Moisture control during the harvesting, storage, and processing phases of c
otton production is essential for producing a quality product. This reports
describes the moisture absorption and desorption rates for acid-delinted c
ottonseed. Absorption values are shown for temperatures of 20 degrees C and
35 degrees C and desorption values for temperatures ranging from 20 degree
s C to 130 degrees C (68-266 degrees F). The desorption (drying) moisture d
ata were plotted against time and found to be exponential in nature and are
modeled reasonably well by the theoretical falling rate (exponential decay
) function. Nonlinear regression analysis was used to fit the value of the
coefficients in the theoretical falling rate equation to the experimental d
ata. Temperature significantly affected the coefficient containing the diff
usivity parameters in the drying equations. A generalized solution of the f
alling rate drying equation, suitable for engineering calculations, was dev
eloped as a function of absolute temperature. Results indicate that moistur
e absorption by cottonseed occurs in two phases. The first absorption phase
appears to be physical in nature and similar to the curves of other biolog
ical materials. The second phase, which shows an increased moisture absorpt
ion rate after a leveling off period, may indicate increased metabolic acti
vity.