+44-7897-074717Lateef Ayodele Sanni, Eniyome Sampson Ugoso, Michael Oladimeji Faborode
In this study a conductive rotary dryer (CRD) was developed for the drying of pulverized cassava meal with a view to mechanizing the traditional sun-drying method. The effects of four parameters of the dryer were investigated and optimized using the Taguchi technique. Drum temperature had the most significant effect on the swelling index of the cassava meal with signal-to-noise ratio difference of 3.16. A swelling index of 1.02 was predicted for cassava meal dried at drum temperature of 1400C, vapor extraction rate of 0.03 m3/sand 8 kg of wet cassava meal per batch. The moisture content of the cassava meal decreased from 45 % to 10 % (wet basis) in an average of 44 minutes and the proximate composition of the dried cassava meal met the standard specification recommended for cassava flour. The application of the CRD was better than traditional sun drying and its injection into the cassava processing industry can contribute to agro-industrial growth in cassava producing countries of Africa
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