###### Abstract  
The management of moisture is one of the main challenges in anticipating and averting food decay and food losses during postharvest processing and storage. Hence, it is imperative to reduce the moisture of freshly harvested products to safe-storage limits in order to inhibit the occurrence of diverse biochemical, microbiological and other moisture-related deteriorative reactions which can contribute to quality degradation. A viable alternative to conventional hot-air drying is the application of low temperatures for drying, which has scarcely been investigated. In this regard, experimental-based modeling is a requisite to gain insights into drying processes. Thus, this study focused on investigating the drying kinetics of wheat (_Tritcium aestivum_ L.) cv. 'Pionier' under a coherent set of drying air temperatures (\(T\) = 10-50 \({}^{\circ}\)C), relative humidity (\(RH\) = 20-60%), and airflow velocity (\(v\) = 0.15-1.00 ms\({}^{-1}\)). A robust and automated measurement system using a high urine balance was utilized as a basis for the real-time and continuous acquisition of drying data. The analysis of the experimental results facilitated the establishment of generalized drying model for low temperatures able to describe at a high accuracy the behavior of moisture ratio \(X^{\star}\) (\(R^{2}\) = 0.997, \(RMSE\) = 1.285 \(\times\) 10\({}^{-2}\), \(MAPE\) = 6.5%). An analytical model for predicting the effective diffusion coefficients \(D\) (\(R^{2}\) = 0.988, \(RMSE\) = 4.239 \(\times\) 10\({}^{-2}\), \(MAPE\) = 7.7%) was also developed. In conclusion, the anticipated drying model has demonstrated the capability of modeling the drying behavior of wheat at low temperatures with a high temporal resolution and should be employed in the design, analysis and modeling of cooling, aeration and low-temperature drying processes of wheat bulks. Keywords:wheat; aeration; cooling; low-temperature drying; high-precision dryer; modeling +
Footnote †: journal: Applied Sciences  
mite infestation by avoiding the application of chemical agents [10; 11]. During aeration, moisture is removed even at low temperatures, which in turn contributes to the inhibition of contaminant microorganisms such as fungi, yeasts, actinomycetes, and bacteria which are vulnerable to xerophilic conditions [4]. In contrast to high-temperature drying (\(T>50\)\({}^{\circ}\)C), low temperatures entail longer drying time due to the lower water vapor diffusivity in the drying product and lower water-uptake capacity of drying air [12]. However, the application of low temperatures for drying has proved to significantly enhance the quality retention of various agricultural products [13; 14; 15]. The conventional drying methods are commonly employed in practice as an easy-to-use approach that utilize high drying temperatures to obtain high drying rates [16; 17]. Various drying methods such as convective drying [18], fluidized bed drying [19], cross-flow drying [20], mixed-flow drying [21] which apply high temperatures (\(T=50\)-\(100\)\({}^{\circ}\)C) for drying have been developed. Nevertheless, the high temperatures imparted to the grain during drying contribute to a series of undesirable changes in nutritional-functional properties such as denaturation of proteins, reduction of starch and nitrogen concentrations [22; 23]; structural and textural properties such as transformation of starch granule sizes/shapes, damage of endosperm structure due to lower adhesion of starch granules and protein matrix, occurrence of kernels fissures and color changes [24; 25]; cooking and sensory qualities of wheat end-products [26; 27; 28]. Henceforth, the application of low temperatures is a highly relevant alternative for rendering the grain safe from all risks and sustaining quality preservation [4; 7]. However, drying remains an intricate process composed of simultaneous heat and moisture transfers. For this reason, the thin-layer models are used to provide an in-depth understanding of the air-product interaction and gain insights into drying processes.