Development and thermal evaluation of double drum dryer for ready-to-eat food products to support stunting prevention

The study aimed to develop a small-scale drum dryer to meet the small enterprises' demand in the context to produce ready-to-eat food products to support stunting prevention. The design, manufacture, and thermal evaluation of a double drum dryer had been carried out. The development stage consisted of sizing the main components, creating technical drawings, determining component materials, manufacturing, and performance tests. The dryer drum dimension was 500 mm in diameter and 400 mm in length and 20 mm in thickness. The capacity of the double drum dryer was 10 kg/batch. The double drum dryer was powered by a 3-phase electromotor 2.24 kW. There are three transmission systems applied, i.e. gearbox, chain-sprocket and belt-pulley. The feeding system applied was nip feeding. The heat source originated from the steamer using an electric heater. Results of the test showed that the double drum drying machine had worked well as expected. The temperature distribution of both drums was fairly uniform, and the temperature uniformity in the drum surface showed good uniformity (minimum gradient temperature). The double drum dryer was able to produce good characteristics of products in the form of ready-to-eat products made from several ingredients (i.e. millets and red bean) which contain high macro and micronutrient.