Secagem de milho em secador de convecção natural utilizando-se resíduo da própria cultura.

Abstract

The objective of this study was to determine the calorific value of corn cobs at different moisture contents, as well as to study the drying of corn in a thick layer using a dryer with the drying air moved by natural convection using as the fuel of the culture itself. The desiccation experimental data were compared with the data simulated by the Hukill model, using the software SASG-3, developed by the Nucleus of Technology in Storage in DBASE III. It was concluded that the average specific heat of the cob of maize was approximately 1,256 J / kg ° C and did not change significantly with the increase in moisture content at the 1% probability level by the F test. The corn borer stem yielded enough thermal energy for dry it from 19.9% ​​to 12.9% moisture, bu, for a layer thickness of 0.05m in the natural convection dryer. The experimental and simulated drying curves by the Hukill model did not differ significantly at the 1% probability level by the chi-square test.