The effect exerted by the number of stages (one, two, three, and four stages) of a countercurrent sliding-bed dryer on the quality indices and drying performance of soybean seeds is evaluated by simulation. The two-phase model is used to describe heat and mass transfer between air and soybean seeds. The constitutive model equations are taken from specific studies. The seed quality is determined based on germination and nonfissured seed indices obtained by empirical functions reported in the literature. The simulated results show that dividing the air mass flux and air velocity can produce a lower seed outlet temperature which may yield higher quality indices and better drying performance in multistage configurations.
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