Design and Fabrication of Rotary Dryer with Octagonal Bin for Rice Paddy

Rice production relies heavily on drying. It is highly labor-intensive, energy-intensive, and the most wasteful process in rice production. While traditional sun drying is still the least expensive method, its most prominent challenge is being climate dependent. Likewise, it requires a great deal of labor supply to intermittently mix/stir the rice paddy while depending on someone's experience/skill to evaluate the quality of dryness. A rotary dryer is designed and fabricated to guarantee uniform drying by exposing the rice paddy to hot air while being mixed/stirred continuously. The octagonal bin was employed to easily mix/stir the rice paddy and reduce human intervention. The difference in moisture content of rice paddy that was measured at different locations during operation was almost identical proving the effectiveness of rotary dryer in drying rice paddy. The drying curve of the rotary dryer shows a similarity to the drying curve of the rice paddy.