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ISSN Online: 2379-1748

8th Thermal and Fluids Engineering Conference (TFEC)
March, 26-29, 2023, College Park, MD, USA

A Study of Hop Kilning Energy Consumption with Respect to Drying Temperatures in the Pacific Northwest

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DOI: 10.1615/TFEC2023.app.046323

Abstract

The objective of this study was to evaluate the energy consumption and time to dry for different hop varietals subjected to different drying temperatures in actual hop drying processes. Studies were conducted during the 2021 harvest using instrumented drying kilns at two hop farm locations in Oregon and Washington. Three different drying temperature profiles were evaluated and then compared to industry baseline: 54 °C constant air temperature, 66 °C constant temperature, and a proposed dynamic treatment of 68 °C air for 3 hours with the remaining drying occurring at 54 °C. The preliminary results show that elevated temperature and a dynamic temperature trial could reduce batch drying times and reduce energy costs, while still maintaining hop quality.