The investigation of an economical and efficient drying method for chilli is beneficial because it could provide a means of overcoming the drawbacks of traditional drying methods: high operating power and long drying time, which result in a decrease in the quality of the chilli. This study involved the design and development of a combined infrared and hot air laboratory-scale rotary dryer, which consists of three operating modes: hot air, infrared, and combined infrared and hot air. Drying experiments were conducted at five different temperatures (50, 55, 60, 65, and 70 °C). The drying behavior produced with the three operating modes was evaluated. The best mode was determined based on the parameters for evaluating the quality of chilli, the power consumption, and the retention time. The results indicate that the optimal overall drying performance for chilli was achieved at 70, 65, 50 °C drying temperatures in hot air, combined, and IR mode, respectively. A positive correlation was observed between retention time and power consumption with the hot air and the combined modes, while a negative correlation was identified in the IR mode.
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