ICAR-CIRCOT, Bajaj Steel develop industrial cottonseed dryer

 

 

ICAR-CENTRAL Institute for Research on Cotton Technology (CIRCOT), in technical collaboration with Bajaj Steel Industries Ltd, Nagpur, has developed a compact, energy-efficient continuous flow type cottonseed dryer based on direct heating mechanism with the aim of enabling efficient online drying of cottonseeds directly within ginning units, thereby improving processing efficiency and product quality. This innovation, led by scientists Dr S K Shukla, Director, ICAR-CIRCOT, Mumbai, Dr Varsha Satankar, Dr S V Ghadge, Dr K Pandiyan, and Er. D U Patil, holds the potential to bring about a revolutionary transformation in cottonseed processing. The dryer features an innovative design incorporating collapsible mild steel (MS) conveyor belts, which enable the cottonseed to be exposed to heat twice on each conveyor once from the top and once from the bottom.