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CIRCULAR 44 3, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 



PRESENT STATUS OF DEHYDRATION INDUSTRY 



A 1949 survey in several of the major dehydration sections in the 

 Middle Western States revealed that practically all of the dehydrators 

 now in use are of the drum type and have a rated capacity to evaporate 

 6,000 pounds of water per hour. A few have capacities to evaporate 

 12.000 pounds of water per hour. 



The drums vary in size and are either single- or multiple-pass. 

 Single-jDass drums vary from 8 to 10 feet in diameter and from 28 to 

 40 feet in length. The multiple-pass drums are 8 feet in diameter and 

 24 feet long. The majority of the drums are of manufacturer's design. 

 A few of the manufactured drums are modified to suit the owner. 

 Other drums are entirely of the owner's design and are of the single- 

 pass type. 



Equipment of a plant is arranged to meet the desire of the owner, or 

 some particular local problem. However, convenient and accessible 

 space is provided at the plant for trucks or trailers transporting the 

 wet forage to the feeder of the dehydrator. Warehouses and sacking 

 rooms are usually located next to the railroad siding to facilitate load- 

 ing dehydrated meal into box cars. Plant installations consist of 

 one-, two- or three-drum drying units. Tube-type furnaces with gas 

 burners (fig. 3) are being used on the majority of the drum driers and 

 are of more simple design than that shown in figure 10. 



Self feeders, field choppers, and mechanical unloading equipment 

 have eliminated much of the manual labor (fig. 11 ) . 



Figtee 11. — Typical one-drum dehydration plant in operation at Hawley, Colo. 



