Periodic temperature modulation as a strategy to enhance barley hydration process efficiency

Barley is a very versatile raw material, widely used in several industries, mainly in the production of beverages in the form of malt. However, the conventional malting process requires more than 14 hours for the grain to reach the moisture level necessary for germination, which significantly increases production costs. In search of faster and more economical methods, this study investigated periodic temperature modulation as a strategy to optimize the barley hydration process. Using the BRS ELIS. barley variety, the study tested the periodic variation of water temperature during the hydration process. The best result was obtained with a temperature of 15 ± 7.5 ºC, which reduced the hydration time by 71% compared to the isothermal process, which uses constant temperature. The applied diffusion model accurately predicted the moisture absorption data (r² > 0.94, P < 9.54% and RMSE < 3.8%). The results show that periodic temperature modulation is an effective technique to accelerate barley hydration, offering a promising way to make the malting process more efficient and less costly for the industry.