Energy and cost analysis of corn masa byproduct drying

Corn masa industry produces a large amount of masa byproducts. The traditional method of disposing this byproduct is landfill. The objective of this project is to explore the economic feasibility of drying the corn masa byproduct as an alternative to landfill. Drying this material will reduce its moisture content from 85 % (W.B.) to 15 % (W.B.) which stabilizes its shelf life. Drying characteristics of the product were first explored using a pilot plant scale tray dryer (TY-3, National Dryer Machinery Co., Philadelphia, PA). The drying curve obtained indicated that agitation is important for producing a uniformly dried product. A Tubular type commercial dryer (Scott Air Swept Tubular Dryer, Scott Equipment Co., New Prague, MN) was used to dry 1180 kg of the wet byproduct at 85 % M. C. (W. B.). The most economical drying temperature was 232 C. Energy requirements for drying were natural gas and electricity. Energy requirement per unit weight of finished product at 15 % M.C. was 27,549 kJ/kg (57,511 BTU/lb.). Drying cost was estimated for energy and labor. Energy cost was $780/Mg (708$/2000 lb.) of finished product and labor cost was $551/Mg ($500/2000 lb.) of finished product. The total cost per metric tone of finished product was $1,331/Mg ($1208/2000 lb.). Drying the product with this technique is unlikely to be cost-effective strategy under current livestock feed or landfill disposal prices.