What is the difference between aeration and “near-ambient” drying?
Aeration systems provide a means to lower stored grains to the lowest possible temperature and to equalize the temperature throughout the grain mass. Typically, aeration systems have airflow rates that range from one to two litres of air per second per cubic metre [one to two [L/s]/m³]. With one litre of air per second per cubic metre it should take between 150 and 200 hours of fan operation to change the temperature of the grain in a bin, two [L/s]/m³ requires about half the time. This is why it is necessary to run the fans for a period long enough to equalize the temperature throughout the grain mass. The purpose of aeration is to reduce the temperature of damp or wet grain extending the time it can safely be stored until better drying conditions become available. “Near-ambient” drying (figure 2) works on the principal that dry air is helping to reduce moisture from the stored grain. In this system, air temperature should be above 10°C and relative humidity (RH) below 70 per cent. Th
