Drying Technology

An International Journal

ISSN: 0737-3937 (Print) 1532-2300 (Online) Journal homepage: https://www.tandfonline.com/loi/ldrt20

Optimization of the process of drying of corn

seeds with the use of microwaves

Rute Quelvia de Faria, Amanda Rithieli Pereira dos Santos, Yvan Gariepy,
Edvaldo Aparecido Amaral da Silva, Maria Márcia Pereira Sartori & Vijaya
Raghavan

To cite this article: Rute Quelvia de Faria, Amanda Rithieli Pereira dos Santos, Yvan Gariepy,
Edvaldo Aparecido Amaral da Silva, Maria Márcia Pereira Sartori & Vijaya Raghavan (2019):
Optimization of the process of drying of corn seeds with the use of microwaves, Drying Technology,
DOI: 10.1080/07373937.2019.1686009

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Published online: 05 Nov 2019.

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DRYING TECHNOLOGY
https://doi.org/10.1080/07373937.2019.1686009

Optimization of the process of drying of corn seeds with the use

of microwaves
Rute Quelvia de Fariaa, Amanda Rithieli Pereira dos Santosb, Yvan Gariepyc, Edvaldo Aparecido Amaral da
Silvab, Maria M
arcia Pereira Sartorib, and Vijaya Raghavanc
a
Instituto Federal Goiano, Uruta
ı, Brazil; bDepartment of Production and Plant Breeding, School of Agriculture, UNESP, Botucatu, SP,
Brazil; cDepartment of Bioresource Engineering, McGill University, Sainte-Anne-De-Bellevue, Quebec, Canada

ABSTRACT ARTICLE HISTORY

The heating and drying of various types of food using microwave improve the economy of Received 19 July 2019
time and energy. The physiological quality variation of the seeds submitted to microwave Revised 15 October 2019
drying is known to some extent. In this context, some authors have reported excellent per- Accepted 24 October 2019
formance using this technique, on germination rates, after drying. The commercial use of
KEYWORDS
microwave drying in seeds is irrelevant, which motivates more extensive research on the Electro energy; seeds
benefits and challenges of this technique that can increase its insertion in the post-harvest longevity; vacuum
handling steps of agricultural products. Corn is a product of high worldwide relevance. microwave drying; vigor
Therefore, the use of microwaves in its drying process has excellent potential to arrive at test; magnetron
significant savings in its production. Thus, this study is aimed to evaluate the effects on the
physiological quality of the seeds submitted to different drying conditions, using the micro-
wave radiation. To that end, corn seeds, with a water content of 20% on wet basis (w.b.),
were dried at 40, 50, and 60
C, at power ratings of 0, 0.6, and 1.2 W/g; in the vacuum con-
dition. Drying occurred continuously, with intermittent power, until the seeds reached the
12% wet basis; in this condition, the seeds could be stored with secure. Germination tests
performed shortly after drying showed that the temperature of 40
C at a power of 0.6 W/g
had a reduction in drying time of approximately 5 h when compared to conventional drying
(40
C and 0.0 W/g). The evaluation of the physiological quality of the seeds showed no sig-
nificant difference in the germination, vigor, and longevity indices of the treated seeds.

Introduction Thus, when the harvest occurs with water content

greater than 12% on wet basis, drying should be per-
The use of microwaves in the drying of products for
the commercialization of dehydrated foods is com- formed to have safe storage, avoiding mainly the
mon. Microwaves are electromagnetic energy that development of fungi and pests in the stor-
propagates in waveforms at frequencies that vary over age ecosystem.
time in the range of 2400–2500 MHz.[1] On surfaces Some studies have reported on the use of micro-
such as food, its energy is absorbed in the form of wave drying in seeds showing promising results. Some
heat, stirring the water molecules that are driven by examples are for corn seeds,[5] of wheat[6] in lotus
the frequency generated in the magnetron. The fric- seeds,[7] for soybean,[8] among others. The reports
tion of the water molecules in the product creates show that the methodology is feasible and can guaran-
heat that promotes the withdrawal of water from tee the preservation of the quality of the product with
the product. saving gains in the drying process.
Corn is one of the leading agricultural products Published articles on microwave drying in corn
produced in Brazil,[2] the United States,[3] Canada,[4] (maize) seeds provide relevant information about the
and in other countries of the world. Seed drying is a drying performance and germination of the seeds.[9,10]
recommended process for maintaining its quality dur- However, information on the characteristics concern-
ing storage—the seeds get the highest physiological ing the physiological quality and longevity of the seeds
quality in the field when its water content is high. is scanty. Therefore, to understand the intensity of the

CONTACT Rute Quelvia de Faria [email protected] Instituto Federal Goiano, Ag Engennier, Goi^ania 74001-970, Brazil.
Color versions of one or more of the figures in the article can be found online at www.tandfonline.com/ldrt.
ß 2019 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC
2 R. Q. DE FARIA ET AL.

temperature of the air and the product, combining the

power supply according to the generated heating. The
temperature of the product was measured from an
optical fiber (NOEMI-TS, by NORTHECH), with tem-
perature accuracy of ±1
C, inserted into a seed. The
developed equipment is also capable of measuring the
mass of the product and recording the data in real
time every 30 s. The study was conducted at a con-
stant temperature with intermittent power. The appar-
atus was adapted to allow the power to vary from 0 to
Figure 1. Schematic diagram of microwave drying system.[10]
500 W (Figure 1).[10]
direct and latent damages caused by the conventional Before drying, the samples were separated in the
drying process compared to the microwave drying, amount of 100 g were taken from the refrigerator and
may encourage a more significant commercial invest- kept at room temperature for 30 min. Afterward, they
ment, bringing economic benefits to the drying pro- were submitted to drying at temperatures of 40, 50,
cess and thus helping the industrial sector. and 60
C, combined with power ratings of 0.0, 0.6,
Therefore, in this study, the effects of different dry- and 1.2 W/g, until the water content was reduced
ing conditions were evaluated using microwave radi- from 20 to 12% w.b.
ation at 0.0, 0.6, and 1.2 W/g, varying temperatures of
40, 50, and 60
C. Our objective was to find the bino- Evaluation of the physiological quality of seeds
mial (power/temperature) that favors the reduction of
drying time for preserving the maximum initial char- The water content of the seeds was checked, before
acteristics associated with the physiological quality of and after the sample re-humidification, by the oven
the seeds. method, at 105 ± 1
C for 24 h, in three replicates. To
evaluate the immediate damage of the seeds after dry-
ing, the germination standard test (GST) was per-
Material and methods
formed. The seed germination index was evaluated in
Preparation of the samples four replicates of 50 seeds, wrapped in a paper towel
moistened with water in the amount of 2.5 times its
The seeds of yellow corn (Zea mays L.) used in this
study were harvested in 2017, in the city of Uruta
ı, weight. The paper rolls were placed in plastic bags,
the southwestern region of the state of Goi
as, Brazil. sealed and conditioned in acclimatization chambers at
The samples were brought to the post-harvest labora- a temperature of 25 ± 1
C, from where they were
tory of the bioresource engineering department of removed on the fourth day, to count the normal seed-
McGill University, where drying and seed analysis lings, and on the seventh day for germination
process was carried out. Initially, the water content evaluation.[11]
and the germination were checked, they were at The first count test is a vigor test and was per-
11.53% w.b. and 93%, respectively. formed from the standard germination test. In other
To perform drying, it was necessary to re-humidify words, on the fourth day of the germination test, the
the samples. Therefore, the seeds were placed in glass normal seedlings were counted, and their values were
jars, where distilled water was sprayed in the amount given in percentage to the total number of seeds
of 105.7 g of water for each kilogram of seeds. The placed to germinate.[11] The imbibition curve was per-
seeds were then placed in a refrigerator at an average formed only for the two best treatments identified by
temperature of 10
C where they were gently stirred germination and first count tests. The test was per-
every 12 h for 72 h. After the rewetting process, the formed with four replicates of 5 seeds for each treat-
final water content of the seeds was checked by using ment. After individual weighing of each seed, they
ASABE standard, which was 20% w.b. were packed in Petri dishes and moistened at the
same time. After this, the seeds were placed to ger-
minate in acclimatization chambers at a temperature
Microwave and drying process
of 25 ± 1
C. The weight of each seed was periodically
A microwave system with a maximum power of checked until its germination was identified, charac-
600 W has been adapted and developed to control the terized by the protrusion of at least 2 mm radicle.
 DRYING TECHNOLOGY 3

Figure 2. Decrease of water content during microwave drying of corn seeds with initial water content from 20% (w.b.) at 40
C
(a); 50
C (b); and 60
C (c). Legend: ( ) 0.0 W/g; ( ) 0.6 W/g; and ( ) 1.2 W/g. Model fit: ( ) 0.0 W/g; ( ) 0.6 W/g; and ( ) 1.2 W/g.

From this test, the germination uniformity parame- their death was identified by the absence of protrusion
ters were evaluated, they are: percentage of total ger- of the radicle. At the end of the test, the time that
mination (G), time for 50% germination of the sample 50% of the seeds took to lose their viability (P50) was
(T50), mean germination time (MGT), T50/MGT calculated by the Cauchy model,[13] with the help of a
ratio, uniformity of germination (U8416); time of ger- Software R 3.6.1.
mination of 10% of samples (T10) and area under the
curve generated by water absorption (AUC). The tests
were performed as per the procedure in Hay et al.[11] Statistical analysis
Drying: The chosen factorial design was the response
Longevity of seeds surface with three temperature levels (40, 50, and
The longevity study was performed also only for the 60
C) and three microwave power levels (0, 0.6, and
two best treatments according to the germination and 1.2 W/g), with center point in the treatment of 50
C
first count tests. For this, the seeds submitted to the and 0.6 W/g, where four replications were performed.
drying process were conditioned in plastic boxes, The adjustment of the model of the drying curve, and
sealed, with a potassium chloride solution, at a tem- the water absorption curve was performed, for the
perature of 38
C. The saline solution simulated a rela- evaluation of the drying time, and the quality of the
tive humidity of 85%, which was periodically checked seeds respectively. The models were chosen based on
by a thermo-hygrometer. This study allows us to the averages obtained in the results of the tests with
accelerate the aging process of the seed simulating a the help of the statistical software Curve Expert. The
more aggressive stress condition than what occurs in choice of the most appropriate model was made from
nature but allows us to evaluate the approximate lon- its R2 adjustment coefficient, its ability to predict the
gevity of the product in a shorter period.[12] drying phenomenon, and its simplicity. The tests of
Every seven days, the seeds were removed from the means and surface analysis of the answer were real-
aging chambers for evaluation of germination until ized with the aid of the Minitab Software.
4 R. Q. DE FARIA ET AL.

Results and discussion

The loss of water during drying is shown in terms of
its moisture ratio in Figure 2. The most prolonged
drying has duration of 12 h 35 min, where the tem-
perature was 40
C, without the use of the micro-
waves. The fastest drying was 1 h 9 min and
corresponded to the temperature of 60
C with an
application of 1.2 W/g. At each temperature, the add-
ition of power resulted in a reduction of the dry-
ing time.
The drying curves were adjusted by the
Morgan–Mercer–Flodin (MMF) model for tempera-
tures of 40 and 50
C and by the rational model for
the temperature of 60
C, where the functions are
defined respectively by y ¼ (ab þ cx2)/(b þ xd), and
y ¼ (a þ bx)/(1 þ cx þ dx2), where y is the water loss
ratio in the seeds, x is the time spent for drying, and
a, b, c, and d, are the model adjustment constants.
The chosen model presents an acceptable coefficient
of adjustment for all curves, and good capacity to be
used in the prediction of microwave drying behavior.
The results of the germination test and the first
count were presented as response surface (Figure 3).
The first count is indicating the normal plants that
was formed in just 5 days of germination and is an
information of the vigor of seed. The surface in both
tests had significant quadratic behavior. Therefore, we
can infer that an optimal drying condition can be
found between temperatures of 40 and 50
C, in the
power of 0.0–0.6 W/g. It is noted that for both the
first count test and the general seedling count germin- Figure 3. Response surface of germination tests and first
ation, there is an area with better performance. This count of normal seedlings at temperatures of 40, 50, 60
C
region is closest to the temperature of 45
C. The sur- and power of 0.0, 0.6, and 1.2 W/g. Germination model: ln
face also shows that there is an area where microwave (Germination) ¼ 4.21  1.23 PW þ 0.397 T þ 0.787 PW  PW
 0.00437 T  T  0.0036 PW  T; R2 ¼ 40.3%, p-value ¼
power can be better exploited, which can result in 0.030. Model of the GST first count test: ln(Firs Count) ¼
drying time savings. This region comprises the area 2.77 þ 1.87 PW þ 0.309 T  0.417 PW  PW  0.00337 T 
between 0 and 0.6 W/g, where it would be necessary T  0.0466 PW  T; R2 ¼ 61.5%, p-value ¼ 0.035.
to explore the results better, to obtain an evaluation
of the qualitative performance of the seeds (Table 1).
The authors Gursoy, Choudhary, and Watson,[12] germination indices in both tests at the same time
testing microwave drying on corn seeds at powers of was the one that used the temperature of 40
C at a
3.5 W/g, for 80 and 120 s, obtained germination above power rating of 0.6 W/g.
90%, but the short period of exposure led to a lower The treatment of 40
C with the use of a power rat-
reduction of water contents. In this study, we sought ing of 0.6 W/g, obtained the best means in both tests,
to find a binomial temperature/power that was able to not differing from the conventional treatment of
perform complete drying to levels in which storage 40
C, without the use of the microwaves. However,
was possible. Therefore, for this purpose, powers the drying time spent in this treatment was 5.32 h less
higher than 0.6 W/g added to temperatures above than the drying time in conventional treatment. To
50
C are harmful to seed germination. A comparison better evaluate the physiological performance of these
of the averages generated by both tests in the applied two treatments, the samples of the treated seeds were
treatments is presented in Table 2. The averages indi- submitted to vigor and longevity analyses, where
cate that the treatment that least affected the latent damage could be verified. Although seeds
 DRYING TECHNOLOGY 5

Table 1. Model indices for the temperatures of 40 and 50
C given by the MMF model, whose defined function is
y ¼ (ab þ cx2)/(b þ xd)), and indexes of the rational model for the temperature of 60
C, given by y ¼ (a þ bx)/
(1 þ cx þ dx2), used to predict the phenomenon of microwave drying in corn seeds.
Temperature (
C) Power (W/g) a b c d R2 
40 0.0 0.99000 0.240000 1.040000 0.58000 99
0.6 5.23000 0.100000 1.140000 0.39000 99
1.2 18.5666 0.021815 0.976078 0.47404 99
50 0.0 2.03659 0.1880050 1.11625 0.46981 99
0.6 11.0479 0.051872 1.13009 0.40483 99
1.2 10.2688 0.0541380 1.04456 0.42634 99
60 0.0 0.938629 0.187846 0.664876 0.11555 99
0.6 1.026274 0.338672 1.516305 0.49436 98
1.2 0.9970100 0.9301180 1.6995800 0.8200690 99
Significance level of 0.05.

The temperature oscillation around 40
C is nat-

Table 2. Comparison of mean seedling indices in germination
and first count tests after drying corn seeds at temperatures ural. When the power intensity is applied to the prod-
of 40, 50, and 60
C, and power ratings of 0.0, 0.6, and uct, it will naturally heat up. After this, the power will
1.2 W/g. be activated when the temperature of the samples
Normal seedlings (%) decreases. Drying using a temperature of 40
C, with-


Temperature ( C) Power (W/g) Germination test (%) First count (%) out the use of the microwaves, we see a smaller fluc-
40 0.0 84.00 AB 60.00 A tuation of heat inside the seeds. The temperature is
0.6 93.00 A 72.00 A
1.2 59.00 C 35.00 BC more stable over time and slightly higher than the
0.0 92.00 AB 50.00 AB average temperature of the product submitted to the
50 0.6 77.50 B 56.47 A
1.2 41.00 C 19.00 C microwaves. Possibly the fluctuation of the heat gener-
0.0 78.00 AB 54.00 AB ated by the microwave indicates a higher and more
60 0.6 11.00 D 11.00 C
1.2 51.2 C 11.00 C
intense energy transfer in the product than in the
The means that does not share the same letter in the column is signifi- conventional drying, which causes the water to be
cantly different by LSD-Fisher test, with 95% of probability. withdrawn from the product at more top speed, even
at a slightly lower temperature.
treated with 50
C without the use of the microwave The water absorption capacity of the seeds is a par-
also had good performance, the duration of this dry- ameter that indicates the seed quality. In Figure 6, it
ing was higher (9.13 h). can be verified by the curves adjusted to the rational
The means of germination and first count tests, in model, that there is a gain in the water absorption
these two treatments, were also compared to the capacity of the seeds that were treated with microwave
means obtained by the seeds before humidification. drying. Seed water uptake behavior was very similar
Analysis from the confidence interval, calculated by in both treatments in Phase I of the germination.
the standard deviation of the samples is shown in However, in Phase II, the conventional drying treat-
Figure 4. The confidence interval presents no signifi- ment stabilized, while the seeds submitted to micro-
cant differences between seed dried by microwave wave drying continued to increase their percentage of
with control samples. The control samples represent weight gain. Such behavior may indicate the presence
the seeds not submitted to re-hydration and drying. of more osmotically active solutes such as sugars and
The result is promising for the treatment with the use amino acids dissolved in the cells.[14]
of microwaves since it corroborates that the drying The germinability parameters are presented in
that occurred in less time and had little or possibly no Table 3, the T50 and MTG parameters were lower for
deleterious effects on the seeds. the seeds treated with the microwaves. However, the
During drying, in addition to controlling the tem- T50/TMG ratio is higher for the treatment seeds
perature of the air, the microwave checks and records 40
C 0.6 W/g. The other indices as U8416, AUC, and
the temperature behavior of the product. From Figure T10 do not differ from the sample with conventional
5, we can verify that the temperature of the product drying. The parameters of the germination perform-
with the use of the microwaves remained slightly infer- ance of the seeds treated with the microwaves indicate
ior to the temperature of the product in the conven- some differences in the physiological quality of the
tional drying. Another factor is that the temperature lots. The time required to identify 50% of germination
was more oscillating at the beginning of the drying, and of the lot was significantly lower for the treatment
remained floating during the drying process. 40
C and 0.6 W/g. The same was observed for the
6 R. Q. DE FARIA ET AL.

Figure 4. Confidence interval for the first count and germination tests, at the 95% probability level. The control treatment repre-
sents seed germination before rehumidification, compared to the microwave drying treatment at 40
C with 0.0 and 0.6 W/g
power, respectively.

Figure 5. Drying time versus drying air temperature and product temperature at 40
C and 0.0 W/g and 40
C and
0.6 W/g treatments.

Figure 6. Water uptake by corn seeds submitted to microwave drying at 40
C, at the power of 0.0 W/g and 0.6 W/g.

mean germination time of the lot. However, the ratio showed very close performance to the untreated seeds,
between the two parameters was higher for this same and was slightly higher, as shown in Figure 7. The cal-
treatment, indicating that the average time of the culation of P50 was performed for both the first count
seeds that germinated had a more balanced relation- and germination tests with Cauchy model.
ship with the time in which 50% of germin- Studies have shown that microwave technique is
ation occurred. feasible in reducing the drying time of various prod-
The study of longevity is a test that allows evaluat- ucts, as green soybean,[15] in amaranth and quinoa
ing the latent damage that the drying has infringed seeds,[16] soybean in fixed bed.[17] Also, safe drying
the seeds. Seed submitted to microwave drying for wheat, corn and rice seed[18] in fixed bed, and in
 DRYING TECHNOLOGY 7

spouted bed dryers,[19] are noted. In this study, we use of the microwaves increase even more than the
verified that not only germination of the seeds is pre- efficiency of its use.
served, but also the characteristics of vigor and lon- The results of the physiological quality of the seeds
gevity remain the same or, with slight differences. also indicate that there is a need for more excellent
However, the gain in time and energy savings in dry- uniformity of the microwave incidence process.
ing with the use of the power of 0.6 W/g is much Although most seed analysis tests did not present sig-
higher than that of the drying obtained in a conven- nificant differences in physiological quality, the stand-
tional way. ard deviation presented by the seeds treated with the
Another relevant factor to be highlighted in the microwaves indicates that there is more considerable
study is the behavior of the product temperature dur- variation among the seeds of this treatment. This is
ing drying. Heat fluctuations that lead to temperature because the seeds remained static during the drying
increase and decrease smoothly provide an environ- process. This can significantly alter the amount of
ment less aggressive to seed quality. On average, the power each seed receives.
internal temperature of the product remained slightly The authors Maqueda, Redondo, J
acome, and
lower than the conventional drying. We believe that Moreno,[15] studied the vigor of quinoa and amaranth
this behavior can be better exploited in future seeds submitted to microwave drying, despite excellent
research so that different drying processes with the performance in reducing drying time, germination

Table 3. Parameters of the germinability and uniformity of the seeds submitted to the drying with and without the use of micro-
waves at a temperature of 40
C.
Power (W/g) G (%) T50 (h) MGT (h) U8416 (h) T50/MGT T10 (h) AUC (120 h)
0.0 85 a 26.9 a 25.2 a 4.0 a 1.1 b 24.5 a 79.1 a
0.6 75 a 33.5 b 35.0 b 21.3 a 1.0 a 23.0 a 62.1 a
Germination percentage (G), time to 50% germination (T50), median germination time (MGT), time required for germination from 16 to 84% (U8416),
time required to occur 10% germination; and area under the curve of germination (AUC).
The means that does not share a same letter in the column is significantly different by t test, with 95% of probability.

Figure 7. Longevity of corn seeds (P50), dried at 40
C using the powers 0.0 (W/g), and 0.6 (W/g). (a) Protrusion of radicle without
use of microwaves. (b) Protrusion of radicle with the use of 0.6 W/g of power. (c) Test of vigor of the first count of the GST with-
out the use of the microwaves. (d) Test of vigor of the first count of GST with the use of 0.6 W/g of microwave power.
8 R. Q. DE FARIA ET AL.

results indicated that a suitable potency for these seeds [2] CONAB. Conab - Comp^endio de Estudos da Conab -
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Thus, we believe that by adjusting the homogeniza- www.ers.usda.gov/ (accessed June 28, 2019).
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[9] Bualuang, O.; Onwude, D. I.; Pracha, K. Microwave
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