Drying nuts with ambient air: less energy, more dependence on the weather
Drying with ambient air demonstrates that it is possible to significantly reduce energy consumption by eliminating, either partially or completely, the need for heat input. However, the cost of this efficiency is a longer drying time and a strong dependence on weather conditions.
In the UC Davis trials, batches with similar initial humidity levels required very different times to reach approximately 8% humidity. This confirms that, when working with ambient air, the temperature and relative humidity of the outside air are critical factors.
The main lesson is that it's not always necessary to supply the same amount of heat throughout the entire process. If the outside air has sufficient drying capacity, this can be used to reduce fuel consumption; when it ceases to be advantageous, the heat input can supplement the process.
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