Physics behind drying processes made easy

The physics behind drying processes made easy

We have created a simulation programme, with which you can experiment by simply inputting the temperature and relative humidity of the outside air, and the planned temperature increase to dry your onions.

The programme will do all of the scientific calculations, and show you what you are doing with the air as well as the drying capacity of the air.

Of course, the higher the drying capacity of the air, the better, because your onions will dry faster. This is explained at: Drying onions in different climates

The programme has two restrictions::

1. 1. It does not allow you to increase the temperature of the air by more than 5° Celsius. Why? Because a bigger increase will damage your onions. A 5° increase is the maximum amount that you can heat up onions by in a short period of time, without destroying their internal structure.
2. 2. This programme only works with outside air between 15° and 33°, although in reality, conditions outside this range do exist.

The programme will also show you which drying system will be suitable for your conditions, which will be one of the following:

1. You can dry, in your situation, with outside air.
2. You need heaters to be able to dry.
3. Or, in your situation, you have such high temperatures and relative humidity, that you cannot heat your air. First, you must lower the relative humidity of your air with a Vacc Tek to be able to dry.

Enjoy experimenting with this programme, and we hope you will get a general understanding of what drying is, and what it involves.