Electric Energy Grain Dryer with Aluminum Foil Coated Dryer Walls.

Solar powered grain drying machines (PGTM) have advantages over fossil energy, namely they are cheap and simple. However, the main obstacle is the dependence on time and weather. To overcome these weaknesses, it is necessary to create a combined system, namely, a solar and PGTL electric drying system. This machine works during the day and continues at night using electric power. This will speed up the grain drying process without having to wait for the sun to rise. The method of supplying electrical power in the drying room is carried out directly with incandescent lamps installed on the drying racks. The amount of electrical power provided to the lamp is equivalent to the average solar energy during the day that enters the drying room, which is 400 Watts. The drying room used for research has an area of 0.9 x 1 meter and a height of 1.7 meters and is equipped with 5 shelves for placing the grain. The hot air flow in the drying room is used by a blower at 2 speeds, namely 4, 7 and 10 m/sec. The walls of the drying room are covered with aluminum foil to increase the efficiency of lamp heat absorption that can be received by the grain. The performance of an electric grain dryer (PGTL) is expressed in terms of drying efficiency or reduction in water content in the grain (Mw) and machine efficiency, η_pgel. The test was carried out at night for 5 hours with a total amount of grain of 8 kg divided into 4 shelves of 2 kg each. From the test results of the PGTL machine, it was found that the reduction in water content in grain (Mw) at air speeds of 4 m/s, 7 m/s and 10 m/s, respectively, was 7.45%, 7.9%, 9.45%, and machine efficiency respectively 20.1, 21.1% and 25.45%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]