What are Agricultural Dryers

The process of drying involves the removal of water or moisture from an object through applying heat to it. There are many different methods of applying drying and many different objects that it is applied to, within domestic, industrial and agricultural contexts. Some of these methods are natural processes and some are the result of intentional actions. An agricultural dryer is a machine which applies these processes in order to dry out food and goods that are made from plant matter or animal products.

The most common method of drying involves a gas stream such as air that is applied in order to heat a material, with the moisture within being carried away as humidity. There are many other methods as well though, such as drum drying, freeze drying and microwave drying. Agricultural dryers are generally large machines or mechanisms that apply one of these drying process to agricultural goods. Some of the benefits of agricultural drying include extended storage life, enhancement of quality and ease of handling. There are a few problems however such as significant nutrient loss which I will cover in this article along with the benefits.

Almost every agricultural food product is dried at least once during its time of preparation, often much more than once. Extended shelf life is one of the main reasons why this dehydration process takes place. A dry food product is much less likely to undergo the spoilage that is caused by bacteria and molds. Insects and microorganisms do not thrive in any environment that contains little moisture. Food quality can also be enhanced through the drying processes, although this is highly debatable and dependent on the attitudes of the end user. Digestibility can be also be increased and flavours and colours are often changed, for better and worse.

Perhaps the main reason for drying agricultural products though is to develop a product that can be handled easily. Transportation and packaging are made much more simple when a product is in its dried form, and so drying is a sure fire way to keep costs down. These cheaper costs and the greater control of inventory are seen by some to be the driving forces behind a lot of drying practises, regardless of negative changes to nutrition. Agricultural drying can cause losses in the vitamin and thiamine levels of foods, amongst many others nutritional losses.

Air dryers are one of the most common types of agricultural drying systems, where the solid or powder material comes into direct contact with a heated air stream. It is very popular for agricultural purposes to employ a conveyor belt type system where a mechanical belt drives the material through the different stages of this drying process. Agricultural dryers are used every day in the products that we all use, we just don’t realise it. The large variety of agricultural materials and products all around us require many diverse drying solutions, each of which is essential to a large variety of different industries.