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Dimension : 1535*515*770 mm

The dryer consists of drying chamber, blower, flow control valve, heating coil, rotating paddle type agitator, motor and frame.  The agitator turns the beans and helps for proper and uniform drying. The performance evaluation of the dryer was evaluated in terms of heat utilization factor and thermal efficiency. The moisture content of fermented cocoa beans were reduced from an initial value of 56% (wb)  to 6-7% (w.b) at a drying temperature of 45ºC with air flow rate 2 m/s at an agitator speed of 50 rpm. The heat utilization factor and thermal efficiency of the dryer were found to be 0.48 and 48%, respectively. The time required for drying of cocoa beans was found to be 7 hour/batch. The energy required for the drying operation was 7.54 kWh.