Thin Layer Drying of Amaranth Grains Under Natural Convection: Characteristics, Modeling and Quality Attributes

This book is a product of captivating research aimed at better understanding of the thin layer drying behaviour of amaranth grains, evaluation of developed thin layer drying models and quality comparison of the grains dried under solar tent dryer systems and the open sun. There is a growing interest in adoption of indigenous crops in an attempt to enhance diversified food production in semi-arid areas and thus food security. Amaranth is one such crop and its importance is discussed herein widely. From the book, details on harnessing of solar energy by natural convection dryer systems to dry amaranth grains in vertical layers are considered. The findings reported in this book demonstrate how efficient and affordable natural convection solar tent dryers can be utilized to enhance the thin layer drying rate of amaranth grains without significantly affecting their quality properties. The reader is therefore encouraged to keenly follow the experimental setups, criteria used in establishing the efficacy of the drying models and the entire quality analyses for better understanding of the contents in this book.