Development of pilot scale, conveyor type infrared dryer and performance assessment by clam drying

A conveyor type infrared dryer with hot air assistance was designed and fabricated for fish drying purposes. The performance of the dryer was assessed by drying the clam samples at various IR intensities (1500 and 3000 W/m²), air temperature of 55 °C, IR source distance 10 cm. The drying kinetics curves were plotted and the physical, quality parameters were evaluated in the clams dried at two IR intensities. The drying time of 5 h and 4 h were noted for the clam dried at 1500 and 3000 W/m², respectively to attain the required final moisture of 10-15%wb. Increase in IR intensity increased the drying efficiency (52.42%) and decreased the time of drying (25%) and specific energy consumption (76.65%). The Midilli model showed best fit to explain the drying characteristics of the clam in IR dryer at both intensities with highest R² values (0.999), and lowest RMSE (6.23 × 10^-5, 9.38 × 10^-5), χ² (8.90 × 10^-6, 1.88 × 10^-5) values. The developed dryer is found to be suitable for commercial level production of dried clam in continuous mode. Moreover, this dryer can be utilized for the drying of other food products with specific operating conditions.