Drying Characteristics and Quality of Paddy under Low Temperatures and Far-infrared Drying Conditions of Graphene

In order to study the graphene low temperature far-infrared drying characteristics of paddy and its influence on the drying quality of rice, the IR temperatures, grain flow and dehumidification air volume were used as influencing factors, and the head rice rate and additional stress crack index were used as evaluation indexes. A self-made circulating graphene low temperature far-infrared drying machine was used to carry out paddy drying tests. The effect of low temperature far-infrared drying on paddy drying quality and the optimization of process parameters were analyzed. The results showed that the most important factors affecting the drying characteristics and quality of paddy were IR temperature, followed by grain flow and dehumidifying air volume. With the increase of IR temperature, the drying rate and additional stress crack index of paddy were increased gradually, while the percentage of head rice was decreased gradually. Compared with hot air drying at the same temperature, the average drying rate and drying quality of graphene low temperature far-infrared drying were significantly improved. After optimization, the optimal low temperature far-infrared drying conditions for paddy were as follows; IR temperature was 43^, grain flow rate was 4 kg/min, dehumidification air volume was 193 mVh, stress crack index increment was 9, head rice rate was 79. 75%, and paddy drying quality was the best. The results showed that using graphene to dry paddy at low temperature and far-infrared can significantly increase the drying rate and improve the drying quality of paddy. © 2024 Chinese Society of Agricultural Machinery. All rights reserved.