Hot air drying on wheat in the intelligence era: research advances, challenges, and future trends

Wheat is a fundamental food source and drying is an important part of the process to extend storage period of wheat. Hot air drying is widely used in the wheat drying industry due to its simple system and easy operation. However, the timely incorporation of AI-driven intelligent strategies into this industry has been overlooked. This paper focuses on reviewing the recent advances of hot air drying and its integration with intelligent technologies in wheat drying. The research trends and possible limitations of applying intelligent technologies in wheat hot air drying were outlined. Different hot air-drying processes and the initial state of wheat mainly affect the product quality and energy consumption. Increasing concerns over product quality, process costs, and intelligent drying system have motivated the researchers to investigate and the industry to adopt combination technologies. Various intelligent detection technologies and clean energy sources were reported to hold great potential in advancing the wheat hot air drying industry. Future research should focus on achieving technological and equipment innovations in industrial applications through computer simulations and artificial intelligence. Research directions aimed at optimizing process parameters and enhancing product quality should also be prioritized.