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AN OPTIMIZATION OF INTERMITTENT CORN DRYING IN A

LABORATORY SCALE THIN LAYER DRYER
Q. Zhang a; J. B. Litchfield a
a
Department of Agricultural Engineering, University of Illinois, Urbana,, IL

To cite this Article Zhang, Q. and Litchfield, J. B.(1991) 'AN OPTIMIZATION OF INTERMITTENT CORN DRYING IN A
LABORATORY SCALE THIN LAYER DRYER', Drying Technology, 9: 1, 233 244
To link to this Article: DOI: 10.1080/07373939108916650
URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/07373939108916650

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 DRYING TECHNOLOGY, 9(1), 233-244 (1991)

TECHNICAL NOTE

AN OPTIMIZATION OF INTERMITTENT CORN DRYING

IN A LABORATORY SCALE THIN LAYER DRYER

Q. Zhang and J . B . Litchfield

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Department of Agricultural Engineering

University of Illinois
Urbana. IL 61801

Key Words and Phrases: tempering, maize, grain

ABSTRACT

An intermittent corn drying process of drying-tempering-

drying in a laboratory scale thin layer dryer was optimized. A
time lag function was developed to describe the influence of
tempering on che drying rate in the post-tempering drying period.
Three dryer control strategies (1) a drying-rate-first strategy,
(2) an energy-efficiency-firststrategy, and (3) an equal-
importance (rate/efficiency) strategy were investigated. Results
showed that intermittent drying processes were optimal except when
a high drying rate was desired.

INTRODUCTION
During the falling-rate drying regime, the drying rate
falls with time because the internal migration rate of moisture is
slower than the evaporation rate from the surface. By inserting a
tempering, or holding, period during the falling-rate regime, the
net drying rate can be raised. A drying process which includes
both active drying stages and tempering periods is an intermittent
drying process.

Copyright O 1991 by Marcel Dekker.Inc

 234 ZHANG AND LITCHFIELD

I n t e r m i t t e n t d r y i n g a l s o makes i t c o n v e n i e n t t o a p p l y
d i f f e r e n t drying temperatures f o r each s t a g e . Brook and Bakker-
Arkema (1978) found t h a t a h i g h d r y i n g t e m p e r a t u r e might b e s a f e l y
applied i n e a r l y stages of drying i n a multi-stage dryer. The
authors a l s o noted t h e p o s s i b i l i t y of obtaining higher q u a l i t y
d r i e d c o r n from a n i n t e r m i t t e n t d r y i n g p r o c e s s t h a n from a
continuous drying process.
The o b j e c t i v e s o f t h i s s t u d y were t o : ( 1 ) d e v e l o p a time
l a g f u n c t i o n t o d e t e r m i n e t h e i n f l u e n c e o f t e m p e r i n g on d r y i n g
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r a t e d u r i n g p o s t - t e m p e r i n g d r y i n g ; and (2) optimize an

i n t e r m i t t e n t d r y i n g p r o c e s s under t h r e e c o n t r o l s t r a t e g i e s : d r y i n g
r a t e f i r s t , e n e r g y e f f i c i e n c y f i r s t , and e q u a l i m p o r t a n c e .

METHODOLOGY
T h i s s t u d y i n c l u d e d two s t e p s . F i r s t , we d e v e l o p e d a t i m e
l a g f u n c t i o n f o r d e s c r i b i n g t h e i n f l u e n c e o f t e m p e r i n g on t h e
drying r a t e i n t h e subsequent drying p e r i o d . A laboratory t h i n
l a y e r d r y e r was u s e d , and a s e r i e s o f i n t e r m i t t e n t d r y i n g t e s t s
w i t h d i f f e r e n t tempering p e r i o d s between two d r y i n g p e r i o d s were
conducted.
S e c o n d l y , we c o n d u c t e d a system o p t i m i z a t i o n t o d e v e l o p a n
optimal drying process f o r s p e c i f i c control s t r a t e g i e s . Three
control s t r a t e g i e s , with objectives o f , (1) drying r a t e f i r s t , (2)
e n e r g y e f f i c i e n c y f i r s t , and ( 3 ) e q u a l importance ( o f b o t h r a t e
and e f f i c i e n c y ) , were s t u d i e d .
A l a b o r a t o r y t h i n l a y e r d r y e r was developed w i t h a l o a d c e l l
t o determine product weight during drying. The t e m p e r a t u r e and
t h e v e l o c i t y of t h e d r y i n g a i r were measured by thermocouple and
anemometer. The d r y - and w e t - b u l b t e m p e r a t u r e s of ambient a i r
were measured w i t h a p s y c h r o m e t e r . The i n i t i a l and f i n a l m o i s t u r e
c o n t e n t o f samples was d e t e r m i n e d by oven t e s t (ASAE S t a n d a r d
S352.2, 1989).

DEVELOPMENT OF A TIME LAG FUNCTION

P a g e ' s e q u a t i o n f o r t h i n l a y e r d r y i n g (1949) was a p p l i e d i n
t h i s study.
 OPTIMIZATION OF INTERMITTENT CORN DRYING

where: M, is kernel initial moisture content, M is kernel current

moisture content, M, is kernel equilibrium moisture content, r is
the drying time, and k and n are constants.
Misra and Brooker (1980) compiled data for shelled corn
drying in thin layer dryers and derived two expressions for the
constants k and n in Page's equation.
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where: T is drying temperature (2.2'C < T 5 71.1C), V, is drying-

air velocity near the kernels (0.025 m/s 5 V,r 2.33 m/s), RH is
relative humidity (3.0% r RH 5 83.0%), and M, is corn initial
moisture content (0.18 kg/kg 5 M, 5 0.6 kg/kg).
To determine the influence of tempering on the drying rare
in the subsequent drying period, we conducted a series of 27
intermittent drying experiments. The experiments included two
drying periods of 20 minutes each separated by tempering periods
of 0, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 45, 60, and 120 minutes. The test
conditions included drying temperatures of 40, 60 and 80'C with
ambient air temperature 25'C, ambient relative humidity 53.3%, and
drying-air velocity 1.2 m/s.
Corn dried faster after tempering, so there was an
additional, or incremental, moisture loss for the intermittent
processes as compared with the continuous, or non-tempering.
process. The incremental moisture loss was a function of drying
temperature and tempering time (Fig. 1). Moisture losses
increased with tempering time in an exponential fashion. The
maximum moisture losses and the increment in moisture losses also
increased with increasing drying-air temperature.
 ZHANG AND LITCHFIELD
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TEMPERING TIME (min.)

FIGURE 1. Incremental moisture loss caused by tempering as

compared with continuous (no tempering) processes

A concept of time lag, r,,,, was introduced to describe the

effect of tempering on drying rate in the subsequent drying
period. The time lag was defined as a period of time shift. The
drying rate of the post-tempering drying period was higher, as if
the drying curve was shifted back in time.
Time lags were determined for the experimental drying
processes by a trial and error method using a moisture-time shift
(Table 1). By applying a least square error searching method, a
time lag function was developed based on the experimental data.
The experimental data were compared to the curve generated by Eq.
( 4 ) (Fig. 2 ) .
 OPTIMIZATION OF INTERMITTENT CORN DRYING

TABLE 1

Experimental Time Lag Values (minutes) for 9 Different Tempering

Periods At 3 Different Drying-Air Temperatures

Drying
Temperature Tempering Time (minutes)
("c) 0 10 15 20 25 30 35 60 120
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0 20 40 60 80 100 120
TEMPERING TIME (min.)

FIGURE 2. Measured and simulated time lag values as a function

of tempering time at three drying temperatures
 ZHANG AND LITCHFIELD

Update rotios

Determine
Initialize system voriable &
ratios obj. func. value ratios?

4
7
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Determine
optimal process

FIGURE 3. Flowchart of the "switchback" optimization technique

With the time lag function (Eq. 4 ) it was possible to apply

the Misra-Brooker model by using an equivalent drying time, r e g ,
instead of the actual drying time, r , for the post-tempering
drying period. If rdz and rdl are the actual times for the pre-
and post-tempering drying stages, respectively, the equivalent
drying time of the post-tempering drying stage was defined as

Model predictions and experimental results (Figs 4 , 5 and 6 )

were in close agreement as discussed below.

OPTIMIZATION MODEL
A process of drying-tempering-drying for drying shelled corn
in a laboratory scale thin layer was optimized. The optimization
considered net drying time, energy consumption, and total
processing time. Energy consumption was a function of drying
temperature and drying time.
 OPTIMIZATION OF IWTERPLITTENT CORN DRYING 239
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0 20 40 60 80 100

PROCESS TIME (min.)

FIGURE 4. Simulated and measured drying curves for the optimum

drying-rate-firststrategy

The objective function of this optimization was to minimize

the sum of weighted indexes of net drying time (DT,,,.,), energy
consumption (ECi,,,,), and total processing time (PT,,,,,) , subject
to a constraint on the final moisture content.

where

drying time of intermittent process (7)

DTindex = drying time of continuous process
 240 ZHANG AND LITCHFIELD

Simulated data
+ Measured data
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-
21 -
-

0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160

PROCESS TIME (min.)

FIGURE 5. Simulated and measured drying curves for the optimum

energy-efficiency-firststrategy

energy consum. of intermittent process (8)

ECindex = energy consum. of continuous process

process time of intermittent rocess (9)

process time of continuous p:ocess

where cl, c,, and c, are the weighting factors of each index.
Values for the weighting factors were selected based on the
control strategy being optimized. Since some moisture loss
normally occurs during cooling, we chose a final moisture content
constraint of 2 0 . 0 % dry basis, about 1.7% above the typical
storage moisture content for corn.
 OPTIMIZATION OF INTERMITTENT CORN DRYING

TABLE 2

Summary of Weighting Factors, Optimal Processing Periods,

and Optimal Drying Temperatures
for Three Process Control Strategies

Process Weighting Stage #I, Stage # 2 , Stage #3,

Control Factors Drying Tempering Drying
Strategy c, c2 c, t* T" t t T

Drying
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rate first .2 .1 .7 100 67 -

Energy
eff. first .2 .7 .1 50 67 90 20 74

Equal
rate/eff. .33 .33 .33 60 67 60

. processing period (min.)

e.
drying temperature ('C)

Because of the way the indices were defined (Eqs. 7 , 8 , and

9), whenever the optimum value of the objective function for a
specific process was less than one, the optimal process was
intermittent. .Otherwise,a continuous drying process was better.
Since intermittent drying also allows for different drying
temperatures in each drying period, a characteristic which can
help to improve product quality, temperatures were determined on
the basis of initial moisture content at each stage of the
process. Since the allowable drying temperature is different for
various end uses of corn, we assumed a value of 75% of the maximum
temperatures suggested by Nellist (1978) as the allowable drying
temperatures for our example calculations.
A Generalized Newton-Raphson method (Stoecker, 1989) was
used as the optimization algorithm. A technique of "switchback"
optimization (Pedersen, 1989) was applied in this optimization by
which only the drying time of the pre-tempering period was
selected as the system design variable. The tempering time and
the drying time of the post-tempering period were evaluated as
 242 ZHANG AND LITCHFIELD

33
Simulated data
+ Measured data
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25 -
-
21 -
-
la I 1 I I 1 I I I I I I I I

PROCESS TIME (min:)

FIGURE 6. Simulated and measured drying curves for the optimum

equal-importance strategy

ratios of the system design variable (Fig. 3). Drying

temperatures and energy consumptions of both drying stages were
treated as system parameters.
We optimizeh Eq.(6) for three different drying strategies by
adjusting the weighting factors c,. An initial moisture content
of 32.8 % dry basis with ambient air temperature of 27C relative
humidity of 18%, and drying air velocity of 1 m/s were assumed.
Table 2 summarizes the weighting factors and the corresponding
processing periods and drying temperatures for these control
strategies.
 OPTIMIZATION OF INTERMITTENT CORN DRYING 243

For the drying-rate-firstcontrol strategy, a continuous

drying process with a drying temperature of 67'C and drying time
of 100 minutes was determined to be optimum. An experiment was
conducted to check the accuracy of the drying model (Eq. 1-5), and
the theoretical curve and experimental results matched well
(Figure 4). Most of the discrepancy between the simulated and
measured drying curves occurred during the first part of the
process (Figs. 4 , 5 , and 6) where the model predicted faster
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drying than what was observed. We expect that this was because
the drying chamber cooled during the loading of the sample, so the
actual drying temperature in the apparatus was lower than the
temperature used in the model.
For the energy-efficiency-firststrategy, the optimal
process was 67'C drying for 50 minutes, tempering for 90 minutes.
and 74C drying for 20 minutes. The experimental results showed
that the simulated curve of intermittent drying matched the
experimental data well (Figure 5).
For the equal-importance (drying rate and energy efficiency)
strategy, a process of a 67'C drying for 60 minutes, tempering for
60 minutes. and 76C drying for 20 minutes was best. Again the
simulated curve and experimental results matched well (Figure 6).

CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

An intermittent drying process with a single tempering stage
can reduce net drying time, as well as energy consumption,
compared with a continuous drying process. Optimization of the
systems indicated that an intermittent drying process was best for
drying control strategies of energy efficiency first and equal
importance of drying rate and energy efficiency. A continuous
drying process with no tempering would be recommended when drying
rate is the most important consideration.
The drying rate after tempering was higher than that of a
corresponding period in a process without tempering. After
developing a time lag function, it is possible to apply the Misra-
Brooker model for predicting the drying rate in the post-tempering
 244 ZHANG AND LITCHFIELD

drying stage. Experimental drying results matched the predicted

drying curves.
Drying processes with more than one tempering period might
be better than processes with only a single tempering period.
Further studies on drying processes with multiple tempering
periods are needed. Intermittent drying techniques can be applied
on commercial dryers to increase efficiency, reduce net drying
time, and improve product quality. More tests should be conducted
with both laboratory and commercial dryers to further develop this
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technique.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The authors thank Mr. A. Breen for his laboratory

assistance.

REFERENCES

American Society of Agricultural Engineers. 1989. Moisture

measurement - - Unground grain and seeds. Standard: ASAE
S352.2, p.365.

Brook, R.C. and Bakker-Arkema, F.W. 1978. Simulation for design

of commercial concurrent-flow grain dryers. Transactions of
ASAE 21(5):978-981.

Misra, M.K. and Brooker. D.B. 1980. Thin-layer drying and

rewetting equations for shelled yellow corn. Transactions
of ASAE 23(6):1254-1260.

Nellist, M.E., 1978. Safe temperatures for drying grain.

National Institute of Agricultural Engineering, Wrest Park,
Silsoe, Bedford.

Page, C . , 1949. Factors influencing the maximum rates of air

drying shelled corn in thin layer. M.S. Thesis. Purdue
University.

Pedersen, C.O., 1989. Unpublished lecture notes. University of

Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Stoecker, W.F., 1989. Design of Thermal Systems, McGraw-Hill Book

Company, New York, NY.