Ministry of Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises (M.S.M.E.) : Smart IOT Based Compact Dryer For Agriculture Products

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Ministry of Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises

(M.S.M.E.)
College name : Gyan Ganga Institute of technology and
sciences
Problem statement : Smart IOT based compact dryer for
agriculture products
Mentor : Dr. S.V.H. Nagendra
Team name : AGRO - TECH
Team leader name : Mr. Ritik Vishwakarma
Team member : Mr. Abhishek Pateriya
Mr. Shobhit Sahu
Mr. Sumank Yadav
Mr. Saurabh Sahu
Problem Statement
In the present scenario in a general household, we use traditional methods to dry the grains
like wheat, barley etc. and that is sun drying and the existing cabinet grain dryer. These methods
have a lot of deficiencies in terms of industrial grain dryers.
The following problems occur during sun drying:

1. Grains must not be exposed at night. In fact, by bringing about an increase in the relative
humidity of the air, the cold of the night fosters will do rehumidification of the grain.
2. This method should not be used in humid regions or during the rainy season.
3. It must be remembered that insufficient or excessively slow drying can bring severe losses in
product during storage from the self-generated heat of “green” grain.
4. Finally, prolonged exposure of grain to atmospheric factors, results into pest attack (insects,
rodents, birds) and micro-organisms (moulds) development.
5. Grains should be sun-dried in the middle of the day only (when air is dry).

If grain having the high moisture, it results in poor processing quality of grain into flour and
the high moisture content in the grains promotes the growth of fungus and molds in the grains. So,
the need is to provide a smart solution for drying the grains in households
Solution
An smart and compact equipment will be designed and fabricated which will provide dry grains
in batches or as per the requirement of the user. For which the equipment will have a air drying
unit composed of sensors like temperature sensor, humidity sensor, load sensor, which will help in
measuring the humidity of air and grain, It will also measure the Temperature of air for right
dryness, and a Load sensor which will weigh the grain. The unit will have a 10-20 kg volume of
space. Hot air will pass through the wet grains and make them dry while passing through it. The
thermal detector will check the correct temperature required for drying the grain by providing
continuous feedback to IOT unit [control unit] and simultaneously the humidity sensor will check
the humidity of air as well as that of grains. To ensure this the grains have the correct level of
moisture the load sensor will give the feedback to the control unit. This control unit will maintain
the operation of the device air inflow and its temperature. The IOT system help in controlling the
whole device even the user is far away from it. To reduce the risks of heterogeneity of moisture
content, but also to limit the costs of the operation, prolonged drying of too-thick layers of grain
should be avoided. To obtain a more nearly homogeneous moisture content of the grain, it is
possible to make provision for ventilation with air at ambient temperature, after the hot-air drying.
In order to reduce still further the difference in moisture content of the grain, dryers will be
equipped with special devices for stirring the grain during drying.
Concept
• The equipment works on the principle of FORCED HOT AIR CONVECTION HEAT TRANSFER.
• It uses the concept of crossed flow heat transfer (Grains are stationary and air is passing
through grains perpendicularly).
• A current of hot air moves from bottom to top through a layer of grain. Drying of the mass
of grain does not take place in a uniform fashion as it moves from the bottom to the top, the
drying air imparts heat to the grain and absorbs moisture, losing its "drying power" in the
process. The lower layers will therefore dry more rapidly than the upper ones to overcome
this issue equipment is having a stirring mechanism.
• The drying process is based on the diffusion of moisture from the inside of the grain to the
outside. The hot and dry air that touches the grain leads to heating of the humidity inside
the grain which tends to evaporate to saturate the hot air
• The equipment uses IoT technology for making the process smooth and fast and to ensure
that grains have the correct level of moisture and will not be overdried.
Objective
Generally, grain drying is very important because it increases the storage life of grains. If grains
having the high moisture, it results in poor processing quality of grain into flour and the high
moisture content in the grains promotes the growth of fungus, so, the need is to provide a smart
solution for drying the grains in households that will resolve the issue of drying of grain.

The main aims are -

• To develop an equipment that dry the grains at home.


• To provide a solution to dry grains in high humid regions.
• To develop an equipment that will be independent of the weather condition to dry the grain.
• To eliminate the dependency on sunlight for drying the grain
• To minimize the requirement of manual expertise.
• To improve drying rate.
• To give optimum technology at affordable price.
• To reduce human efforts.
How will equipment work
Firstly, the moisture content grain (undried or wet grain) put in the drying chamber then turn
on the equipment and select the mode of the equipment by pressing the key on panel.
The air from the surrounding will be taken by the fans and discharge through the heating
element to heat the air and then this hot air will pass through the wet grains. The temperature of
the air will be measured and data will be given to the control system, then control system will
compare the actual temperature to the desired control temperature and provide the output to the
heating element. For heating element, the output is on when the temperature is below the
desired temperature, and off when the temperature is above the desired temperature.
Simultaneously, the humidity of grains and weight of the grain are also observed and the input
is provided to the control system, control system will compare the data with desired data, if the
humidity is higher than the desired humidity the output signal will be on for the fan controlling
unit and vice versa.
The stirring mechanism of equipment will stir the grains after a period of time and avoid
overheating of lower layer of grains.
Hence if the grain is dried the fan and the heating element will be turning off by the control
system thus equipment will have turned off by the IOT control system and the grain will not be
overheated or burned after drying even if the user has forgot to turn off the machine.
Set operating temperature initially at 65°C.

When moisture has dropped to 18%, Turn down drying air temperature to 45°C to prevent
fissuring of the grains.

If relative False
humidity < 60%
AND no urgency

True
Use ambient air to dry the grain to
reduce fuel cost.

Again set temperature at 65°C.

Turn off the equipment when moisture reaches 14%.


Potential area of application
• The major application areas targeted so far are grains that are used in the homes. The
equipment helps to solve the most common problem faced by common Indian households for
drying the grains.
• This will be great help not only in homes but also in micro industries like – small restaurants,
mesh, etc.
• The equipment is not limited for grains only, it can be used for vegetable drying, fruit drying
and other products like – papad, chips, etc. as well.
• This equipment is very useful in high humid areas where the relative humidity is high to dry
the grains like – Malabar coast, western coast, Meghalaya, Assam, etc.
• This equipment can be used in rainy season or when the sunlight is not present even in night.
It eliminates the dependency on sunlight to dry grains in homes.
• It reduces the time to dry the grains.
• This equipment will reduce the human effort to dry the grains.
• It takes less space and can be dissembled when it is not required with ease.
Market potential
• The "Global Grain Dryers Market Analysis to 2028" is a specialized and in-depth study of the
grain dryers industry with a special focus on the global market trend analysis. The global grain
dryers market is expected to witness high growth during the forecast period.

• The equipment can be used in all regions of India and the main market of this equipment is
high humidity areas and coastal areas like – Malabar Coast, Western Coast, Meghalaya,
Assam, etc. where relative humidity is high to dry the grains or other food products like
papad, chips, etc.

• This equipment will be very helpful not only in household but it can also be used in micro
industries like small restaurants, mesh etc. And the mechanism is not limited for grains only, it
can be used for vegetable drying, fruit drying and other products like – papad, chips, etc. as
well. Even the farmers can also use it and supply the dry grains, this is not in scope our
project.

• The cost of the equipment is very less compared to existing industrial grain dryers and those
can only be used for grains but this equipment can be used to dry the other products as well,
most of the products of Grain Dryers ranges from Rs 80000 to 2000000 per Piece.
Conclusion
• This equipment will help in resolving the most common issue happening in common Indian
households.
• The IOT technology will make the process smooth and fast and ensures that grains have the
correct level of moisture and will not be overdried.
• The equipment will improve the drying rate (It will take about 4-6 hours to dry the rice and
about 6-8 hours for wheat and maize) and dry about 10-20 kg of grains at a time.
• It will reduce human efforts.
• It is not limited to only grains, it can be used for vegetable drying, fruit drying and other
products like – papad, chips etc as well.
• It can also be used in micro industries like small restaurants, mesh etc.
• It will resolve the issue of drying grains in rainy seasons and in high humid regions and it will
eliminate the dependency on sunlight for drying the grain.
• I recommend this equipment for small scale household purpose where the quantity of grain to
be dried is not very large
Thank
You

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