This chapter presents an analysis of factors influencing the heat and moisture exchange for their further use in experimental research to study the process of grain drying with active ventilation. The temperature and velocity of the drying agent and grain moisture content are determined. One centimeter (1 cm) thick layer is considered to be a thin layer. This size appears to be very manageable to transfer the regularities of the drying process to a thicker layer when modeling the drying process in a thick layer. The experiment was carried out for three drying modes: classical mode (i.e., drying of grains with natural and heated air), with a constant concentration of air ions in the drying agent, with cyclic (periodic) presence of air ions in the drying agent. Using the regression equations produced a so-called electro-activation criterion can be described. The dependencies obtained would help to optimize the drying process with respect to drying time criterion.
TopAnalysis Of Grain Drying Methods Using The Air Enriched With Air Ions
There are several ways of drying the grain materials using electrically activated air of different composition (Solodova (2002); Tihen'kij (1993); Tkachev (2000); Madden (1987)). The drying methods using EAA include those using ozone-air mixes (OAM) and air enriched with air ions. The proposed analysis aims at identifying the methods, which provide the greatest intensification of the release of internal tightly bound moisture from the grain. At the same time, low energy consumption, preservation of the dried material quality and simple implementation in production plants should be achievable.
Drying involving air ions helps to reduce the duration and energy intensity of the process. To obtain the air containing air ions, corona discharge (CD) ionizers are used in active ventilation bins in the drying agent preparation lines and floor and chamber dryers (Aniskin & Chizhikov, 2002).
The scientists in Chelyabinsk (Krejmeris, Tryukas & Tryukene, 1991) have developed a method for drying the grain seeds in corona discharge (CD) field. The seeds are placed in the produced corona discharge field 
V/m and blown with a natural air. As a result, 3 to 6% of free moisture can be released from the seeds.
The disadvantages are low plant performance and extra high electrical hazard for personnel servicing the integrated high-voltage equipment.
There is a combined method known for drying the grain materials (Ilyuhin, Noskov & Babakin, 1983), when a grain layer is fed with a constant electrical potential (of different sign) and blown with an ionized drying agent. Appropriate experiments have been conducted. As a result, it has been found that ionizing the drying agent and imparting it an electrical potential of the opposite or the same sign as the material would allow varying the material drying intensity.
The disadvantage of the above method is its complexity for implementation in the process equipment and low efficiency when drying the low moisture grains.