EXPERIMENTAL STUDY OF CASSAVA SUN DRYING

ABSTRACT

Experiments were carried out in Davis, California, USA to compare sun drying of a bed of cassava chips placed in wire mesh trays with those placed in trays made of sheet metal. The wire mesh permitted wind to blow easily through the bed of chips, while the sheet metal constrained the wind to flow across the top of the bed, Drying was faster in the wire mesh trays; the chips reached a moisture content for safe storage after 27 hours of drying, while those in the sheet metal trays took 35 hours. The uniformity of drying was also markedly better in the wire mesh trays. Higher temperatures were attained in the chips contained in the sheet metal trays due to contact heat transfer between the trays and the chips. However the restricted air flow around the chips in the sheet metal trays led them to dry slower than those in the wire mesh trays.     

Experimental Study of Cassava Sun Drying

ABSTRACT

Sun drying experiments were performed to compare drying of cassava chips in sheet-metal trays with drying on mesh wire trays: In the sheet-metal trays, there was air flow across the top of the bed chips, while the mesh wire trays permitted air to flow through the bed. Drying rate was faster and more uniform in the trays with through-flow air circulation. Higher temperatures were reached by chips in the sheet-metal trays than those in the mesh wire trays because of contact heating, but the drying rate was lower because of the reduced air flow.     

Performance evaluation of parabolic greenhouse-type solar dryer used for drying of cayenne pepper

Abstract

This study examines the performance of a parabolic greenhouse-type solar dryer used for drying of cayenne pepper (Capsicum annuum) in Nan (northern Thailand). The dryer has a base area of 6.0?m × 8.2?m and a height of 3.25?m with the loading capacity of 100–200?kg for fruit or vegetables. It has a parabolic roof structure covered with polycarbonate sheets and is placed on a concrete floor. It is ventilated by three DC fans powered by a 50-Watt solar cell module. The produce is placed on trays with wire mesh base and located on steel supports. Among the advantages of this type of dryer is that the product is protected from rain, dust and insects. The pepper samples consisted of whole pods or cut pods. The drying experiments were carried out in the solar dryer and in an electrical (convective) tray dryer. The study was focusing on drying kinetics and on the effects of the drying treatments on one of the main quality attributes namely the capsaicin content in the dried products.     

规整丝网填料旋转填充床的气相压降特性及脱硫性能

采用空气-水体系,对装有4种不同规格规整丝网填料的旋转填充床的压降特性进行了实验研究,考察了转速、气体流量、液体流量等操作参数及填料特性对气相压降的影响规律,并与传统不锈钢波纹丝网填料旋转填充床压降进行了比较. 结果表明,装有规整丝网填料的旋转填充床压降可降低35%~70%. 进一步采用压降较低的规整丝网填料以(NH4)2SO3为吸收剂进行氨法脱硫性能研究,结果表明,随转子转速和(NH4)2SO3浓度增大,SO2脱除率升高;随进气口SO2浓度升高及气液比增大,SO2脱除率降低;SO2脱除率最高可达97%,可满足国家排放标准.     

同心圈式旋转床的精馏实验

同心圈式旋转床是一种新型超重力旋转床,其转子由一组多孔板同心圈构成,相邻同心圈之间无填料或填充填料。液体在同心圈上存在滑移效应,滑移效应能够增大气液比表面积和改善液体在同心圈上的周向分布。本文采用乙醇-水物系对转子直径为1.0m的大型同心圈式旋转床进行全回流常压精馏实验,实验选用无丝网填料同心圈和填充丝网填料同心圈两种转子。实验结果表明,本大型同心圈式旋转床具有较大的处理量,其等板高度（HETP）随F因子和超重力因子的增大先减小后增大。填充丝网填料同心圈转子的HETP小于无丝网填料同心圈转子。在超重力因子为563.4和F因子为5.5(m/s)(kg/m³)^0.5时,填充丝网填料同心圈转子的等板高度达到最小值51.5mm,每块理论板气相压降为1.5kPa。通过实验数据拟合得到了两种同心圈转子的HETP经验关联式。与折流式旋转床相比,同心圈式旋转床具有高通量和低压降的优点。     

Numerical studies of dynamic behavior of liquid film on single-layer wire mesh with different wettabilities

Droplet impacting on the stainless steel wire mesh is very common in chemical devices, like a rotating packed bed. Surface wettability of wire mesh significantly affects the liquid flow pattern and liquid dispersion performance. However, the effect of surface wettability on the impaction phenomena at microscale such as liquid film is still unknown. In this work, the dynamic behavior of liquid film on the surface of wire mesh was analyzed by computational fluid dynamics simulation. The dynamic behavior of liquid film on the surface of wire mesh can be divided into the following three steps: (1) spreading step; (2) shrinkage process; (3) stabilizing or disappearing step. Effects of surface wettability, as well as operating conditions, on wetting area and liquid film thickness were studied. Compared to the hydrophilic wire mesh, the final wetting area of hydrophobic wire mesh is zero in most cases. The average liquid film thickness on the surface of hydrophilic wire mesh is 30.02–77.29 μm, and that of hydrophobic wire mesh is 41.76–237.37 μm. This work provided a basic understanding of liquid film flow at microscale on the surface with various surface wettabilities, which can be guiding the packing optimization and design.     

OSMO-CONVECTIVE DRYING OF GRAPES

In order to reduce browning of grapes during drying, a special drying method was developed and evaluated using a laboratory scale fluidized bed dryer. Fresh Thompson seedless grapes were initially dried by immersion in a fluidized bed of sugar. The mass ratio of grapes to sugar was 1:1. The flow rate of hot air (at 45 and 60^°C) was sufficient to fluidize the sugar bed, while grapes placed on the screen, 3 cm above the drying air distributor, remained generally stationary.

Due to the simultaneous osmotic and convection drying effects, the drying time was reduced by factor ∼1.5 as compared to drying under the similar conditions without added sugar. A special pre-treatment of dipping of grapes in ethyl oleate (2% solution in 0.5% sodium hydroxide) at 80†deg; C for 30 s further reduced the drying time by factor 2 in both cases. The color of osmo-convective dried grapes were comparable to that of sulfur dioxide treated grapes. The texture of osmo-convective dried grapes was more pliable (softer) than convective dried samples. The major problem associated with die osmo-convective drying of grapes on a sugar bed was the stickiness, caused by sugar, on the fruit surface. This was reduced by partially substituting sugar with semolina (maintaining a 1:1 ratio) to create fluidized bed.     

CONVECTIVE DRYING OF BANANA, GUAVA AND POTATO PIECES : EFFECT OF CYCLICAL VARIATIONS OF AIR TEMPERATURE ON DRYING KINETICS AND COLOR CHANGE

Pieces of banana, guava and potato were dried in a two-stage heat pump dryer capable of precise control of air humidity with predetermined cyclic variations of air temperature entering the drying chamber. The air temperature variations tested were : a cosine, a reversed cosine and three different square wave profiles with peak-to-valley variations from 20^°C to 40^°C. The cycle time was about 60 minutes with drying time of approximately 300 minutes. The drying samples were placed on trays in a thin layer. With appropriate choice of temperature-time variation, it is possible to reduce the overall color change while maintaining high drying rates.     

ANALYSIS OF A GEODESIC DOME SOLAR FRUIT DRYER

This paper analyzes use of geodesic domes as low cost and practical solar energy drying systems, especially for developing countries. A geodesic dome solar fruit dryer was designed, constructed and tested for drying grapes. The structure was constructed using wooden members, covered with transparent tedlar plastic and a black absorber inner shell. Fresh air is heated in the space between the outer shell and the absorber sheet. The hot air then passes through the fruits on the trays and exits from the top. The dryer was tested for drying grapes under two different modes, namely natural convection and forced air flow. In addition, theoretical results were obtained by thermal-electrical simulation and considering the heat and mass transfer phenomena between the air and the grapes.     

ANALYSIS OF A GEODESIC DOME SOLAR FRUIT DRYER

This paper analyzes use of geodesic domes as low cost and practical solar energy drying systems, especially for developing countries. A geodesic dome solar fruit dryer was designed, constructed and tested for drying grapes. The structure was constructed using wooden members, covered with transparent tedlar plastic and a black absorber inner shell. Fresh air is heated in the space between the outer shell and the absorber sheet. The hot air then passes through the fruits on the trays and exits from the top. The dryer was tested for drying grapes under two different modes, namely natural convection and forced air flow. In addition, theoretical results were obtained by thermal-electrical simulation and considering the heat and mass transfer phenomena between the air and the grapes.     

Experimental investigation of the drying process of water-based paints used in automotive industry

The objective of the government-funded research project “SiLat” (Simulation der instationären Lacktrocknung bei dreidimensionalen Objekten—simulation of paint drying processes on three-dimensionally shaped geometries) is the development of a CFD-software simulation add-on for the drying process of paints [11]. The software is intended to be used in the automotive industry to predict the intermediate drying process of water based paints on car bodies in continuous convective dryers. To validate the software, several laboratory scale experiments, using industrial water-based paint systems and a model base paint system applied on a sheet of metal, were carried out. Conditioned air was used for the drying process. The experimental setup was varied in three different ways: paint on a flat sheet was dried in impinging jet and parallel flow conditions. Furthermore, a Z-shaped sheet was dried during parallel flow conditions. Additional experiments were performed varying the flow parameters. During all experiments, the sheet temperature and weight of the painted sheet were monitored with a rate of 1 Hz. The evaporation of the organic solvents could be monitored using FTIR-spectroscopy. This contribution deals with the experimental investigations and simulation results, whereas the paint drying model is presented by Domnick et al. [5] in detail.     

OSMO-CONVECTIVE DRYING OF GRAPES

ABSTRACT

In order to reduce browning of grapes during drying, a special drying method was developed and evaluated using a laboratory scale fluidized bed dryer. Fresh Thompson seedless grapes were initially dried by immersion in a fluidized bed of sugar. The mass ratio of grapes to sugar was 1:1. The flow rate of hot air (at 45 and 60^°C) was sufficient to fluidize the sugar bed, while grapes placed on the screen, 3 cm above the drying air distributor, remained generally stationary.

Due to the simultaneous osmotic and convection drying effects, the drying time was reduced by factor ～1.5 as compared to drying under the similar conditions without added sugar. A special pre-treatment of dipping of grapes in ethyl oleate (2% solution in 0.5% sodium hydroxide) at 80?deg; C for 30 s further reduced the drying time by factor 2 in both cases. The color of osmo-convective dried grapes were comparable to that of sulfur dioxide treated grapes. The texture of osmo-convective dried grapes was more pliable (softer) than convective dried samples. The major problem associated with die osmo-convective drying of grapes on a sugar bed was the stickiness, caused by sugar, on the fruit surface. This was reduced by partially substituting sugar with semolina (maintaining a 1:1 ratio) to create fluidized bed.     

Optimal Control of the Primary Drying Stage of Freeze Drying of Solutions in Vials Using Variational Calculus

The problem of operating freeze drying of pharmaceutical products in vials placed in trays of a freeze dryer to remove free water (in frozen state) at a minimum time was formulated as an optimal control problem. Two different types of freeze dryer designs were considered. In type I freeze dryer design, upper and lower plate temperatures were controlled together, while in type II freeze dryer design, upper and lower plate temperatures were controlled independently. The heat input to the material being dried and the drying chamber pressure were considered as control variables. Constraints were placed on the system state variables by the melting and scorch temperatures during primary drying stage. Necessary conditions of optimality for the primary drying stage of freeze drying process in vials are derived and presented. Furthermore, an approach for constructing the optimal control policies that would minimize the drying time for the primary drying stage was given. In order to analyze optimal control policy for the primary drying stage of the freeze-drying process in vials, a rigorous multi-dimensional unsteady state mathematical model was used. The theoretical approach presented in this work was applied in the freeze drying of skim milk. Significant reductions in the drying times of primary drying stage of freeze drying process in vials were obtained, as compared to the drying times obtained from conventional operational policies.     

CONVECTIVE DRYING OF BANANA,GUAVA AND POTATO PIECES : EFFECT OF CYCLICAL VARIATIONS OF AIR TEMPERATURE ON DRYING KINETICS AND COLOR CHANGE

ABSTRACT

Pieces of banana, guava and potato were dried in a two-stage heat pump dryer capable of precise control of air humidity with predetermined cyclic variations of air temperature entering the drying chamber. The air temperature variations tested were : a cosine, a reversed cosine and three different square wave profiles with peak-to-valley variations from 20^°C to 40^°C. The cycle time was about 60 minutes with drying time of approximately 300 minutes. The drying samples were placed on trays in a thin layer. With appropriate choice of temperature-time variation, it is possible to reduce the overall color change while maintaining high drying rates.     

Optimal Control of the Primary Drying Stage of Freeze Drying of Solutions in Vials Using Variational Calculus

Abstract

The problem of operating freeze drying of pharmaceutical products in vials placed in trays of a freeze dryer to remove free water (in frozen state) at a minimum time was formulated as an optimal control problem. Two different types of freeze dryer designs were considered. In type I freeze dryer design, upper and lower plate temperatures were controlled together, while in type II freeze dryer design, upper and lower plate temperatures were controlled independently. The heat input to the material being dried and the drying chamber pressure were considered as control variables. Constraints were placed on the system state variables by the melting and scorch temperatures during primary drying stage. Necessary conditions of optimality for the primary drying stage of freeze drying process in vials are derived and presented. Furthermore, an approach for constructing the optimal control policies that would minimize the drying time for the primary drying stage was given. In order to analyze optimal control policy for the primary drying stage of the freeze-drying process in vials, a rigorous multi-dimensional unsteady state mathematical model was used. The theoretical approach presented in this work was applied in the freeze drying of skim milk. Significant reductions in the drying times of primary drying stage of freeze drying process in vials were obtained, as compared to the drying times obtained from conventional operational policies.     

Influence of Factors on the Drying of Cassava in a Solar Simulator

ABSTRACT

In tropical countries, sun drying is still the most popular method used for processing root and tuber crops like cassava and yam. Relatively very little has been done on studying the kinetics of sun drying a bed of chips of cassava and similar crops, but this information is invaluable in finding options for reducing drying time and costs, and increasing tonnage produced. This project studied some factors that have an effect on the sun drying rate of cassava chips. The factors were ambient temperature, relative humidity, radiation intensity, air velocity, and loading density.

A solar simulation chamber was constructed so that drying could be achieved under controllable conditions similar to those obtained in sun drying. Experiments carried out in the simulator revealed that temperature had the most significant effect on drying rate, followed by air velocity, and radiation intensity. Regression equations were developed relating the drying rate with the factors studied.     

折流式旋转床持液量的研究

将折流式旋转床分成若干液体流动区,计算流动区内动、静圈壁上液膜及动、静圈之间液滴的运动时间,在此基础上建立折流式旋转床持液量模型. 以空气-水为物系,在直径300 mm、高51 mm的折流式旋转床中进行实验,分别测得不通和通空气时转子的持液量,用实验数据拟合出持液量模型参数. 结果表明,转子持液量随液量和气量增加而增加,随转子转速增加而减小,高转速下气量对持液量的影响明显减弱. 折流式旋转床不通气持液量为2.35%~3.68%,是普通丝网旋转填料床不通气持液量的1.32~2.06倍.     

Research and development of advanced structured packing in a rotating packed bed

As the core component of the rotating packing bed, packing is a place for efficient gas–liquid mixing and mass transfer. In this paper, a 3D structured packing composed of a mesh structure and a support structure was designed. The mesh structure is a ring-shaped mesh surrounded by triangular meshes, which is stable in structure and can achieve a high degree of dispersion and aggregation of the liquid phase. The support structure is composed of ring-shaped structural units arranged at a certain a...     

AN INTEGRATED SOLAR DRYING SYSTEM FOR AGRICULTURAL CROP DRYING

The integrated solar drying system essentially consists of two selective flat plate collectors, one of them being black nickel and the other of manganese oxide deposited on galvanized iron sheet. A packed bed solar storage collector also forms a part of the system to supplement the energy required for drying after sun set. The design of the system with the calculation of the power requirement is reported in this paper. Freshly harvested high moisture paddy with an initial moisture content of 22 percent, w. b. was dried to the desirable milling percentage of 14 to 15 percent, w. b. The performance of the selective surfaces were studied to recommend the best one. Mathematical models for the temperature distribution in the pebble bed to optimize the length and depth of the storage system are given. Drying of 100 kg of paddy could be completed in 7 1/2 hours. The total and head rice yields obtained from this drying system were 70 and 65 percent respectively.     

Performance of combined mesh packing and sieve tray in distillation

The hydraulic and mass transfer performance of a combined knitted mesh packing and sieve tray has been measured for the distillation of methanol-water mixtures. It was found that by adding a shallow bed of packing, the Murphree tray efficiency increased by 40–50% over a wide range of concentrations and flow rates. This increase in tray efficiency can be attributed to a much smaller and more uniform bubble formation on the packed tray. Hydraulic measurements have shown that the packed trays have lower weeping and entrainment, as well as slightly higher froth heights and pressure drops.