Liquid diffusion model for intermittent drying of rough rice

Intermittent drying of rough rice grains forming a thin layer was experimen tally investigated. An analytical solution of the liquid diffusion equation based on a finite circular cylinder geometry for the rice grain was fitted to the experimental data. The effect of the tempering on the drying rate o f rough rice grains was reflected as an increase in the effective diffusion coefficient. The drying rate of the cough rice grains was found to increas e with longer tempering periods. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.