# Estimation of the Energy Consumption of the Rice and Corn Drying Process in the Equatorial Zone
## 2 Methods  
### Technological Evaluation of the Dryers  
In assessing the drying technology, the investigative method was used to prepare technical sheets to gather information about the technology to be studied. These tools elaborate from the dependent variables necessary to evaluate the equipment's energy consumption and the parameters established in food products drying kinetics. Before preparing the technical sheet, it is necessary to know the main parts of a dryer: drying chamber, exhaust fan, and burner (Figure 5) [27,28]. From the bibliographic review of several authors, a technical file was prepared which consists of five essential parts [6,29]:  
1. _General information of the company and the producer:_ company name, address, coordinates, MAGAP category, monthly production, type of product, product origin, % impurity and technology used (National, International, empirical construction). 2. _The drying chamber and technical operating parameters:_ Type of dryer and quantity, dryer capacity, time of use (week), chamber temperature (measure at 6 points), airflow (measure at 6 points), chamber dimension, building materials, energy source (LPG, electricity, biomass, diesel), electricity  
Figure 4: Number of rice processing plants per category per canton; (a) Daule, (b) Salitre, and (c) Santa Lucia. MAGAP, 2018.  
consumption kWh/month, consumption of LPG (lb) and dollars/month, kg of biomass per dried, monthly diesel consumption (gallons), thermal problems, and maintenance date. 3. _Technical characteristics of the auxiliary equipment:_ Brand, year of manufacture, quantity, power, and flow. The additional teams are extractors, resistors, motor, generator, and burner. 4. _Duct system, technical parameters, and power supply:_ Dimension of the heat duct, inlet temperature in the duct system from the heat source, outlet temperature/connection to the chamber, inlet airflow, thermal problems, maintenance, and scheme of the dryer. Combustion chamber dimension (if applicable for biomass furnace), internal operating temperature, and heat exchanger outlet temperature. LPG burner dimension, number of nozzles, distance from the burner to the exhaust fan, connection to LPG cylinders, or reservoirs for industrial use. [30; 31]
5. _Initial and final product temperature, humidity, and observations_: Product drying time, % initial and final humidity of the product (3 samples taken from each for analysis, the sample measured at the site), initial and final water activity of the product (3 samples measured at the site). Observations; environmental conditions [32]  
It is necessary to indicate that 27 out of 68 programmed processing plants were valued, due to mistrust of the owners who prevented us from accessing their rice processing plants. In the case of corn collection centres, 12 collection centres were valued The evaluation was carried out in the Los Rios province's Quevedo sector where, only one dryer design (circular chamber dryer) was identified. Only the drying chamber area, depending on the amount of product to be dried, changes, while the energy source used in industrial LPG, the air extractor and the flame diffuser (nozzles) are of the same capacity for all dryers. During the technical visit, it is shown that 60% of the equipment used in drying rice and 100% of the equipment used in drying corn do not have information plates. In some instances, burners and exhaust fans are locally built. Finally, during the evaluation, thermal losses were evident in the dryers and inadequate hot air distribution was evident in the drying chamber. Figure 6 shows the mechanism that performs the measurements at the drying chamber (temperature meter with thermocouples type K), the area between the flame and the extractor (thermocouple type K-coated lance), and the product (humidity meter). Hot airflow, the chamber temperature, the duct system, and the dry product water activity were recorded during the technical visit. [30; 31; 33].