Oven-Drying Characteristics of Soils of Different Origins

The accurate measurement of the moisture content of a soil is an important step in characterizing its engineering behavior. However, the oven-drying method can cause some chemical reaction (oxidation or loss of water of crystallization) to occur in certain soil types. The level of oxidation of the solid particles was studied over the drying temperature range of 60 to 140°C for different soils. The period of oven drying necessary for the specimen mass to equilibrate was also examined. The standard practice of oven drying the soil specimens at 110 ± 5°C or 105±5°C over a period of 24 h was confirmed as giving accurate moisture content values for inorganic soils. Oven drying of peat and other highly organic soils over a period of 24 h at 80°C produced similar levels of accuracy in the moisture content measurements as that for inorganic soils at the standard oven drying temperatures of 105 or 110°C. Some oxidation of the organic fraction commenced at between 80 and 90°C.     

Influence of Kiln Venting on Brown Stain in Pinus Radiata Sapwood

This study assesses the influence of a closed drying environment on kiln brown stain in Pinus radiata sapwood. Three sets of matched timber samples (N = 50) were dried at low temperature (50°C), one without and two with kiln venting. Statistical analysis showed that the closed drying environment produced no significant change in the lightness (L*) of kiln brown stain. Relative to the samples dried in the vented process, there was a small but statistically significant increase in the green color (Δa* ≈ - 1.7) for both the stained area and the unstained early-wood of the samples dried in the non-vented kiln.     

A Study of Vacuum-Drying Characteristics of Sugi Boxed-Heart Timber

In this study, we evaluated the effects of drying under atmospheric and vacuum pressure on the drying time, checking, and color change of sugi boxed-heart timber dried at the same dry-bulb temperature and the same wet-bulb depression. The results obtained were as follows: Sugi boxed-heart timber specimens dried at any temperature under vacuum pressure had a shorter drying time than the specimens dried under atmospheric pressure. At moisture content above fiber saturation point and at the same dry-bulb temperature, the specimens dried under vacuum pressure had a drying rate that was almost twice as fast as that of the specimens dried under atmospheric pressure. Sugi boxed-heart timber specimens dried under both atmospheric and vacuum pressure at a higher drying temperature had a shorter drying time than the specimens dried at a lower drying temperature. Apart from the sugi boxed-heart timber specimen dried at a temperature of 100°C under atmospheric pressure, no surface checks were observed for the specimens dried under vacuum pressure or at the other temperatures dried under atmospheric pressure. Slight internal checks were observed in sugi boxed-heart timber specimens dried at a temperature of 100°C under both atmospheric and vacuum pressure. After planer shaving, there was no significant difference between kiln drying under atmospheric pressure and that done under vacuum pressure in terms of the color change (ΔE*) for both sapwood and heartwood of sugi boxed-heart timber specimens.     

Drying Characteristics of Purslane (Portulaca oleraceae L.)

Thin layer drying rates of purslane were determined experimentally as a function of temperature with air velocity kept constant at 1.1 m/s and relative humidity below 5%. Thin layer drying data were obtained for purslane at four drying air temperatures (35, 70, 95, and 120°C). Five thin layer-drying models (Henderson and Pabis, exponential, Page, two-term exponential, and Thompson models) were fitted to the drying data. The color of purslane was determined after drying using a spectro-colorimeter (Hunter Lab) in terms of Hunter L, a, and b values. The Page model was found to be most suitable in describing the drying characteristics of purslane. New parameters developed for the model resulted in a good fit at different temperatures. Color measurement indicated that greenness decreased with an increase in drying air temperature. Typical drying times were 88.41, 138.53, 416.38, and 1371.85 min at 120, 95, 70, and 35°C, respectively.     

Effect of High-Temperature Drying and Restraint on Twist of Norway Spruce

During drying, timber distortion is a major defect mainly due to shrinkage anisotropy, differences in longitudinal shrinkage, and spiral grain. The distortion can be reduced by external restraint and use of appropriate kiln schedules. The research presented here is part of a project on the improvement of shape stability of Norway spruce by high-temperature drying. The effects of drying temperatures between 80 and 170°C and restraint on the extent of twist in Norway spruce were investigated on 30 cm lengths. Results show that significant twist reduction could be achieved in restrained specimens sawn from core wood. This effect was permanent even after exposure to subsequent moisture cycling. In addition to high-temperature drying, heat-treated material (Thermowood®) was also investigated. As for the high-temperature dried material, twist amplitude in moisture cycling was highest for pith-in specimens. Increased heat-treatment temperature reduced the twist amplitude, thus improving the shape stability. However, for the material dried in this study, shape stability was not influenced by the drying temperature.     

Accurate Determination of Moisture Content of Organic Soils Using the Oven Drying Method

The accuracy of moisture content values determined for organic soil using the oven drying method is dependent on the oven drying temperature. Some charring of the organic fraction occurs at the standard oven drying temperature of 110 ± 5°C; pore water remains in the soil when temperatures below 100°C are used. A new technique to determine the specific oven drying temperature that yields the correct value of the moisture content for organic soils is presented. Routine moisture content tests should be conducted at the standard oven drying temperature; moisture content values determined on the basis of the recommended oven drying temperature of 60°C include a larger error. A moisture content parameter is introduced to facilitate direct comparison of moisture content values calculated on the basis of different oven drying temperatures.     

Activity-loss characteristics of spores of Bacillus thuringiensis during spray drying

Survival of spores of Bacillus thuringiensis was determined under various processing conditions for spray drying. The results indicated that the viable spores number of B. thuringiensis decreased with increased inlet air temperature, outlet air temperature and atomising air pressure. When the inlet air temperature ranged from 170 °C to 250 °C, the outlet air temperature (75 °C) and atomising air pressure (0.15 MPa) were fixed, the pseudo-z value (one logarithmic cycle reduction) was 238.1 °C; when the outlet air temperature ranged from 65 °C to 95 °C, the inlet air temperature (200 °C) and atomising air pressure (0.15 MPa) were fixed, the pseudo-z value was 85.5 °C, the activation energy calculated according to the outlet air temperature was 59.96 kJ mol⁻¹; when the atomising air pressure ranged from 0.10 MPa to 0.25 MPa, the inlet air temperature (200 °C) and outlet air temperature (75 °C) were fixed, the pseudo-z value was 3.49 MPa, the variance analysis showed that the atomising air pressure has no significant influence to the spores. The diluting solutions between Tween-80 solution and phosphate buffer have significant influence on the plate count of spores.

The B. thuringiensis powder prepared by spray drying with inlet air temperature 250 °C, outlet air temperature 97 °C, the spores count of powder decreased obviously. But when the inlet air temperature of 155–165 °C, outlet air temperature of 66–70 °C were employed, the spores count of powder approaches to that of freeze drying powder. The spores count of oven drying powder was lower than that of the freeze drying powder, but close to the spray drying powder which inlet air temperature was 200 °C, outlet air temperature was 75 °C.     

Drying Kinetics and Color Retention of Dehydrated Rosehips

Freshly harvested rosehips (Rosa canina L.) were dehydrated in a parallel flow type air dryer at six air temperatures (30, 40, 50, 60, and 70°C) at air velocities of 0.5, 1.0, and 1.5 m/s. Drying air temperature and velocity significantly influenced drying time and energy requirement. Minimum and maximum energy requirement for drying of rosehips were determined as 6.69 kWh/kg for 70°C at 0.5 m/s, and 42.46 kWh/kg for 50°C, 1.5 m/s. In order to reduce drying energy consumption, it is recommended that the drying air velocity must not be more than 0.5 m/s and drying air temperature should be 70°C. In addition, the influence of drying air temperature and air velocity on the color of dried rosehip has been studied. Hunter L, a, b values were used to evaluate changes in the total color difference (ΔE) on dried rosehips. 70°C drying air temperature and 1 m/s air velocity were found to yield better quality product.     

Kinetics of Dehydration of Green Alfalfa

Artificial drying is an important step in processing of green crops in order to preserve their freshness and nutrients for longer time at relatively lower costs. Forage crops, tea and tobacco are the major green crops where the commercial drying is a major operation in their processing. Fresh green alfalfa at about 75 to 80% moisture is subjected to drying in different types of dryers.ln the case of alfalfa, the raw material consists of leaves, stems, chops and fine stems, each varying distinctly in their physical and structural characteristics. The moisture content is reduced from initial level to about 10%. The drying air temperatures range from 40 b 800°C; the lower temperatures are used inconveyor dryers whereas high temperatures are used in rotary drum drycn.The results on drying behavior, and changes in physico-chemical propedes during drying for components of green alfalfa over the temperature range of 40 m 800°C are presented in this paper. The optimum temperature for drying from the stand point of color and protein solubility was found to be 175°C.     

WATER ADSORPTION AND DRYING CHARACTERISTICS OF OKRA Hibiscus Esculentus L

Moisture adsorption characteristics of okra were evaluated at 10, 20, 30° C. Isotherms were found to be of type III. Monolayer moisture contents were evaluated with GAB model. Drying was carried out at 60, 70, 80° C and drying data were analysed to obtain diffusivity values from the period of first felling drying rate. Effective diffusivity increased with increasing temperature. Calculated values of the effective diffusivity showed an Arrhenius type temperature dependence.     

Mathematical Modeling of Withering Characteristics of Tea Leaves

The withering characteristics of tea leaves were examined for different temperatures. Tea leaves were withered at a temperature range of 20-45°C with a constant air velocity of 1.1 m/s. The experimental results illustrated the absence of constant-rate drying period and withering took place only in the falling-rate period. During the falling-rate period, at constant drying air flow rate, the drying rate increased and drying time decreased with the increase in drying air temperature. Drying models of Henderson and Pabis and Page were evaluated based on mean bias error (E_MB), root mean square error (E_RMS), correlation coefficient (R²), and the chi square (χ²). The Henderson and Pabis model was found to be a better model for describing the withering characteristics of tea leaves for each of the temperatures of 20, 25, 30, and 35°C. The values obtained from Page model were found to be more reasonable for temperatures of 40 and 45°C than the other model. Both the models closely fitted the withering data within a certain range of temperature. The Henderson and Pabis model gave better prediction and satisfactorily described the withering characteristics of tea leaves at temperatures lower than 40°C whereas the Page model fitted well at temperatures greater than 40°C.