What is a corn dryer, how does it work and how to make it yourself

Corn continues to be in demand on the world market, despite the fall in purchase prices. But there is one important nuance - the moisture content of the collected grain is 35-40%. And long-term storage requires a rate of 15% or lower. Therefore, special dryers are used to reduce the moisture content of raw materials.

What is a corn dryer?

Grain dryers appeared thanks to the emergence of high-performance combines. Harvesting crops in large volumes made us think about an accelerated method of carrying out preparatory work before storage.

Previously, grain crops were dried outdoors in the sun. This is a long method that does not guarantee high-quality drying. Besides for industrial volumes large areas were required. That's why grain dryers were created.

These units are divided into mobile and stationary. The differences lie in their design features.

Corn dryers come in the following types:

1. Mine. This is a permanent installation mounted on a solid foundation. It has 2 vertical shafts with the same volume. Corn is dried using hot air. In one pass, the grain loses no more than 6% of moisture, so several passes are required for high-quality drying. Depending on the dimensions, from 8 to 16 tons are dried in one cycle.
2. Drums. They are considered mobile units because they have compact dimensions.The design has 3 main elements: drum, heating zone, cooling chamber. Although drum dryers are small, they are quite efficient. During a shift, such devices are capable of processing 10-600 tons of corn, depending on the model.
3. Chamber. These are large structures that are used on an industrial scale. They have 2 chambers with a perforated bottom. The grain is poured in layers: each subsequent one after drying the previous one. The design has special screws that are designed to mix the layers. Chamber dryers provide the required percentage of corn moisture in one pass.
4. Recirculation. These dryers operate on a principle that is reminiscent of mine dryers. The grain is divided into 2 streams. After drying in the first shaft, a small amount of corn is redirected to the second. There it is mixed with wet raw materials. Thanks to this scheme, partially dried grain is obtained. After this, it is again sent to the first shaft. The cycle is repeated until completely dry.

Operating principle

Drying of grain occurs thanks to hot air. The essence of the work is to reduce the moisture content of corn to 15%. Without this, it will not be possible to store grain for a long time.

It is important to maintain balance. Increasing the temperature increases the productivity of the unit, but if it is overheated, the grain will burn. Therefore, a temperature control system is always included in the design of the dryer.

How corn is dried on an industrial scale

Most often, on an industrial scale, corn is dried on the cob. For this purpose, a chamber grain dryer is used. The process occurs at temperatures from +35 to +50°C.

Removing 1 kg of moisture requires about 8.5 MJ of thermal energy. The efficiency of chamber dryers is approximately 35%, and that of shaft dryers is 60%.

At the first stage, they begin with preheating the raw materials. For this, elevated temperatures are used, since the embryo heats up more slowly. Based on scientific experiments, heating at a temperature of +50°C reduces the drying time of raw materials by 7 hours and increases moisture transfer by almost 11%. As a result, the productivity of the installation increases by 22% when compared with drying in normal mode.

Corn is first dried on the cob, since wet kernels are difficult to separate without damage. The cobs are dried to 18-20% moisture content, after which the grain is threshed. Then it is sent for final drying.

There is a differentiated regime. It allows you to increase the productivity of units by 20-30%. The principle is to gradually increase the temperature.

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Technical characteristics and dimensions of the dryer

In recent years, mine grain dryers have been most often used. Technical characteristics of the installations are presented in the table.

How to make a corn dryer with your own hands

It’s easy to make a corn dryer with your own hands. Its performance cannot be compared with factory analogues, but the cost will be minimal.

What materials can it be made from?

To make a dryer you will need the following materials and tools:

• metal barrel;
• metal pipe with a diameter of 200 mm;
• turbofan;
• heat-resistant pipe for the turbofan (it is usually rubber, but there are also metal ones);
• gas-burner;
• welding machine;
• drill;
• Bulgarian.

Step-by-step instruction

After preparing all the materials, begin assembly:

1. In a pipe with a cross-section of 200 mm, holes are made with a drill over the entire surface at a distance of 20 mm from each other. The diameter of the holes is 2-3 mm. The upper part is brewed.
2. In the same pipe and in the barrel, one hole is cut with a diameter that matches the pipe for the turbofan.
3. On the opposite side, a door is cut into the barrel at the bottom. You will need it to extract the grain.
4. A large pipe is inserted into the barrel so that the holes match. After this it is welded.
5. Connect the turbofan. To do this, put a pipe on it and insert it into the pipe located in the barrel.

This completes the production. For use, corn is poured into the barrel. After this, light the burner and direct its flame to the operating turbofan. Hot air will enter the inner pipe, and from there, through the holes, to the raw material being dried.

How to dry grains without a dryer

Small volumes of grain are most often air dried. To do this, take some sheet material and place it at a distance of several centimeters from the ground. After this, corn is placed on it. Under the influence of the sun, the cobs will begin to dry out.

After a week, the grains are removed from the cobs and sent for final drying. The raw materials are transferred under a canopy and poured onto the fabric. The place should be well ventilated. To prevent the raw material from starting to rot, it is stirred daily.

Many people also use electric heaters.The grain is poured into low containers in a layer of up to 2 cm and placed near the heater. To ensure air circulation, a fan is additionally used.

Dry the corn over the stove. To do this, it is poured into nets. While cooking, warm air will gradually remove moisture from the grains.

Modern fruit dryers also do a good job. To do this, the grains separated from the cobs are placed on grates in one layer. Dry at +40°C. Every 1.5 hours the grains are mixed and the trays are swapped.

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Conclusion

Drying corn is carried out both at home and in production. It's a simple process. Factory equipment is more balanced and productive, but is expensive. Therefore, many farmers prefer to make a dryer with their own hands. To do this you will need some material, half of which can be found on any farm.