MICROWAVE DRYING OF SOYBEAN AT 2.45 GHZ

Soybeans were rewetted to selected levels of initial moisture content and then dried in a microwave field under various conditions of microwave power and inlet air condition. An empirical diffusion model, based on the assumption that the surface moisture content is an exponentially decreasing function of the initial free moisture content, fit the data very well. This modelling technique resulted in good fits to independent data on soybean drying. Tests showed that soybeans may be dried in a microwave field much more rapidly than by convection alone, with no reduction in germination for absorbed power levels below 0.13 W/g.